Grant News
Co-operatives UK - Community Shares Booster Fund is now open for new applications, offering business development grants and repayable equity match investment to support community share offers by community businesses in England.
Eligible applicants include new and existing community businesses at any stage of planning or delivering a community share issue, from early preparation through to launch readiness. Priority is given to organisations in disadvantaged or under-represented communities and projects addressing local priorities such as climate action or digital inclusion.
Two streams of funding are available:
- Development grants, typically between £2,000 and £15,000 (average around £8,000) to support activities such as financial planning, governance, marketing and achieving Community Shares Standard Mark compliance;
- Equity match investment, generally from £10,000 to £50,000, to match funds raised through the share offer.
The deadline for development grant expressions of interest is 27 March 2026, with completed applications required by 1 April 2026. Match-investment applications will continue to be considered beyond this date.
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