Category Archives: Funding News

Funding News, Hot News, News

Selnet wins Growth Hub tender to deliver new funded startup service in Lancashire

Selnet has won a competitive tender to deliver a new funded startup service as part of a refreshed £3.9m business support programme.

The company will deliver the Flying Start service as part of Boost; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub, which has revealed a new funding deal.

The new funding will ensure that Boost; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub, continues until March 2025, with a potential extension beyond that.

If you are looking to turn your business ideas into reality or take your new business to the next level – the new Flying Start programme from Boost, delivered by Selnet can help you achieve your business goals.

The Flying Start programme is created for pre-start businesses and those who have traded for less than 3 years and is delivered by an experienced team of qualified business advisers. Our advisers can help you navigate the ups and downs of starting a new business, through support, mentoring and activities, tailored to suit your business needs.

Led by Lancashire County Council, Boost, which celebrates its tenth anniversary in 2023, has supported more than 14,000 businesses since its launch in 2013, creating more than 3,500 jobs.

The Growth Hub is aiming to support over 1,000 more businesses, in addition to helping 125 new businesses start and create more than 1,000 new jobs.

The £3.9million Boost programme is made up of contributions from Lancashire County Council (£1.2m), UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocations from 10 partner local authorities, and the Department of Business & Trade (£2.7m).

The partner local authorities are Blackburn with Darwen Council, Burnley Council, Chorley Council, Fylde Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, Pendle Borough Council, Preston City Council, South Ribble Borough Council, West Lancashire Borough Council and Wyre Council.

Boost offers six core services including:

  • Business Support Helpdesk: A service that offers advice and guidance on available local, national and sector business support.
  • Business Advice Service: A service that matches a business with an adviser and includes a business review, a business support action plan, business clinics and regular updates.
  • Growth Catalyst: A service to help established businesses ready to take their business to the next level.
  • Scale to Thrive: An exclusive service for businesses over £1m turnover looking to scale 20% year on year.
  • Flying Start: A service that helps people start a new business or grow a young business.
  • Access to Finance: A service that helps businesses find and secure the finance and funding they need.

The Business Support Helpdesk is available to businesses across the whole of Lancashire, with the Business Advice, Growth Catalyst, Scale to Thrive, Flying Start and Access to Finance services available to businesses in the 10 partner local authority areas.

Andrew Leeming, programme manager of Boost, added:

“This is a powerful and exciting new Growth Hub partnership offering a rich breadth of business support to owners and leaders across the county.”

“We went through a rigorous tendering process and that has resulted a highly specialised and experienced new team of Boost delivery partners, well equipped to help Lancashire businesses start, grow and thrive.”

Liz Tapner CEO of Selnet said

“Through our Flying Start programme, we support pre-start and young businesses to start-up, establish, develop and grow – our team is excited to work with clients to determine the support THEY need to help them and their business”

County Councillor Aidy Riggott, cabinet member for economic development and growth, Lancashire County Council, said:

“It’s been ten years of impact for Boost and we are firmly setting the dial towards the future with a comprehensive range of services and programmes to help more entrepreneurs and leaders start, grow and thrive, especially those that have not received support from Boost.”

Lancashire business owners and leaders can get in touch with Boost by calling 0800 488 0057 or contacting Boost online.

 

About Boost:

Led by Lancashire County Council, supported by Government and ten local authorities, Boost is Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub, one of 37 Growth Hubs in the UK.

Boost’s mission is to help Lancashire businesses thrive.

Since 2013, Boost has supported over 14,000 businesses, helping create 3,500 jobs while adding £100m to the local economy.

From September 1 2023, Boost is funded by Lancashire County Council, Department for Business & Trade (DBT), and UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) contributions from ten Lancashire local authorities (Boost local authorities partners). UKSPF is part of the Levelling Up agenda and succession to EU structural funds.

Boost’s local authority partners are Blackburn with Darwen Council, Burnley Council, Chorley Council, Fylde Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, Pendle Borough Council, Preston City Council, South Ribble Borough Council, West Lancashire Borough Council and Wyre Council.

The Growth Hubs across England are designed to provide local businesses of any size or sector with access to advice and support via an impartial, funded, single point of contact. They bring together national and local support from across the public and private sectors to help businesses find the right support for their needs, at the right time, at any stage of the business journey.

The Business Support Helpdesk offers advice and guidance to anyone thinking of starting a business and all new and existing businesses in Lancashire. The Helpdesk provides information on local, national and sector programmes, and funding support help businesses start, grow and scale. The Business Support Helpdesk is available to businesses across all Lancashire local authorities.

Businesses located in the ten Boost local authority partner areas are eligible for the Business Advice Service, Flying Start, Growth Catalyst, Scale to Thrive and Access to Finance.

