How to Apply
We look for socially driven arts and cultural organisations that can…
Investment window | September 2018 to December 2020 |
Funding available | £25,000 to £150,000 |
Repayment period | 1 to 5 years |
Repayment holidays | Up to 12 months' capital holiday |
Interest rates | 5.5% to 8.5% |
Fees | 1% completion fee 2% holding fee per annum, pro rata (minimum holding period is 6 months) No early repayment fee |
Geographic area covered | England |
The Cultural Impact Development Fund offers repayable finance of between £25,000 and £150,000 in the form of an unsecured loans and/or quasi-equity, tailored to the circumstances of each organisation. We also offer a blended loan and grant finance package whereby the level of grant funding is, on average, 10% of the total investment offer. We do not offer standalone grant funding.
The loan and grant funding are treated as part of our overall investment package and may be used in combination with each other for any approved investment purpose, such as:
As part of our commitment to social impact, the Fund also offers financial offsets in recognition of the achievement of social impact targets. The financial offset takes the form of an annual reduction to the interest rate on the loan portion of an investment where the total repayment period is 3 years or more.
Alongside our investment, the Cultural Impact Development Fund offers a tailored package of guidance and support to each organisation in our portfolio. This includes:
If your organisation’s primary activity does not fit within the list below but you think it may still be eligible for investment, please get in touch and speak to a member of our team, who will be able to advise you.
The Fund is financed by The National Lottery Community Fund and Big Society Capital. Because these sources include public money, we can only work with organisations registered in England and primarily benefiting communities in England. Digital organisations will need to demonstrate their primary audiences are based in England.
Charities, community interest companies, and community benefit societies with a recognised charitable purpose are eligible for investment. Other incorporated entities, such as companies limited by shares, will be considered based on the strength of their social mission and whether the majority of their profit will be reinvested into that mission. To be eligible, you must be able to demonstrate that your organisation:
To be eligible, your organisation should work with people and communities who fall within our scope of approved beneficiaries (although you do not need to work exclusively with these groups). This means that you must be able to demonstrate your organisation’s commitment to reaching and engaging these beneficiaries, understanding of their additional needs, and ability to support these needs.
If your organisation’s beneficiaries do not fit within the list below but you think your organisation may still be eligible for investment, please get in touch and speak to a member of our team, who will be able to advise you.
As part of our objective to support arts and cultural organisations to develop their impact capacity, the Fund offers 1-to-1 impact management support to all organisations in its portfolio, tailored to the needs and goals of each organisation. This typically includes support developing tools such as your Theory of Change and evaluation framework, reviewing your impact reporting, and reflecting on and embedding learning into your approach. It also includes guidance on setting appropriate social impact targets for your financial offset.
We expect all organisations we invest in to be committed to improving their social impact practice and engaging with this impact management support. Engagement with this support is a requirement for receiving the social impact financial offset.
If you are not sure whether any of these exclusions apply to your organisation, please get in touch and speak with a member of our team, who will be able to advise you.
For fund-specific enquiries, please contact Trishna Nath.