The Venturesome Impact Fund will remain continuously open for applications, providing affordable funding to social purpose organisations in the UK.
The UK’s Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has started a new social investment fund following a £10m (€8.4m) injection of philanthropic capital from private clients, businesses and other foundations. The CAF aims to eventually double the size of the fund to £20m.
The Venturesome Impact Fund will focus on providing affordable and payable funding to organisations in the UK. The vehicle is a so-called ‘evergreen’ fund, meaning it is always open for applications.
“As we mark our centenary this year, we are excited to launch our new ‘always-on’ social investment offering to provide what social purpose organisations say they need from social investment and address where there are currently gaps in the market,” said Ashling Cashmore, head of impact and advisory at CAF.
The new fund “allows one pot of money to benefit many different organisations and causes throughout the UK”, Cashmore said. “Helping them to grow and accelerate their impact will improve communities and individual lives, and have a positive influence on the environment.”
WWI origins
The fund will provide mostly unsecured loans, standby facilities and blended finance packages, ranging from £50,000 to £1m with a fixed interest rate of 5.5% per year, over a period of three to five years.
The CAF can trace its origins back to 1924, when it was founded as the Charities Departments by the National Council of Social Service following the First World War.
What started with a £1,000 gift from a British Army captain who died in WWI, has now grown into the annual distribution of £1bn to non-profit organisations around the world each year.
