About us

The Futurebuilders Fund is managed by The Social Investment Business, the UK’s largest social investor.

Futurebuilders provides loan financing, often combined with grants and professional support, to third sector organisations in England that need investment to help them bid for, win and deliver public service contracts.

The aim of the Fund is to substantially improve the financial and strategic capability of the third sector so that it can play an ever greater role in improving the lives of the people and communities it serves.

Download the Futurebuilders England 2008-2011 Investment Plan - Revised April 09 (PDF format)

Investment - loans, grants and professional support

Futurebuilders provides sustained, flexible and individual professional support to organisations that are delivering public services. We ensure that they have the right financial, managerial and governance structures to take on investment loans and to compete successfully for contracts in the public sector.

We offer four different interest rates. The rates have been set with due consideration for what other competitors are charging, for example Charity Bank. They also reflect the current commercial lending positions of the major banks who lend to less risky, and often less complex, proposals than Futurebuilders.

Third sector involvement in delivering public services

By offering investment to organisations that want to increase their capacity to bid for - and win - public sector contracts, Futurebuilders promotes third sector involvement in delivering public services.

We provide a range of products including:

• Full Investment Fund loans, which are often offered with additional grant funding and professional support
• Tender Fund loans, which are smaller, over a shorter time and interest-free for three years
• Small Organisation Tender Fund grants
• Consortia Fund loans, which are a combination of loan finance and professional support
• Cashflow Fund loans, to cover short term cashflow needs required to bid for, win and deliver public sector contracts
• Modernisation Fund interest free loans, to help organisations be more resilient to the impact of the economic downturn

Futurebuilders often provides additional professional consultancy support to applicant organisations that need to develop skills or knowledge in a certain area, prior to, or while, acquiring contracts for delivering public services.