Tender Fund    Back to product menu

Download a Tender Fund product leaflet (PDF format)

The Tender Fund offers loans to help third sector organisations tender successfully for specific public service delivery contracts. The loans are interest-free, over three years and between £3,000 and £50,000. There is a limited pot of £1 million for this Fund. The money will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Eligibility criteria

• You must be a third sector organisation committed to wining public service contracts
• You must be preparing to tender for a specific public service contract that you are reasonably likely to win
• You need an investment to help you meet the cost of tendering
• Your organisation must be willing and able to take on a loan
• You must be unable to secure a loan for this purpose from a commercial lender
• The ultimate beneficiaries of your project must live in England

In addition to the above, we will also consider:

• The track record of the organisation involved 
• The strength of the business case
• The organisation’s existing reserves and what it is prepared to contribute to the development project
• The abilities of key individuals
• Whether an investment could potentially breach State Aid regulations

What can you use Tender Fund loans for?

You can use the loan to meet any cost that you identify as an important part of putting together a good tender. We do not have a prescribed list of items you could spend the money on, but we think some of the items applicants are likely to use the money for will include:

• Legal costs
• Advice from procurement specialists
• Financial expertise
• Bidding staff costs or backfill

We also expect you to have a particular contract in mind when you apply to us – the Tender Fund is not intended to increase tendering skills in general, but to help third sector organisations win specific contracts.

Try our loan repayment calculator

How to apply

There is no application form for this fund. If you want to find out more or apply for an investment:

• Submit an enquiry 
• Call our enquiry line on 0191 261 5200
• Send an email to [email protected]

What we need from you

We will assess your application mainly by phone, although we may arrange to come and meet you if necessary.

In all cases, we will ask you to:

• Be available to discuss the application on the phone
• Provide historic financial information quickly (annual accounts and up to date management accounts)
• Provide a breakdown of the costs an investment is needed to cover
• Provide contact details for your potential purchaser, if appropriate

During the phone conversation we will ask you to:

• Explain how your organisation is constituted and confirm that it is willing and able to take on a loan
• Explain the details of the contract you plan to bid for, and your reasons for believing you have a strong chance of winning the tender 
• Explain why you need investment and what costs you need an investment to cover
• Explain how you plan to repay the loan

What next?

Want to read some examples of what your Futurebuilders investment package might look like? Ready to begin the application process?

• Search our database of investments
• Submit an enquiry