Social Investment Funding Fair 2025

We bring you another opportunity to meet with a wide range of social investors, funders and support providers, following the success of our April 2024 Fair. Browse stalls covering grants, types of social investment and funding including: equity, loans, blended finance, crowdfunding, community shares, and much more. 

New for 2025 A rolling agenda will see our stallholders delivering short presentations in the Peter Jackson Lecture Theatre. Take a seat, listen to the presentations and feel free to ask questions afterwards, or check out if the stallholder's offer might be right for your organisation. If so, head to their stall for a one to one discussion. 

There'll be experts on hand to talk to about new types of funding to grow your social enterprise or charity. It’s also a great chance to network with other social enterprise and charity leaders, so why not arrange to meet up with your key partners on the same day.

This event is part of our Growth Accelerator for Social Entrepreneurs project, funded by the UK Government via Leicester City Council. The aim of the programme is to keep social entrepreneurs in business, protect and create jobs, and to help them grow and it has three main elements: consultancy advice, online growth masterclass, and support through peer group growth circles. Final spaces are currently available. 

You’ll find Brookfield campus easy to reach by foot, bus or car, on London Road.

Agenda: Drop in any time from 10am-3pm. Refreshments will be available throughout and pastries/light bites between 12:30pm-1:30pm.

Eligibility: This event is open to social enterprises and charities based in Leicestershire. It is part of the Growth Accelerator for Social Entrepreneurs, funded by UK Government via Leicester City Council specifically for Leicester-based organisations. You can represent any type of organisation that is trading for public benefit, including companies, cooperatives, and charities.

Stall holders: We'll continue to update the list of confirmed investors, funders and support providers for 2025, which already include:

• Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation - https://www.llrcommunityfoundation.org.uk/ 
• First Enterprise - Enterprise Loans -https://www.first-enterprise.co.uk
• Key Fund - https://thekeyfund.co.uk
• easyfundraising - https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/ 
• The National Lottery Heritage Fund -https://www.heritagefund.org.uk
• Sport England - https://www.sportengland.org/
• Leicester City Council/Space Hive
• Severn Trent Community Fund
• Voluntary Action Leicestershire
• School of Business (Senior Leader Apprenticeships, Help to Grow: Management, placements, internships, careers events) - https://le.ac.uk/school-of-business/working-with-business
• Careers and Employability Service - https://le.ac.uk/enterprise/recruit-our-students
• Volunteering - https://le.ac.uk/study/undergraduates/careers/volunteering
• Universities Partnership
• Co-operative and Social Enterprise Development Agency (CASE) - https://case.coop/
• Community Enterprise Engine - https://communityenterpriseengine.co.uk/