Sources of funding and support for Black & minority led social enterprises

The following post was originally published by Arts & Culture Finance, a former division of Nesta which now operates independently as Figurative.

As the Black Lives Matter movement and the Covid-19 pandemic have laid bare exacerbating racial inequalities in the UK, the past year has seen new efforts to tackle structural inequalities affecting Black and racially minoritised communities. A number of initiatives and funding programmes have emerged that are designed specifically to support, fund and empower organisations led by Black and racially minoritised leaders. We list some of them below and hope to add to the list as new initiatives are launched. You can also read about Arts & Culture Finance’s own approach to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion on this page.

• The Phoenix Way – a £50m partnership between The National Lottery Community Fund and The Ubele Initiative aiming to boost funding and support to Black and Minoritised Community-led charities and grassroots groups over the next five years. More details to follow, applications to open in Autumn 2021.
• Do It Now Now – an open innovation organisation committed to bringing social empowerment to Black communities across the globe. Funding and support available through a number of targeted initiatives.
• UnLtd Awards – funding and support for social entrepreneurs trying to start or grow their social business. UnLtd has committed that 50% of their Awards will support social entrepreneurs who come from a disabled and/or Black, Asian or minority ethnic background.
• Create Equity – a new initiative that is currently in development, spanning funding, campaigns and an online support hub. The aim is to champion a more racially equitable distribution of funding and investment in the arts and the creative industries.
• Enterprise Development Programme – run by Access Foundation in partnership with The Ubele Initiative, this programme provides grant and learning support to help Black and Minoritised Community led social enterprises get off the ground. Stage one applications closed on 6 July 2021. More details and guidance can be found on the website.
• Greater Manchester BAME Social Enterprise Network – provides opportunities for peer networking, skills development and business support for BAME social entrepreneurs in Greater Manchester.
• Black South West Network – A Black-led racial justice charity based in Bristol that runs business support and incubator programmes and organises events for Black and minoritised community led organisations.