Futurebuilders England gets off to a good start (17/11/2004)

18.04.2006

Futurebuilders England, (‘Futurebuilders’) the £125 million Home Office backed investment fund for the voluntary and community sector, has made a good start towards achieving the targets set out in its Investment Plan.

That is the message from Richard Gutch, Chief Executive of Futurebuilders England, who today is speaking at a major national conference being held in London organised by Action Planning.

Richard Gutch will tell delegates, “I am delighted with the response Futurebuilders has received so far from the voluntary and community sector. At the end of the first application window, the volume and distribution of applications was very encouraging and broadly consistent with our expectations in all areas except crime and community cohesion, where we will need to put special emphasis going forward."

During the first application window, which was open from 5th July to 31st October, Futurebuilders received 644 applications. The largest number of applications was from the field of health and social care (32%) with the least amount coming from the crime policy area (6%).

There was also a good cross section of organisations that applied for a Futurebuilders investment. Over a quarter of all applications were from black and minority ethnic led groups and a fifth of applicants were from organisations working in rural areas. Eight out of the ten applications were from local or regional organisations and a third of applicants were from groups with an income of less than £100,000 a year.

Richard Gutch will also remind delegates that Futurebuilders is not appropriate for all voluntary and community organisations. “We have made clear that Futurebuilders is specifically targeted at those organisations involved, or wanting to become involved, in public service delivery and who are willing to take out a loan. For those that are, we offer a unique source of financing and expertise”.

Peter Wheeler, Chair of the Futurebuilders Board, commented “We have made excellent progress since our launch in May, and I am delighted with the breadth and depth of the response from the voluntary and community sector. We have been working hard examining applications and working with applicants to help structure the funding of their investment plans. We are looking forward to making our first investment announcements in the early part of next year”.

“Much of our attention in the coming months will be focused on the public sector purchasers of services from our applicant organisations, and the need to ensure that sound commercial arrangements are structured between the government and the voluntary and community sector at the grass roots level.”

“It is still a very early part of the Futurebuilders journey and I am conscious that some of our greatest challenges still lie ahead. I am optimistic, however, that we can have an important impact on the way that the voluntary and community sector helps to shape public service delivery in England”.

Notes for Editors
For further information please contact Gerard Silverstone on 07782 212714 or visit www.futurebuilders-england.org.uk.

Futurebuilders is a £125m Home Office backed investment fund which aims to improve public service delivery through long-term investment in the voluntary and community sector.

It is run by the Voluntary and Community Sector for the sector. It is only suitable for those organisations that are willing to take out a loan repaid over time with revenues generated from contracts or fees.

Futurebuilders offers a combination of loans and grants, but not grants only (apart from development grants). It is not just about money. It is about building up capacity within the sector, sharing learning, and promoting a better relationship with purchasers.

Futurebuilders can help purchasers by identifying local organisations capable of providing public services in one of the five key policy areas

Applications are usually short-listed within 20 working days of receipt. 167 have been short-listed and 140 rejected with the balance due to be processed by the end of November. The pattern of the short-list generally reflects the overall pattern of applications.

Futurebuilders is now beginning to make investments and is aiming to make its first announcements in early 2005. These will include development grants, as well as main investments.

The following key facts and figures from the first funding window: