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About

What We Do Social Finance involves the provision of repayable loan finance at affordable rates to community-based projects and local development initiatives (including individual and community micro-enterprise), which yield a social and financial return. Many of these projects experience difficulties in accessing either affordable finance, or finance at all, from mainstream financial institutions, resulting in economically and socially viable projects not going ahead.

Vantastic

The main focus for social finance lending is on community-based projects, social infrastructure and local development. Social finance lending also supports microfinance and very small businesses to set up, but only where they are unable to access the mainstream financial system and the promoters are currently unemployed and trying to get back into full time employment.

Notwithstanding its not-for-profit status, there is an onus on SFF to adopt a prudent and disciplined approach to its lending in order to seek to preserve the value of the Fund. This facilitates the recycling of funds to support the maximum number of suitable projects.

In line with the core principle of social finance under the terms of its Memorandum and Articles of Association, SFF cannot disburse grants - all funds distributed are repayable loans.

Delivery Model

With the establishment of the Social Finance Foundation a clear and coherent model is now in place to underpin the future development of social finance. The delivery model for this initiative comprises:

• Social Finance Foundation itself, with its role of sourcing and distributing funding to specialist Social Lending Organisations (SLOs)
• Social Lending Organisations (SLOs), responsible for screening and assessing loan applications for social finance support and managing the actual lending to projects and
• Borrowers of Social Finance through loans for social and community enterprise (community and local development organisations) and micro enterprises.

With the necessary funding in place to support social projects, the challenge for SFF and the SLOs is to promote the use of social finance in order to enhance the social infrastructure of the country.

SFF - Approved Social Lending Organisations (SLO's)

Clann Credo - specialising in community enterprise and social infrastructure throughout Ireland.

First Step Microfinance - specialising in microfinance for business start up throughout Ireland.

UCIT (Ireland) - specialising in community enterprise and social infrastructure throughout Ireland.

LEDP - specialising in both community development and micro-enterprise in the Limerick Region.

Cavan County Enterprise Fund - individual and community micro-enterprise in County Cavan.