Pathways to Innovation
Pathways to Innovation is a business support programme which aims to help organisations grow their business, bring new products and services to market, or find available funding. If you're an entrepreneur, or you're running an SME based in Gateshead, you could access advice on grants, loans, intellectual property and developing new products.
The Gateshead Startup Skills Programme is a programme to help startups in the first few years of businesses. You'll receive a grant of up to £1000 to be used for, 'items/services that are beneficial to the business, such as stock, materials, marketing software, insurance costs or small items of equipment'. If you're based in Gateshead borough, registered with Companies House or HMRC and you've been trading for less than three years, you can sign up for the programme.
South Tyneside Business Growth Grant Scheme
The South Tyneside Business Growth Grant Scheme is available to SMEs and independent entities of larger businesses operating, or planning to operate in South Tyneside, that are planning projects which will increase employment with local job creation and apprenticeship opportunities. Grants will be between £20,000 and £50,000.
Startup Awards North East
Startup Awards North East is an awards programme which sees prospective entrepreneurs and business owners take their ideas or their organisation to the next level. You can apply for SkillUp, StartUp or ScaleUp based on where your business is, and 15 individuals will be selected for the programme. These individuals will receive business support and guidance to create or grow their organisation, and then enter the live final to compete for the High Growth and Social Impact awards.
£200,000 grants from Northstar Ventures
Northstar Ventures has partnered with the Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland to offer community businesses who are facing barriers to access finance £200,000 in grant funding alongside a loan. To qualify, organisations should be, 'supporting activities related to one or more areas of social need.'
Business Growth Fund
The Business Growth Fund is a £3.5m investment programme, which is offering businesses grants of up to 30% of expenditure for projects that otherwise would be unable to proceed. Businesses must be planning capital investment of at least £67,000, and must be expanding or establishing in the areas of Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council, North of Tyne Combined Authority, or Sunderland City Council.
Social Enterprise Boost
The Social Enterprise Boost is a funding opportunity from the North East Growth Hub. It's aim is to, 'kick start and accelerate social enterprise activity in local areas and demonstrate social enterprises’ impact on their communities.' New social entrepreneurs in Sunderland and South Tyneside can get from £1000 to £5000 funding to start and grow their business.
Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust
The Catherine Cookson Charitable Trust makes donations to worthy causes in the UK. Grants are between £100 and £100,000, but occasionally larger amounts in exceptional circumstances. Organisations involved in education, training, environment, conservation, arts, culture and general charitable purposes in North East England are encouraged to apply.
BEST: Business Energy Saving Team
BEST is the Business Energy Saving Team, and can help businesses in the North East save money on their energy. You can apply on BEST's website by providing some information about your business, and your energy consumption. The BEST energy team review the information, and then provide tailored advice on how you can be more energy efficient. You can also request a grant application form, where you can apply to claim grant reimbursment for the energy saving works carried out.
The Oli Bennett Charitable Trust
The Oli Bennett Charitable Trust aims to provide financial support, where other methods of fundraising have failed, and to offer advice to young people from all backgrounds to help turn their business ideas into sustainable, profitable organisations. Grants will be considered for those aged between 18-30, who are UK residents.
Workplace Charging Scheme
The Government's Workplace Charging Scheme is a voucher-based scheme which can help businesses and charities finance the purchase and installation of Electric Vehicle charging points. Eligible organisations can receive funding for up to 75% of the total costs, capped at a limit of £350 per socket, and 40 sockets across all sites. Check your eligibility on the government website.
Make Smarter Adoption North East
Make Smarter Adoption North East helps manufacturing businesses go digital by providing organisations in and around Tees Valley with support and funding. Businesses can receive a digital roadmap to help identify how their business could benefit from digital tools, innovation vouchers of up to £500 to help them access expert advice, and grants of up to £20,000 to help implement new software and equipment.
