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Funding News - Futurebuilders Tender Fund

The Tender Fund is a new Futurebuilders programme offering interest-free three year loans of between £3,000 and £50,000 to community and voluntary sector organisations who need relatively small sums of money to help them tender successfully for specific public service delivery contracts.

Total Fund Value:
£ 1,000,000

Grant Value - minimum:
£ 3,000

Grant Value - maximum:
£ 50,000


Grant Value - notes:

The Total Fund Value of the Tender Fund is £1 million. The fund offers interest free loans ranging from £3,000 to £50,000 for three years.

Extended Description:

The Futurebuilders initiative aims to increase and improve public service delivery through long-term investment in third sector organisations. Futurebuilders provides funding primarily in the form of low-interest loans to enable organisations to develop sufficiently to become investment ready, meaning that they are able to compete for service delivery contracts from statutory bodies. The loans are paid back with revenue from contracts with public sector agencies such as local authorities and primary care trusts.

The Tender Fund is designed to help any third sector organisation – big or small – that stands a good chance of winning a specific public service delivery contract, but needs some money to help it tender successfully. The fund is not intended to increase tendering skills in general, but to help third sector organisations win specific contracts.

For the purpose of the Tender Fund, Futurebuilders are defining a ‘public sector contract’ as any contract directly held with a statutory body, such as local authorities, PCT’s or quangos that receive their funding from the state (this doesn’t include Lottery funding), including Europe. This can also be a re-negotiation/re-tender of an existing contract held.

The fund is intended to underwrite the cashflow implications associated with tendering, rather than to meet the actual cost for organisations. The Tender Fund loans are interest-free for three years. Organisations can choose whether to pay on a regular basis over the three years, or via a single payment on winning the contract.

For more information, please refer to the ‘Question and Answer’ section of the Tender Fund webpage: www.futurebuilders-england.org.uk