Mayor of GM pledges support for Enterprising Communities Fund at official launch

Hoot has joined with other Greater Manchester Credit Unions Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), Access – The Foundation for Social Investment, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and GMVCO to deliver local investment with real impact.

The launch took place in Manchester in January and included a speech from GM Mayor, Andy Burnham, who spoke about the value of social investment for our communities and his support for the fund. He also spoke about the vital role of credit unions in the Greater Manchester social economy and how important it is that this fund enables people saving with their local credit union to invest in local organisations creating social impact. This means keeping Greater Manchester’s wealth in the city region and using it for social good.

Who is this investment fund for?

Any organisation or business trading for social good and working in Greater Manchester (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan) that is looking to grow their trading activity and has been trading for at least 6 months.

What’s on offer:

• Unsecured investments between £20,000 and £100,000.
• Blended finance; this means the investment includes a grant of an average of 20% of your total investment.
• An initial interest-only period of up to 6 months may be available.

Social investment is a loan given to organisations and businesses that are trading for a social, cultural or environmental benefit to bring about positive change. This could include addressing social needs, strengthening communities, improving people’s life chances, enhancing culture or protecting the environment.

To find out more go to https://www.gmcvo.org.uk/enterprising-communities-fund