Stepping Stones Fund FAQs

Social investment is the provision and use of finance to generate social and financial returns. The range of expected financial returns can be from capital returned through to capital with interest. 

Social investment is repayable finance, which inevitably requires the investee organisation to have a viable and sustainable business model for revenue generation (trading activities or contracts to deliver public services) that allows for the repayment of some or all of the capital with or without interest. 

Revenue generated through trading or winning contracts is not social investment; it is the financing of such activities (their development and growth) that is considered social investment. It can take the form of debt, equity, guarantee and bonds or a combination of these. 

Social investors are equally or more interested in the social impact of their investment than in the financial return, therefore they tend to require rigorous impact monitoring and reporting. They are usually flexible and engaged in their approach and are willing to invest on the long run, with conditions that can be more favourable than those offered by commercial lenders or investors.

Also see more questions and answer relating to social investment on the City of London Corporation Social Investment Fund FAQs.

You can find the list of awarded grants so far on the Stepping Stones Fund here.

The case studies of some of the grantees of the first round of Stepping Stones Fund illustrate what social investment strategies organisations of different sizes are implementing and how Stepping Stones funding is helping them become investment ready. See here.

Organisations with sustainable business models, which have the necessary business, management and financial skills to secure social investment. It includes the ability to compete successfully for public sector contracts and thus deliver social outcomes, which makes the organisation attractive to investors. 

In addition to the social and business proposition, social investment readiness also means that the organisation has the necessary governance structure and management systems in place, which enable it to absorb and repay investment.

Your organisation must be based in and serve beneficiaries in Greater London and fall into one of the following categories:

• Registered charity
• Registered Community Interest Company
• Registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation
• Charitable company
• Exempt or excepted charity
• Registered charitable industrial and provident society or charitable Cooperative (Bencom)

Although you can apply even if you already hold a grant from us, you don’t need to be a current or previous grantee of City Bridge Foundation. Current grant holders of Stepping Stones Fund will only be able to apply again after their project has been successfully completed and we have received satisfactory final monitoring.

The Stepping Stones Fund offers financing under 2 strands:

1. Capacity building grants for charitable organisations
2. Grants to pilot better outcomes

Grant funding is made available for capacity building support and for piloting outcomes (strands 1 & 2). See more detail about the 2 strands in the Application Guidelines.

There is no minimum amount, but the maximum grant amount under the two strands is £50,000. It is not our policy to award large grants to small organisations. Your proposal and the budget need to be realistic and reflect that you thought through the costs and possible revenues. 

As a general rule, the Stepping Stones Fund will not fund more than 50% of an organisation’s total revenue income. Please contact us if you would like further advice on this.

You can only apply under one strand. If a certain type and level of capacity building is required to pilot a new business model for better outcomes (strand 2), that needs to be built into the proposal.

It is not a requirement, but we do look at which other funders and investors are already involved or have been approached, especially if your proposal requires more resources than what we are able to offer. We are also interested to see how much of your own resources you are willing to invest in the implementation of your proposal.

You must complete and submit our online eligibility test first to check you are eligible to apply. If you are eligible, the online form will take you to our online application form, which needs to be completed and submitted together with the necessary documents as advised. 

We do not consider draft applications or proposals. Proposals will not be accepted after the deadline. During the application process City Bridge Foundation may ask for additional information or documents. These will be shared with the Selection Panel at each stage.

Applications closed on Tuesday, 8 October 2024.

The Stepping Stones Fund will use a milestone approach to payment of grants and expects to see funded work delivered over a maximum duration of 18 months from date of drawdown.

This programme is now closed to new applications. Applications had be received by noon on Tuesday, 8 October 2024.

Organisations cannot hold more than one grant at a time, except in the case where the application is for:

• an Eco audit
• an Access audit
  
• is made under one of the Foundation’s special one-off programmes, such as the Stepping Stones or Cornerstone fund programmes
• Some organisations supported through our Infrastructure funding: capacity building and representation programme may, in certain circumstances, also be eligible for our Place-based giving programme, and vice versa

Please contact the Foundation before applying if you are not sure.

Yes, provided the proposal focuses on London and you can provide convincing evidence that the project will ultimately benefit beneficiaries living in London. Under Strand 2 pilots need to take place in the Greater London area. 

Organisations based outside London also need to demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and experience to work in London and that they are meeting a need that London-based organisations are not.

Yes, provided the proposal focuses on London and you can provide convincing evidence that the project will ultimately benefit beneficiaries living in London. Under Strand 2 pilots need to take place in the Greater London area. 

