Social Lending - Help available for Charities during the Pandemic from KCF

Kent Community Foundation is still taking applications for their social lending programmes designed to help local charities, CIOs and CICs amid the pandemic.

The Kent Community Foundation (KCF) has two options available to support charities, CICs and CIOs in Kent and Medway; their Coronavirus Emergency Bridging Loans and The Kent Social Enterprise Loan Fund (KSELF).

Emergency Bridging Loans are designed to help bridge the gap in income left due to the interruption to 'business as usual' during this time. Up to £60,000 is available as an unsecured loan with an immediate 6 month repayment holiday, and the Foundation aims to turn around applications in just four weeks.

The KCF also have The Kent Social Enterprise Loan Fund (KSELF), which is a blended loan and grant funding programme.

KSELF is a social lending programme, aiming to bridge the increasing funding gap for new and existing social enterprises in Kent and Medway, by offering unsecured loans of between £10,000 and £100,000. KCF say the financial package will include an element of up to 30% grant of the loan amount.

You can find more details about KSELF on the KCF website.

At the time of writing, the schemes can be seen as continuous rolling programmes, so there is no deadline and applications can be accepted at any time.

To apply for, or if you have any questions on, either of these funds within social lending you can contact James Horne, the Fund Manager at KCF, by email at james@kentcf.org.uk, or call 01303 815 153