SEDA Catalyst Awards

Overview

It is aimed at established ventures that have great potential to make real, positive social change but need targeted support to grow and move to the next stage of their development.

The SEDA Catalyst Award is being offered by Santander and UnLtd as part of Santander's wider Social Enterprise Development Awards (SEDA): www.santanderseda.co.uk

They will make 70 SEDA Catalyst Awards each year over the next three years (from April 2014).

This Award is for established ventures that have great potential to make real, positive social change but need targeted support to grow and move to the next stage of their development and require the funds to invest in a growth project.

Your venture will:

• be eligible for a £5,000 Award if it has an annual turnover of between 25 - 75K and direct sales from between 20% - 50% of annual turnover
• be eligible for a £10,000 Award if it has an annual turnover of between 75 – 100k and direct sales from between 50%-100% of annual turnover

About You

• You are an ambitious social entrepreneur with high potential to create significant social change
• You need help to prioritise and become more business focused
• You have identified specific areas in which you need development to move your idea forward, but lack the funds to do it
• If you are a past or current UnLtd Award Winner you will have used your previous Award to maximum gain
• You have a business plan in place which is a logical and realistic route to achieving your goals

About your venture

• You have a successful model but need additional funds and support to bridge a gap to become ‘contract ready’
• You have a new market opportunity for your product or service but need support to access it

Catalyst Support includes:

• A cash Award of £5,000 or £10,000 to be spent on capital items and salaries for roles created to support growth; and knowledge and skills development in the following areas:
• planning for full cost recovery
• understanding and measuring social impact
• communication and public speaking
• brand development and marketing strategy
• financial planning and preparing management accounts
• developing useful connections and networks
• business model development focussed on creative ways to generate income to enable service delivery to those who cannot afford to pay for it
• project management
• pricing of products and time