Organisations based outside London also need to demonstrate that they have the necessary skills and experience to work in London and that they are meeting a need that London-based organisations are not.

A ​“Charitable company” refers to an organisation which is both a registered company (normally a private company limited by guarantee) and a registered charity (all charities with an income over £5,000 p.a. being required to register with the Charity Commission).

No. The level of grant awarded may be different from that requested. The Selection Panel will talk to you about this at or after the personal interview, so it is unlikely to come as a surprise. This can be for a number of reasons (beside our own budget constraints). You may have over-budgeted; you may have added things which are not really part of the same project; you may have asked for more than is reasonable in relation to our usual funding patterns; or we may take the view that you could find some of the costs from another source.

You will be asked to present your proposal and answer questions of the Selection panel, who will be familiar with your application and the additional documents you submit. 

The interview will last a maximum of one hour and it is your chance to explain your plan, how you plan to use Stepping Stones Fund support and demonstrate how implementation of your proposal will take you closer to being ready for social investment and achieving better social outcomes. 

You may, but are not required to, create and use visuals for the occasion. The interview and the detailed proposal will be considered together; invitation to the interview does not mean funding has been approved.

Panel members will be from City Bridge Foundation and UBS. Meetings typically take place at UBS’ Broadgate office in the City.

In addition to a copy of your organisation’s constitution and its latest accounts, we also ask for a business plan including financial forecasts and basic analysis. 

It should also include more details of what you already explain in your application form about the service or product you plan to offer, the market need and opportunity, the customer, background, your targets, how the business will operate, building plans (where appropriate), workplans, start-up costs and the annual operating costs, your sales and revenue projections, your assessment of the key risks and their mitigation, how you will measure the success of your business (financial and social) and how it fits into your organisation’s overall objectives. 

In addition, we will ask you to complete a financial proforma to help us understand your organisation’s forecast for the current year and budget for the next.

The detailed description should not exceed 15 pages, including the financial projections in the case of business plans. Please contact us if you require further details on this.

We also ask to see a copy of minutes from a board meeting where Trustees have shown their willingness to consider social investment.

City Bridge Foundation and UBS will offer open information sessions during the year as well as one-to-one surgeries. Please contact us at SteppingStones@cityoflonodn.gov.uk if you would like to book a place. The surgery sessions are aimed to provide constructive feedback to applicants about their presentation and the content of their business plans.

We can also offer some pre-application advice by telephone. Again, please contact the Foundation to arrange a suitable time.

Yes. If this is the case, you must select one organisation to be the actual applicant on behalf of the consortium, and the financial/​organisational information must be that of the applicant organisation. 

Any grant will legally be the responsibility of the trustees of that charity. You must also give a clear account of why a consortium is the best approach and how it will steer the work. Being the lead in a consortium bid will not affect the organisation’s own funding relationship with the Foundation and they will still be able to hold a grant in their own right.

Applicants may seek support from intermediaries, advisors, consultants to help them deliver their goals. In this case, the City Bridge Foundation will ask the applicant to justify the use of a particular organisation in their application. 

City Bridge Foundation does not have a list of approved providers, but is happy to provide a non-exhaustive contact list for applicants to approach. See some relevant links below (this is not an exclusive list). Any grant applicant seeking advisory services must carry out their own assessment of the ability of the advisor to provide the support required. 

The Foundation will reserve the right to deem a support organisation not appropriate to provide the support requested and to make alternative suggestions should this be necessary or appropriate.

Good Finance

NCVO consultancy services

New Philanthropy Capital consultancy services

Social Finance UK

Bates Wells Braithwaite Advisory & Impact

Funding decisions are made throughout the year and successful applicant will be advised in writing of the Foundation’s decision. The letter will be accompanied by a copy of the Foundation’s standard Terms and Conditions, which must be signed by the organisation’s Chair or Treasurer and returned promptly. This does not constitute a request for payment.

The organisation should write to the Foundation when it is ready to start using the grant – this letter should be signed by whoever signed the Terms and Conditions. Payments are made by bank transfer and take a couple of weeks from receipt of request, providing any or all relevant conditions have been met.

If rejected, you can apply 12 months after the date we received your unsuccessful application. Providing you are not an existing or recent grant-holder, rejection under the Stepping Stones programme does not prevent you from applying under another City Bridge Foundation programme. You are free to contact City Bridge Foundation to ask for feedback on your unsuccessful application before re-applying.

UPDATE: Stepping Stones applications will not be accepted after our rolling grants programme closes at noon on Tuesday, 8 October 2024. Our new funding policy will be announced in autumn 2025, you may be eligible to re-apply then.