News Archive
The Dog Inn
Sometimes just the offer of finance can make all the difference to a community trying to raise funds. Last year a commitment by the Community Shares Fund to invest £50,000 if required gave the people of Belthorn in Lancashire the confidence to proceed with the purchase of The Dog Inn before the community share issue […]
Circus transforms mining community
We have received some unusual loan requests over the last 40 years, but never before has we funded equipment for aerial performance artists. Our loan was used to buy a new aerial rig for Organised Kaos Youth Circus, an extraordinary social enterprise based in a former mining village in south Wales. Operating from the old church […]
New base for Sparks
A popular child care co-operative in Bristol has moved premises, bought new play equipment and improved its financial resilience with the help of a loan from Co-operative & Community Finance. Sparks Play & Care, which provides high quality and convenient out-of-school childcare for some 150 families in the Ashley Down area of north Bristol, reopened […]
Before you apply
Before you start any application, make sure you have everything you might need at your fingertips; documents, contact details, photographs, promotional material, facts and figures. Preparation will make the process quicker and easier. Be sure to check out the organisation to which you are applying – check criteria, research what interests them, and follow any […]
Working with Ecology Building Society
Ethical finance groups work together Two long-established ethical finance organisations have agreed new arrangements that will make more money available to democratic enterprises in disadvantaged communities. Ecology Building Society has lent £500,000 to Co-operative & Community Finance, and under the terms of the government Community Investment Tax Relief (CITR) scheme this money will be used […]
Creating a co-operative pound
How should co-operatives finance growth? It is one of the biggest questions facing co-operative businesses today. Not all co-operatives want to grow. But when they do – particularly when a co-operative wants to expand quickly – there is challenge. Congress 2015 is a step towards the UK co-operative sector providing its own answers to the […]
Creative co-op raises £1.1m
Work is well underway on a £1.1m project to transform a row of seven empty Georgian houses in central Sheffield into a new community-owned centre for artists, designers and makers called The Roco. The Grade II listed buildings are being substantially redesigned to house galleries, workshops, studios, offices, events space, café/bar, terrace and roof garden. […]
Funding boost for ‘real farming’
A new package of funding and support for ‘real farming’ will be launched on 13 July. The Just Growth programme aims to nurture the development of community enterprises that are farming and producing food in an environmentally and socially responsible way. Co-operative & Community Finance is working in partnership with the Real Farming Trust and […]
Our members are… the owners!
Today (Friday 3 July 2015) is Employee Ownership Day; a unique opportunity to highlight and celebrate the significant benefits employee ownership delivers to the UK economy. Whether you are employee owned, interested in what employee ownership might do for your business, work with employee-owned businesses, or have a general interest in employee ownership, now is the time […]
Our members are… Caring
Carers Week is an annual campaign which raises awareness of caring, highlights the challenges faced by carers and recognises the contribution they make to families and communities throughout the UK. This years’ Carers Week (8-14 June) focuses on building Carer Friendly Communities; communities which support carers to look after their loved ones well, while recognising […]