Social enterprise support
In addition to GLL’s Social Enterprise Accelerator Programme, there is a wide range of practical and financial support available to help you scale up your social business.
The School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE)
The SSE online workshops are a great option for you to access invaluable support and information to build the skills you need to run and expand your business. Workshops include:
Advice on how to write a successful funding application | How to tell stories to drive impact | Practical beginner’s advice for measuring social impact | How to build relationships with corporate businesses
Starting your social enterprise, or ready to scale up? The SSE delivers programmes nationwide, offering year-long support to get your business off the ground. Accelerate your progress with expert guidance and deliver the change you want to see in your communities.
Complete Business Reference Advisor
COBRA: Complete Business Reference Advisor is a business database that includes a library of up-to-date information on a wide range of business topics, including legal framework advice and funding advice for social businesses. If you have a library card for any of the following locations, you can access this resource for free.
Libraries with free access to COBRA:
· Bromley
· Greenwich
· Wandsworth
Funding Options
There are a number of UK-wide funding opportunities to help scale up and grow your social business. You can find more information below:
- Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) Bank: Big-impact funding for UK charities and social enterprises with loans from £150,000 to £5 million.
- Charity Bank: Funding mission-driven organisations across the UK with loans up to £4 million.
- Co-operative & Community Finance: Loans from £10,000 to £150,000 for employee and community-owned social enterprises, co-ops, and community firms.
- Good Finance: Helping charities and social enterprises navigate social investment with tools, investor directories, and guidance to find the right funding.
- The Growth Impact Fund: Provides loans and investments from £50,000 to £1.5 million to social enterprises in the UK.
- Responsible finance providers: Local, independent loan providers supporting community and social enterprises in disadvantaged areas. Many are part of Responsible Finance, offering further info and contacts across the UK.
- School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE): Online workshops, resources, and support for social enterprises driving social and environmental impact.
- Social Investment Business: Supports social enterprises with funding to grow, scale, and stay sustainable.
- TrustLaw from the Thomas Reuters Foundation: Connects social enterprises with pro bono legal support, expert training, events, and online tools to tackle legal challenges with confidence.
- UnLtd: Provides support and funding for social enterprises across the UK.
Business Events and masterclasses
At GLL, we are committed in supporting you to build and expand a successful social business. In our 30 years of operation, we have built a model to be proud of, and we want to share our experiences with you.
We are working to develop a number of business events and masterclasses, creating opportunities to learn about social enterprise from our perspective and network with others. If you are local to Greenwich, Bromley, Dudley or Wandsworth, follow our Start Up Eventbrite page for future events
Coming soon
Accelerator Hub
Resources and guidance to support your social business
Start
Discover how social enterprises like GLL put people before profit and see if the business model works for you.
From tailored programmes and events to masterclasses and additional support, see how we can support your social business.
Accelerate
Start Up to scale up
If you’re looking to develop your business in areas where we operate, find out how our Business Start Up service may be able to help you.
Running a social business with GLL
Practical advice for starting and developing your business with our support, and opportunities for future and existing partners.
Impact
Our spaces, your mission. See how you can use our spaces for your social business.
Additional support that we can offer to social businesses that partner with us, to make an even greater difference in our communities.