Dormant Assets Scheme - Update - November 2024
Government reconfirms £87.5 million from the Dormant Assets Scheme will support charities and social enterprises through social investment.
The Government has reconfirmed the release of £87.5 million from the Dormant Assets Scheme to support community organisations struggling to access mainstream finance. This includes £12.5 million for organisations that support improved youth outcomes.
Pathway Fund welcomes the Government’s recent reconfirmation as to the allocation of funds emanating from the Dormant Assets Scheme, to social investment.
Between 2024 and 2028, trading charities, social enterprises, co-operatives, and other forms of community enterprise, will benefit from £87.5 million emanating from the Dormant Assets Scheme.
Following this announcement, Pathway Fund is pleased to see that a significant proportion of youth-focused organisations will be supported through social investment. We work, ultimately, to inspire the next generation of Black and Ethnically Minoritised leaders. Indeed, many of our programmes, including the Enterprise Development Programme – Make it Big, led by Do It Now Now – are supporting organisations that work to better youth outcomes.
With today’s announcement, at least £12.5 million of the £87.5 million social investment allocation will be utilised, to enable organisations that support improved youth outcomes, to so build resilience and expand their impact.
This will, crucially, all allow finance to flow to Black and Ethnically Minoritised-led charities, co-operatives and social enterprises looking to grow or diversify their business models – something we at Pathway are determined to see happen.
Partners from across social investment and social enterprise sectors, with backing from civil society, philanthropy, and mainstream businesses, have developed the Community Enterprise Growth Plan which sets out proposals for deploying Dormant Asset via social investment. A three-pronged approach will deliver tailored enterprise support, increase the availability of affordable and flexible loans, and build a robust and equitable social investment market.
This would all beneficially contribute to the Government’s mission-driven, purpose-driven, inclusive growth agenda, with Pathway Fund, in turn, looking forward to seeing growth of that nature realised, across the UK.
Bonnie Chiu, co-founder of Pathway Fund, said:
“It’s important that we harness the opportunity offered by Black and Ethnically Minoritised social enterprises, this being an excellent opportunity for the Government to do so.
Those organisations are doing great things in their communities – and we know from the Adebowale Commission on Social Investment, that they hold the key to unlocking this country’s growth potential. It’s therefore essential that we use any support in a targeted manner, providing it to those who know exactly how to leverage that change.
Indeed, we’re pleased to see this Government showing its commitment to realise the potential of young people. We know that young, Black and Ethnically Minoritised, people are vital to the success of this country’s economy – they offer so much potential and are doing such great things. We see that from our programmes.
We’ve been working with the likes of Do it Now Now, through our Enterprise Development Programme, to see Black and Ethnically Minoritised youths enter employment, higher education, and build community-transforming businesses, in their local areas. It’s these sorts of organisations that need to see the benefit of this catalysation – and Pathway Fund is committed to seeing this happen.
We look forward to working with our partners, Access – The Foundation for Social Investment and Better Society Capital, as we continue to work to see the opportunity presented by these high-growth potential organisations, harnessed, at a crucial time for the UK’s economy.”
Learn more about the announcement, here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/dormant-assets-scheme-allocating-350-million-for-england