The Boost business support services will be delivered by a number of specialist local and national business support organisations including Growth Lancashire, Selnet and the Growth Company, with Lancashire County Council delivering the Access to Finance service.

The Growth Hubs across England are designed to provide local businesses of any size or sector with access to advice and support via an impartial, funded, single point of contact. They bring together national and local support from across the public and private sectors to help businesses find the right support for their needs, at the right time, at any stage of the business journey.

 

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Funding News, Hot News, News

New Year, New Opportunity for Lancashire’s Social Entrepreneurs

Selnet and the Scottish Social Enterprise Academy join forces to launch the ‘Building for Sustainability’ leadership programme across Lancashire and the North West

Lancashire’s Social Enterprise Network ‘Selnet’ has brought over £12M of funding and contract opportunities for social enterprises across the county over the past 10 years. As a result, at the social enterprise sector’s annual awards event in London, Selnet CEO Liz Tapner was recognised as being the UK’s Most Influential Woman in Social Enterprise.

Selnet are starting 2019 by teaming up with the Scottish Social Enterprise Academy to launch a unique, intensive new programme to enhance the sector’s leadership skills across Lancashire and the North West.

As the lead body representing social enterprise in Lancashire, Selnet enables Lancashire Social Enterprise to access the support and resources to aid business development and growth.

There are approximately 100,000 social enterprises in the UK, contributing £60 billion to the economy each year and employing approximately two million people (Social Enterprise UK). They operate in nearly every sector from selling quality consumer goods to providing health and social care services.

The pressure is always on for leaders to manage the day to day demands of running a successful social enterprise while looking ahead at future contracts, partnerships and income streams. Leaders need to be even more entrepreneurial, innovative and enterprising, working together to address current challenges and to seize new opportunities. This new programme aims to help leaders to do just that!

Speaking about the new programme, Scottish Social Enterprise Academy’s Olga Wojciechowska, said:

“Social Entrepreneurship is seeing the future in a way that no one else does.

This programme is about bringing together senior leaders, through exploring and nurturing skills, coaching and enabling them to share ideas and tools; all to enhance their organisations’ future sustainability and impact.”

Selnet and the Academy are calling for social enterprise leaders to apply for their place on the programme. CEO Liz said:

“Selnet ended 2018 on a high and 2019 is off to a flying start! We are thrilled to be joining forces with the Scottish Social Enterprise Academy to bring this phenomenal programme into Lancashire and the North West.

“It’s more than a personal development programme; it’s about building future leaders who can shape their organisations to have greater social impact in our communities.”

Thanks to support from players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, the fee for this programme has been highly subsidised and applications are now open. Follow the links from the Selnet homepage for the information you need to apply at www.selnet-uk.com

 

 

 

 

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Events, Funding News, News

European Funding, Brexit & the Third Sector: Where are we now and what happens next?

The decision to leave the European Union will shape profoundly the future of our communities. Despite Brexit though, Britain has guaranteed local European Funds (ESF and ERDF) until 2022.

Network For Europe represents VCSE sector in North West region in all matters relating to the European Union. Selnet have now hosted two EU Funding Briefing events with Network For Europe. These briefings offered a comprehensive update on ESFii and ERDFii , what is happening here in Lancashire, and how it affects the Third Sectorii.

The presentations and additional details are available below.


What will Brexit mean for our sector?

The Brexit process is underway and Network For Europe is working to respond to the loss of EU funds and ensure that the VCSE voice is heard.

We are in a period of transition following the Brexit vote in March and the UK is entering up to 2 years of negotiations on what our future relationship with the EU will be. Brexit will mean the loss of European funding in the form that the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise Sector (VCSE) have known it over the past few decades.

Network for Europe working with partners in the VCSE sector across the North of England to respond to the loss of these funds:

____________________________________

“Of course, EU funding is about money, but it’s also about the way the money is spent and what it is spent on.  EU funding promotes innovative projects, based on partnerships which support inclusion, gender equality, and protection of the environment.

It’s important that we lobby and campaign, not just to make sure the EU cash is replaced, but to protect the kind of projects that have previously been supported by EU funds.

– Andy Churchill, CEO, Network for Europe

____________________________________

 

Over the coming months, Network For Europe will be:

  • disseminating up to date informationon the current progress with the Brexit negotiations and relevance for the VCSE Sector
  • working with other partners in the sector to assess the impact of the loss of funds, and develop prioritiesfor the future of funds to replace the European funds being lost


Have your say

Network For Europe are collating thoughts, concerns and ideas about how the loss of EU funds will affect organisations and individuals in the sector. Please let them know your views.

You can contact Andy Churchill on andy.churchill@networkforeurope.eu or John Hacking on john.hacking@networkforeurope.eu .


