Blog
Progress, partnership and what comes next
Seb Elsworth, CEO, reflects on Access’s role, progress and priorities following the Oversight Trust’s independent review.
Reach Fund
Support for charities and social enterprises who are already close to the point of taking on social investment
Overview
The Reach Fund provides support to charities and social enterprises who are already close to the point of taking on social investment. In order to apply to the fund, an organisation must be referred by a social investor registered with the fund, known as an ‘Access Point’.
Operating since 2016 the programme provides investment readiness grant support to charities and social enterprises with a specific focus on those already close to the point of taking on social investment.
The programme is managed by Social Investment Business, on behalf of Access. All applicants must be referred by a social investor registered with the fund, known as an ‘Access Point’.
The small and flexible grants aim to give the charity and social enterprises significant agency in terms of how the grant is spent, often giving opportunitiy for accessing external skills and investing in capacity to fully engage in the upskilling process.
How the programme is funded
The Reach Fund is funded by our Endowment.
Partners
Insights
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£13.7m
in grants
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Over 1000
charities and social enterprises have benefitted
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58%
grantees went onto successfully raise investment
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£7.37 investment raised
for every £1 of grant spend
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47% grant deployed
to VCSEs in 30% most deprived areas
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42% of VCSEs
supported have either Black and Minoritised, Women, Disability or LGBTQ majority leadership
Find out more
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Evaluation of the Reach Fund
The most recent evaluation of the Reach Fund took place in 2021. That year the programme was extended for the second time so will now continue to run until 2025/26.
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How North East Dance (NED) benefited from the Reach Fund
North East Dance (NED) use dance and fitness as a means to tackle health and social issues in Sunderland. They came across the Reach Fund when they were looking for new ways to diversify their income.
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Interested in applying to the Reach Fund
Find out more about the fund managed by the Social Investment Business, including who is eligible, and how to apply