A SEARCH to find the country's most promising social enterprises is being rolled out nationally after a pilot in the North East last year.
Prize money of £285,000 will be split among nine not-for-profit businesses in the North East by Santander’s Social Enterprise Development Awards.
After last year’s success the judges are looking to hand out prizes of £50,000, £30,000 or £15,000 depending on each winner’s turnover.
Craig Iley, Santander regional director, said: “The SEDA Awards are part of Santander’s commitment to supporting small businesses in the UK, helping to support economic development across the country.
“The North East is a hugely important part of the UK economy and we’re sure that the calibre of entrants here will be exceptionally high. Social enterprises play a vital role in local communities across this region, helping to deliver social regeneration and we’re looking for those with the potential to expand their work.”
The awards are targeted at groups that can fund one of three community benefits: supporting disadvantaged people who live in poverty or those with learning difficulties, improving social inclusion, or creating a greener environment for communities. The prize fund of £2.28m is split equally across eight regions – North East, North West, London & South East, South West, Midlands, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. There will be nine winners selected from each region, three for each award category.
Last year the North East winners were Trust in the North, which is based in South East Northumberland, the Rising Sun Farm Trust in North Tyneside and Hextol in Hexham.
Trust in the North won £50,000 which it is using to buy new equipment and to boost the community organisation’s sales expertise for its successful confectionery business, Kenspeckle in Lynemouth. It also runs a community centre in a former hotel.
The Rising Sun Farm Trust, in North Tyneside, won the £30,000 prize to help run community initiatives including a day centre for people with learning disabilities and educational schemes in the 175-acre organic farm in the Rising Sun Country Park.
The money will go towards building new stables at the farm and improving other buildings on the estate in order to provide more social services.
The £15,000 award went to Hextol in Hexham, which runs three businesses staffed by people with disabilities and which helps to train and educate its staff in areas including catering, packing, decorating and gardening. The cash went to hire a sales person to build the business.
Alongside the prize money, winning social enterprises will receive access to support from Santander including mentoring programmes, funding for internships and university business courses and training. Winning organisations will also receive valuable input from The Community Foundation Tyne & Wear and Northumberland.
To enter , social enterprises can complete a short entry form downloadable from www.santanderseda.co.uk
The deadline is July 2, 2012.
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