Applications are now being welcomed to a new £3million fund to support social enterprises as they improve the economic, social and environmental life of Kent and its residents.

The money has been made available by Kent County Council after it was agreed that a one-off budget allocation totalling £5million would be made available. With this latest £3million being used for supporting social enterprises, the remaining £2million has been set aside to tackle youth unemployment through the Kent Employment Programme, expected to be developed later this year.

Launched by Kent County Council in partnership with the charity Kent Community Foundation, the Big Society Fund will help social enterprise at a time when finance from high street banks and grant funding from the public sector is increasingly difficult.

The £3million will be made available via the Kent Community Foundation over the next three years. Loans available will normally be between £10,000 and £100,000 and the repayments will be fed back into the fund to continue to provide new loans to other organisations.

The county-based charity the Kent Community Foundation has many years’ experience of managing funds for the benefit of the Kent community. Any additional donations into the Big Society Fund from private individuals and businesses will be eligible for tax relief and gift aid. KCC and KCF hope to also attract money from philanthropic and other sources to help support the fund.

Applications can be made online at http://www.kentcf.org.uk/loan_funding.html .

Mike Hill, KCC Cabinet Member for Customer and Communities, said: "The Kent Big Society Fund will help social enterprises to make a real difference to local people and the local economy. It is also an excellent opportunity for new organisations to realise their ambitions to benefit individuals and local businesses."

Carol Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Kent Community Foundation, said: "We hope that this source of funding will encourage more community-based enterprise to tackle social issues and turn around disadvantaged lives and communities. We believe this type of fund will be particularly helpful to social enterprises which might struggle to find finance elsewhere. An example of the kind of enterprise we hope to see applying could be a business, such as a bike shop or a caterer, set up to give training and employment to vulnerable people."

© Hawkinge Gazette and Channel Coast News 2012