The Social Investment Gateway Programme is a free 12-month programme delivered by the School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) with support from Access – The Foundation for Social Investment. It helps charities, social enterprises and community organisations become investment-ready by strengthening their trading income, business model and organisational resilience. The programme is aimed at organisations that:

Want to grow their trading income.
Are considering social investment within the next three years.
Need support with areas such as governance, finance, marketing, impact measurement and business development.
Have an active trading model and ambitions to scale.

It is open to charities, social enterprises and community organisations based in England, including CICs. Organisations should normally have an annual income of £100,000+, although those with lower incomes but a strong trading model are encouraged to discuss eligibility with SSE.

Participants receive fully funded business support and can apply for either:

Match Trading™ Grant of up to £18,000, or
Repayable grant of up to £24,000.

Deadline
Applications for the current round close at 12 noon on 6 November 2026. The next cohort runs from March 2027 to February 2028.

https://www.the-sse.org/programme/social-investment-gateway-programme/