Social Investment: Social investment is repayable finance which creates both social and financial returns. The investment can take various forms, commonly a loan, or debt type form with interest, and is often used to develop new or existing activities that generate income. The requirement to finance the loan means that social investment should not be used as a substitute for a revenue stream : if an organisation is not trading it may not have a way of repaying the finance and therefore should not consider taking on social investment.

Blended capital: provides a mix of grants with loan finance to provide a range of flexible finance that can potentially offset some of the perceived or unknown risk of providing the finance to the lender. It offers flexibility with discipline and can be appropriate for riskier types of capital investments.

Capacity Building: covers a range of different mechanisms of support with the aim of strengthening the ability of organisations to build their structures, systems, people and skills so they are better able to define and achieve their objectives.

Intermediaries or Social investment finance intermediaries (SIFIs): organisations that provide, facilitate or structure financial investments for social sector or social purpose organisations. Some SIFIs provide investment-focused business support to social sector organisations as well as or instead of providing finance.