The North East Ambition Programme
The North East Ambition Programme is offering, ‘free, impartial consultancy service to small businesses in the North East, helping them to identify the skills needs, training and finance options that will help them grow.’ SMEs can get help creating action plans, finding training courses, funding options, employment programmes and building partnerships with schools and colleges.
Vehicle Upgrade Grant
The Clean Air Zone scheme is offering grants to drivers of non-compliant vehicles to upgrade or replace their taxi, private-hire car, bus, coach or HGV. The vehicle being purchased must meet Clean Air Zone emissions requirements, and applicants will have to evidence their business travel in the Clean Air Zone. Eligible applicants can receive up to £3,500 for taxis and private hire vehicles, £4,000 for wheelchair accessible taxis, £4,500 for light goods vehicles, and £16,000 for HGVs, buses and coaches.
Challenge North Tyne invites SMEs to submit solutions for challenges that our region faces. Successful ideas will receive up to £5000 in prototype funding, and will take part in a co-design programme to see these ideas tested. Challenges are posted on their website; and local businesses can also post challenges themselves.
UnLtd Awards
If you're a social entrepreneur, 'people who have started, or looking to start, a social venture, someone who is driven by their passion to make a difference' or a social venture, 'an organisation whose purpose is to create impact but has a financially sustainable business model to continue to make a difference', you can apply for UnLtd Awards for up to £8000 and £18,000 respectively alongside business support.
Sainsbury’s Innovation Investments
Sainsburys have launched the Innovations Investments program, which will 'invest in early-stage companies commercialising innovative, sustainable technologies that look to reduce operational carbon emissions and water usage.' The first investment will be announced before the end of 2022, but they're planning to invest £5m in businesses over the next 4 years. You can enquire at this link.
National Insurance contributions relief for veterans
If you employ a veteran, you're entitled to National Insurance contributions relief. An employee qualifies as a veteran if, 'they have served at least one day in the regular armed forces', or 'completed at least one day of basic training'. You can find more information on how to access this relief on the government website.
B&Q Foundation
The B&Q Foundation offer grants to charities who are looking to improve homes and community spaces for, 'those who need it most'. It's awarded over £2.4million since its inception in June 2020. Applicants need to be registered charities.
This scheme from the government allows small businesses who own their own property in England and Wales to upgrade their boiler to an air source heat pump, a biomass boiler, or a ground source heat pump. Businesses can get up to £6000 off the cost an installation.
Funding to Support Disadvantaged Young People and Offenders (UK)
With this grant from The Weavers' Company, eligible charities and organisations could receive up to £15,000 towards projects which help support offenders and ex-offenders, aswell as disadvantaged young people (those aged between 5 and 30). You can complete an application form online, and the deadline is 14th July 2022.
Arrow Project from Newcastle University
Arrow Project is a program designed to help North East SMEs innovate and grow. It's a completely free service which can be accessed by businesses who are looking to expand, or brand new businesses and start-ups. Get help with proof of concept and validation, help with research and development, and specialist data science expertise.
The Northern Accelerator is a collaboration between Durham, Newcastle, Northumbria and Sunderland Universities, focusing on the commercialisation of research to support local and national economic growth. They run a number of funds, which are designed to help academics train in business, and get their business ideas off the ground. Find out more on their website.
North of Tyne Innovation Recovery Grant
The North of Tyne Innovation Recovery Grant is designed to help businesses in Northumberland, Newcastle and North Tyneside fund projects which 'create and safeguard good quality jobs, build a more inclusive economy and/or contribute towards the net zero agenda'. Download the application pack to get started.
If your business is trading in the UK, and has been adversely affected by the pandemic, you can apply for the UK government’s Recovery Loan Scheme. This scheme is to ‘help businesses of any size access loans and other kinds of finance so they can recover after the pandemic and transition period.’ Eligible businesses can receive up to ten million pounds.
