Finance Your Business

Now that you have set up your organisation, opened your bank account and planned what your mission and goals are, it is time to think about how you will finance it. 

There are a number of options to choose from dependent upon your vision and overall goals, but you will usually need a combination of funding streams. 

Own investment 

Setting up a social enterprise will cost you some money, at least in the start-up phase, this could be minimal costs relating to registering as a CIC or marketing etc. 

Selling of products or services 

Selling products or your services is a good way to support your social enterprise to become sustainable, any profit which you make can help to pay for: - 

• Recruitment of staff members 

• Staff and/or volunteer training and development opportunities 

• Investment in capital equipment and other assets 

• Further development and innovation 

Grants and Funding 

Some organisations will offer start up grants, Business Doncaster has a team dedicated to supporting new businesses - Launch pad.  They can support with developing your skills, providing training and signposting to funding streams  https://www.businessdoncaster.co.uk/business-support/business-start-up/ 

You could hold fundraising events or ask for donations; local businesses may be happy to provide sponsorship or a donation.  It is really worth developing relationships in your local area and with like-minded businesses, they will likely want marketing of their services and may provide some staff volunteering time. 

Crowdfunding pages allow you to set a goal of how much money you would like to raise and set a deadline of when you need to achieve your goal.  You can also offer incentives for anyone who wishes to donate.  There are a number of types of crowdfunding and online platforms which can be used, our factsheet provides further details click here

There are a variety of local, regional and national funding streams available to groups, each have their own set of criteria. Please visit our grants and funding page for some of the available funding streams