Community Business Trade Up Programme opens for applications
Calling all early-stage community businesses in England! The Community Business Trade Up Programme has launched applications for a free learning programme, including business support and grants of up to £5,000, to support early-stage social enterprises in England to scale up their trading.
The programme, run by the School for Social Entrepreneurs in partnership with Power to Change and The Dulverton Trust, aims to grow community businesses which help to make a difference to their local area.
Participants will be supported to strengthen their business and ensure their models are sustainable, increase income, improve leadership and business skills, and be given the opportunity to network with people from similar organisations to support each other. The free learning programme is practical and group-based, making use of the action learning approach, rather than any textbooks or essays. Participants will also receive a grant of up to £5,000, and a community business peer mentor.
Applications are open to early-stage community businesses in England which aim to be:
- Locally rooted – the organisation exists to benefit its local neighbourhood, village, town, ward or borough
- Accountable to the local community – local people are consulted and communicated with
- Trading for the benefit of the local community – profits are re-invested to benefit the local community
- Making a broad community impact – engaging different groups of people from the local area
A series of webinars are being held for potential applicants to find out more on:
- Wednesday 17 May at 10am
- Tuesday 6 June at 6pm
- Tuesday 20 June at 2pm
Applications close at 12pm on Monday 26th June 2023.
Published Tuesday 2 May 2023
Food Poverty: Millions of people in the UK struggle to get enough to eat. We’re working to change that through people-powered projects and campaigns that tackle the root causes of food poverty and ensure everyone has dignified access to healthy, affordable food.