What Next?

Selnet and Network For Europe will be hosting a further briefing in November which will be advertised in due course. We hope to see you there!


Resources

 

 

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Funding News, Hot News, News

ERDF Open Calls in Lancashire UPDATE

Network for Europe held a briefing session on 2nd February regarding the open ERDF calls in Lancashire.

For those unable to attend, you can download the presentation below which gives details of the current Calls in Lancashire under the ERDF Programme.

 ERDF Briefing Session (Lancs) 02/02/17

In addition here is the link to the site containing the application form and annexes to be completed. If you have any questions regarding this please email: 
john.hacking@networkforeurope.eu

Note that the ESIF form applies to these calls and the ERDF Annexes are the relevant documents.

 

Link to Application and Annexes:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-structural-and-investment-funds-outline-application

If you have a draft application relating to the ERDF Priority 6 Call – ‘Preserving and Protecting the Environment and Promoting Resource Efficiency’ then you can book a slot with DCLG officers to discuss your application.If you have a draft project and want to book a slot for this please contact Shabana Patel at LCC on Shabana.Patel@lancashire.gov.uk.

If you have any further queries please contact John Hacking:
john.hacking@networkforeurope.eu  

or Liz Tapner at SELNET by emailing – liz@selnet-uk.com.

 

 

 

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Funding News, Hot News

Skills and Opportunities Fund

Are you Looking To Start A Social Enterprise?

 

Social enterprises operate in all areas of life providing goods and services that benefit the community.

Here in Lancashire social enterprises are involved in recycling, helping people to find work, the arts and theatre, supporting people with a range of issues and so much more.

natwest
NatWest, through its Skills and Opportunities Fund, is currently working in Lancashire to establish 18 social enterprises in 18 months.

So if you are looking to set up a social enterprise contact Social Enterprise Solutions CIC – one of Selnet’s members – to get free help and support.

The team of qualified business advisers, based in Blackpool, will be able to help by explaining the different forms of social enterprise; with completing the company paperwork; give advice on how to put together a business plan; cash flow and all the other aspects of starting a business.

For an informal chat or to arrange a meeting, contact 01253 344123 or alistair@socialenterprisesolutions.co.uk.

 

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Funding News, Hot News, News

Selnet Leading BBO Project 3 for Lancashire

Thank you to all organisations who expressed an interest, the call for partners is now closed and we can report that Selnet have received 95 responses!

This overwhelming response means that we are oversubscribed to the point of possibly being able to deliver the required project more than three times over!

We now have the huge task of selecting partners to include within our submission. Our aim as with the previous two projects is to utilise the skills and diversity within the Selnet board of directors and, with support from the consortium leaders who selected Selnet to lead this bid (Greater Together and FHWBC) work through this process.

Next Steps:

  • Liz and the Selnet team will do a ‘first sift’ of all EoI’s received. This will be based on the organisations governance, processes, in addition to mandatory requirements (i.e.Q3) you have detailed within your response
  • We will then analyse Lancashire demographics by district, based on the target groups
  • Then finally assess the EoI’s received looking in particular at the organisations ability and evidence of engagement and/or relationships with the particular target groups

We don’t envisage calling for theme leads at this point but, having gone through the above process we will feedback.

Again thank you for your interest in working with Selnet.

 

See the announcement below…

Logos

Building Better Opportunities

bbo image

Second round of projects now open

Today we have published 61 new funding opportunities in 18 LEP areas. This is the second round of Building Better Opportunities projects to be opened for stage one applications. The first round was launched earlier this year and is now closed to new applications.
                  
Over the next few years funding will be delivered in 38 Local Enterprise Partnership areas supporting projects that tackle poverty and promote social inclusion.
 
More about the latest round of funding can be found in our newsroom.
 
Details of the projects now open for applications can be found on our website. The deadline for stage one applications is 12 noon Monday 30 November 2015.

 

 

 

 

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Funding News, Hot News

Key Fund Introduce NEW Resilience Fund

Keyfund Resiliance
Please click the image to enlarge


Income per head in inner London is the highest in the EU. In the North West, we live in the shadow of former industrial powerhouses, with unemployment black spots.

Whilst the narrative from the capital is one of progress, many villages, towns and cities here are struggling as the public sector shrinks. We are seeing many existing charities, co-operatives, social enterprises and social ventures, many of whom deliver essential services, attempting to adjust to the changed environment as austerity reduces the availability of grant funding. For many this means they must ‘grow, change or die’.

These are challenging times.

Sounds dramatic? But without change, the North-South divide will deepen. The same old stuff won’t work, new challenges need new ideas.

Organisations are looking to develop new products and services, moving into trading, using the profits they generate to support their transition, and deliver their social impact in a more sustainable way. But it’s not easy.

