The opportunity to benefit from a £20,000 grant is being offered to social enterprises in Wales.

NatWest is offering social enterprises the chance to receive the grant to develop a project that creates a direct social impact on a community with need.

Part of a UK-wide celebration of the 20th year of Social & Community Capital (S&CC) – an independent charity launched by NatWest in 1999 – the grant is intended to create a positive impact on people who are considered vulnerable and marginalised.

A £20,000 grant will be offered to an organisation in each of the following regions: Wales; Scotland; the North; the Midlands and East of England; the South West; London and the South East; and Northern Ireland.

In order for businesses to apply they must meet NatWest’s eligibility criteria, which include being UK-based and focused, having social aims, having been trading for at least two years and having a turnover of up to £2.5m per year.

Paul Edwards, Regional Managing Director South West and Wales, said:

“NatWest has a strong focus on helping the community, so it is fantastic to be able to offer a local business additional funding that they can use to make a positive impact locally. We encourage all qualifying businesses to apply.”

S&CC was created to provide flexible loan finance to social ventures that may be unable to access mainstream funding. NatWest is the only bank to have set up a specialist vehicle to do this. The charity offers loan funding of between £30,000 and £750,000, and in the last five years has approved over £10m in loans to more than 80 organisations throughout the UK.

In 2018, S&CC loan funding led to more than 60,000 people and 117 groups being supported, more than 370 jobs created and a further 730-plus jobs maintained.

Simon Jacobs, Chair of Trustees at NatWest Social & Community Capital, said:

“The work that S&CC does throughout the UK is unrivalled in banking. I am honoured to be involved, and to have seen first-hand the amazing work that the ventures we support are able to do in their respective communities and areas. To have not only been going for 20 years, but to have grown exponentially is something the whole bank is rightfully proud of.

“None of it would have been possible however, without the fantastic businesses and business owners that we have worked alongside for the last two decades. Each one works for the benefit of others and they are some of the most fascinating and well-run businesses we have worked with in any capacity.

“To celebrate our 20th birthday with a series of grants available for the UK is the least we can do to help support the current generation of ventures, and we cannot wait to see who receives them.”