This investment will enable Social Investment Business to provide affordable loans to charities and social enterprises as they adjust to the impact of Covid 19. For many social sector organisations, the pandemic has driven an increased need for their services while at the same time disrupting income and delivery models. 

The Recovery Loan Fund will work with experienced social investor delivery partners including Big Issue Invest, Charity Bank, Key Fund, Resonance, Wales Council for Voluntary Action and Social Investment Scotland and will make the benefit of the government’s Recovery Loan Scheme guarantee more easily accessible to charities and social enterprises. 

The Church of England worked alongside other investors together taking funds raised to date by the Recovery Loan Fund to £21.5m including follow-on commitments.

Vanessa Morphet, Head of Social Impact Investment at the Church of England’s Archbishops’ Council, said:
“Throughout the pandemic charities and social enterprises have played a vital role in helping vulnerable people and communities. Access to affordable credit is important for these organisations to continue to adapt and thrive in a rapidly changing environment. We are very pleased that the Recovery Loan Fund will bring together government support and deep local lending expertise to enable our funding to provide access to affordable finance for organisations well placed to continue to serve their communities.”

The Social Impact Investment Programme, was established within The Archbishops’ Council in 2021 with £16 million of grant funding from the Church Commissioners for England. The programme exists to deploy social investment capital to advance the Church of England’s missional objectives and will support projects which share the Church of England’s Christian values and benefit society.

This follows the announcement on 1 November 2021 of the first investment to be made by the Programme which was in support of the Women in Safe Homes Fund.