Which is where the Key Fund comes in. It enables this change. Think of it as a revolutionary movement – a new way of doing business.

As the biggest social investor operating across the whole of the North of England, it works with businesses that are about more than just profit, but deliver social impact.

Since it set out in 1999 with the aim to revitalise communities from the collapse of the coal and steel industries, it has evolved into helping to shape new kinds of industry.

We need daring, courage and fairness to live on this planet, things the Key Fund has in spades. Key Fund understands the challenges of working in disadvantaged communities and provides a wide range of support to organisations looking to make this transition: from direct 1-2-1 advice, to specialist investment readiness training via the ‘Early Days and Changing Ways’ programme, to providing investments up to £300,000 with the new ‘Resilience Fund’.

So whether you work for, or are a director or advisor of a charity, co-operative, social enterprise or social venture, perhaps it might be time to speak to the Key Fund about how they can help you to grow or change.

Phone Key Fund on 0845 1401400

 

 

 

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Funding News, Hot News, News, Uncategorized

Growth Vouchers

How can they help you to grow your business?

 

growth

The Growth Vouchers programme can help you find the expert advice and support you need to grow your business.

The Growth Voucher contributes 50% towards the cost of expert advice up to a maximum of £2,000.

 

Professional advice can be funded in a number of areas, including;

  • Raising Finance & Managing Cash Flow; examples include advice on the overall financial health of your business, improving cash flow management, credit control or advice on how to negotiate with banks and investors.
  • Marketing Attracting & Keeping Customers; examples include advice on effective marketing strategies, market research, targeting existing and potential customers, using social media to extend your reach into new markets, pricing strategies and selling skills.
  • Making the most of Digital Technology; examples include advice on product development and market testing, customer service, building online sales, and technology improvements.
  • Improving Leadership & Management Skills; examples include advice on planning for the future, change management, and how to build and improve the management potential of you and your team.
  • Recruiting & Developing your Staff; examples include advice on how to hire, train and manage staff, employment law and regulations, and performance management systems. 


Is my business eligible?

  • Do you have less than 50 employees
  • Have you been trading for at least one year
  • Is your business registered in England
  • Your business has not paid for strategic advice or received less than 200,000 euros of public money in the last 3 years


How do I apply for a voucher?

Complete the short application form by visiting www.gov.uk/apply-growth-vouchers

For more information regarding the programme and frequently asked questions please visit www.winning-pitch.co.uk/growth_vouchers or email growthvouchers@winning-pitch.co.uk

 

Please email growthvouchers@winning-pitch.co.uk for an electronic copy of this text and growth voucher logo.

 

 

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Funding News, Hot News, News

Lloyds Bank and Bank of Scotland Social Entrepreneurs Programme

If you’ve got an idea for a project to improve your local community, this programme can help make it happen.

school of social entrepreneurs- Ipswich
We’re offering a fully funded year of learning and a grant to help you get started on a new idea or scale up an existing social enterprise.

During the programme you will develop as a leader and obtain the skills needed to take your organisation to the next stage.

The programme is incredibly practical and students can expect to learn from their peers, build new networks and be challenged by practitioners.


The programme is split into Start Up and Scale Up:

Both programmes offer:

  • Fully funded 14 day learning programme
  • Grant (either £4,000 or £15,000)
  • Mentor from Lloyds Bank/ Bank of Scotland

Start Up will get your new project or idea off to a flying start.

Scale Up will help you grow an established social enterprise.

 

Find out more

 

Entrepreneurs Programme Logos

 

 

 

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Funding News, News

Our Place | My Community Rights

Our Place now open

locality-logo
We’re excited to let you know that Locality and partners are now accepting applications for the Our Place programme.

 
From 20 January, the eligibility checker and guidance notes are on the My Community Rights website.

 
This £4.3m programme of support and grants will help areas working to transform local public services.

Locality, the Local Government Association and delivery associates are supporting at least 100 areas as they work towards making services in their neighbourhoods such as adult social care, health or employment better for all.

Apply early – we’re expecting a large number of applications so we recommend that you submit your application in good time.

Am I eligible? If you’re an incorporated body, parish or town council, public service provider or local authority in England you will be able to apply.*

There are plenty of resources to help you with your application such as the Starter Pack, insights from the pilot organisations and top ten tips for success.

See our FAQs for the questions we’ve been responding to over recent weeks.

You can contact us through the advice service if you have further questions.

 
When you’re ready to apply, please contact us through the Apply page of:
mycommunityrights.org.uk/our-place

We look forward to helping you make a difference in your area!

 

*Please note that we are not able to provide grants for capital projects or running costs which relate to a specific building or an individual organisation’s service / activity.

 

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