Energy Resilience Fund

Do you want to reduce your energy costs and your carbon footprint?

To help organisations access the right funding and improve their energy efficiency, Social Investment Business has joined up with Big Issue Invest, Charity Bank, Co-operative and Community Finance, GMCVO, Groundwork UK, Key Fund, Resonance, The Architectural Heritage Fund and The Ubele Initiative to launch the Energy Resilience Fund. It’s a fund worth £15m funded by Better Society Capital, Access – The Foundation for Social Investment, and Social Investment Business Foundation.

The new Energy Resilience Fund (ERF) provides a blended funding package of loan (60%) and grant (40%) to bolster the energy resilience of eligible charities and social enterprises in England. The ERF succeeds the pilot Energy Resilience Fund managed by Key Fund.

Eligible organisations can apply for blended funding of between £25,000 and £250,000 to install energy saving measures or energy generation technology. The ERF could pay for a range of energy efficiency measures, for example, energy efficient lighting systems, insulation upgrades, glazing upgrades, small scale wind turbines, solar PV panel systems, battery storage systems, solar water heating systems, heat pumps and electric vehicles. The fund could also be used to pay for related costs including capital, labour and project management costs, revenue losses and contingency.

Who is this investment fund for?

Charities and social enterprises based in and delivering impact in England, who are looking to improve their energy resilience. This could be for many different reasons, for example reduced carbon emissions, energy cost savings, upgrading energy efficiency ratings to meet future regulations, increased use or comfort of buildings, replacing older vehicles and equipment with modern energy efficient versions.

What's on offer:

• Loans between £25,000 - £250,000
• 40% of the total funding offered as a grant (e.g. 60% loan, 40% grant)
• Loan term: 1 – 10 years
• Interest rate: 8.5%
• Loan Arrangement Fee 2.5% on loan value

Eligibility criteria:

• Must be an incorporated entity voluntary, community or social enterprise organisation based in England.
• Must by Constituted for social benefit and improving people’s lives or the environments they live in.
• A minimum of 2 years’ operating activity.
• A minimum turnover of £100k in your last set of end of year accounts.
• Fewer than 250 employees and either an annual turnover not exceeding £40m
• Freehold ownership or a suitable written lease agreement with a minimum of 12 years remaining on it if you are applying to install energy saving/ generating measures to buildings/ land