The Finance Durham Fund can support a huge range of businesses, and offers £200,000 to £700,000 in debt, equity and mezzanine funding. Eligible businesses must be ‘based in, or in the process of relocating to, County Durham at the time the investment is made’. You’ll also need to submit a detailed investment proposal, a detailed business plan, and an analysis of financial projections.
Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme
Is your broadband struggling to keep up with your business? Get some vouchers with the Gigabit voucher scheme, and you can use them to contribute to ‘the installation cost of a gigabit-capable connection. Businesses can claim up to £2,500 against the cost of connection either individually or as part of a group project. Residents can benefit from the scheme with a voucher worth £500 as part of a group project.’
The Yapp Charitable Trust makes grants to cover running costs and salaries for charities in England and Wales. They offer grants to registered charities, for work which focuses on one of their priority groups; elderly people, young people aged 5-25, people with physical impairments or disabilities, learning difficulties or mental health difficulties, social welfare and education and learning. They also prioritise, ‘work that is unattractive to the general public or unpopular with other funders’. You can download an application form from their website.
Scaleup North East is a programme designed for businesses wanting to grow and develop sustainably, by providing one to one support, action plans and funding. Scaleup North East offers all of this as well as broker strategic partnerships, advice, masterclasses and workshops. If you’re based in the North East and have fewer than 250 employees, you can apply.
Natwest Entrepreneur Accelerator
Natwest Entrepreneur Accelerator is, ‘a six-month programme for entrepreneurs with high growth businesses who are looking to scale up.’ If you’re an established entrepreneur who wants to take your business to the next level, you can get free office space, Wi-Fi, 1:1 coaching and access to business mentors. This is a fully funded programme, and Natwest don’t take any equity in any business.
The New Enterprise Allowance is a weekly allowance of up to £1,274 over 26 weeks, and is designed to help those on Universal Credit, Jobseekers Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance start their own businesses. You can also access mentoring through this scheme. To get started you’ll need to talk to your Jobcentre Plus work coach.
Get business support with the Prince’s Trust
The Prince’s Trust is a great organisation for young people wanting to start their own businesses. If you’re between 18 and 30 and have an idea for a business, you can join the Enterprise programme. It’s a great way to get your business started, and in special circumstances there are even grants available.
The Business Clinic at Northumbria University
The Business Clinic is an education scheme set up by Northumbria University, designed to give final year undergraduate and masters students on the ground experience working with real businesses. If you're looking for consultancy advice for your business, or you have a specific problem, The Business Clinic offers their services for free.
The North East Fund
This new fund is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, and will be investing £120m in 600 businesses in and around the North East. There are 5 separate funds within the North East Fund, and the majority of SMEs should be eligible for at least one of them.
The Community Foundation
This organisation funds legally charitable work, and provides grants to groups trying to, 'keep their services or activities going, expand them or work in new areas' as well as projects which aim to, 'improve services, develop your staff and trustees or work on your longer-term plans'. The average grant is £6000, and if you're based in Tyne and Wear or Northumberland you can apply at any time.
The Hadrian Trust provide grants to charities and groups working with people or the environment in the North East. Grants provided are usually between £500 and £2000, and can be used for running costs, project costs, part salaries and basic equipment. You can apply online or by post.
This programme offers loans to businesses, which can be used to ''grow your business, take on new staff or manage cashflow''. Funding Circle offer loans from £5,000 - £1 million, and offer free early repayment. Just fill in the online form to see if you're eligible.
Knowledge Transfer Fund - Read our original post
This fund is still running and offers support when you hire a graduate. They have different deadlines for each sector, so check their website for details.
AGE 16-24 - Read our original post
If you're thinking about hiring an apprentice this fund is still available.
North East Business Support Fund - Read our original post
This fund offers up to £2800 towards your next business venture. You can apply online, and the process should only take 15 minutes. There are still dedicated offers for businesses in County Durham.
R&D Tax Credits - Read our original post
You can still claim tax relief if a project you're running aims to advance science or technology.
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