Coronavirus: Funding and support schemes for small businesses, social enterprises and the self-employed

Below is what we spotted on the internet, hope it helps our tech founders and business owners to weather the storm and come out stronger.

 

Self-employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) to be doubled for November

Following the announcement of a second lockdown, Rishi Sunak has doubled the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) back to 80% for November, More details here

 

Government extends business furlough scheme until December at 80%

The government has extended the furlough scheme for UK small business employees at 80 per cent of wages for days not worked. More details here

 

Reskilling the Recovery fund for London small companies

London Progression Collaboration has launched a fund created from large employers’ unspent apprenticeship levy funds to support the recovery of SMEs in London from the COVID-19 crisis. SMEs can access funding to pay for apprentices. More details here.

 

National Emergencies Trust fund 

Smaller charities, not for profit organisations, social enterprises and unregistered community groups can apply for grants of up to £10,000 to help them deliver support to vulnerable groups within their communities. Organisations should contact their local community foundation to apply for funding. You can search for your local foundation here.

 

Shared Workspace Support Programme

London Business Hub has launched this programme to provide free online support to workspaces providers in London and their tenants. More information here.

 

Grassroots Music Venue Crisis Service

The Grassroots Music Venue Crisis Service provides support to grassroots music venues facing urgent and immediate challenges relating to COVID-19. More details here.

 

Emergency trading funding for businesses on the island of Ireland

InterTradeIreland is funding professional advice, to the value of £2,000/€2,250 inc VAT, for cross-border companies in manufacturing and tradable services, to address key business challenges related to COVID-19. More details here.

 

Funding for social enterprises

Big Society Capital and its partners have various funding schemes to support social enterprises. More details here.

 

Theatre Community Fund

This fund is emergency support for freelancers in the UK theatre industry launched by actresses Olivia Colman and Phoebe Waller-Bridge and producer Francesca Moody. Among the donations to the fund is £500,000 from Amazon Prime Video. More details here.

 

BenSoc fund for photographers

BenSoc, a charity which supports professional photographers and photography lab technicians, is offering small grants. More details here.

 

Capacity Building Grants Scheme

This scheme from the Comic Relief Community Fund is providing £1,000 grants to charities, voluntary and community organisations, social enterprises and CICs in England to “become stronger and more robust and better able to deliver projects that bring about lasting change”. More details here.

 

The Leicestershire Business Recovery Fund

This fund provides support for rural businesses (including tourism, agriculture and creative industries) and independent retail businesses, to enable them to overcome the impacts they may have faced or are still facing, as a result of COVID-19. More details here.

 

Creative Scotland fund 

Funding between £1,000 and £50,000 is available for freelance and self-employed artists and creative practitioners in Scotland as well as organisations and groups based in Scotland whose work or project involves the arts, screen and creative industries. More information here.

 

The Resilience & Recovery Loan Fund

This is a fund for social enterprises and charities that are improving people’s lives across the UK but are experiencing disruption to their normal business model as a result of COVID-19. Applications close at 5pm on 13 November. More details.

 

Women’s Sector Resilience Fund

This scheme provides funding to women’s organisations and services in England that are supporting women aged 18+ whose poverty has been exacerbated by the pandemic or those that have been pushed into new poverty and financial hardship. More details here.

 

Creative Support Fund for Northern Ireland arts sector

The Department for Communities is contributing £1m to support arts organisations and the Arts Council is contributing £500,000 from its National Lottery Fund to support freelance artists, creative practitioners and performers.

Small and medium sized organisations will be able to apply for maximum funding of £25,000 to help them develop new projects or programmes or re-arrange events which have had to be cancelled during the COVID-19 period. More information here.