Charities across four UK cities are set to benefit from £67.5m in extra funding in the coming years, following two separate announcements.

Among those to benefit is Liverpool through a Social Investment Pathfinder Fund in the city, which aims to mobilise £50m worth of social investment for charities, community organisations and social enterprises in the city over the next seven years.

The fund will prioritise organisations underserved by mainstream finance, including Black-led and other underrepresented enterprises, as well as businesses with “strong growth potential with meaningful social impact”.

It aims to offer “scale up investment for organisations ready to grow their impact”, early blended finance to help emerging enterprises, and a “dedicated land and property vehicle to enable greater community ownership of assets”.

The fund will launch later this year and is to be managed by Social Investment Business, which has agreed in principle to be its fund manager.

Youth funding commitment

Meanwhile, also announced is a £17.5m funding commitment “over the coming years” from grant maker Blagrave Trust for three cities, London, Birmingham and Portsmouth.

The youth services focused funder has made the pledge as part of a shift in focus away from national funding towards placed based giving to concentrate on specific locations.

This also sees it move from a “traditional grant making approach” to offering “a mixture of grants, capital investment and wider support”.

Funding includes investment in local community groups and charities that work with young people who are leading “social change”. Young people will also be able to access grants directly.

In addition, Blagrave will fund the purchase and development of a building in London, Birmingham and Portsmouth “to create youth hubs where youth-led social change can thrive”.

The funder’s chief executive Eli Manderson Evans said: “We can’t deliver meaningful impact by continuing to stretch our resources across the country. We also need to listen more deeply to young people to determine where we should focus our resources.

“That’s why we are proud to be taking a bold new approach; employing local members of staff in each place to build relationships at a place-based level, hear from young people, and use what we learn to invest in their leadership, their communities, and in spaces where their ideas can thrive for generations to come.”

Hayden Taylor, who is founder of one of Blagrave’s grant partners, Portsmouth based not for profit organisations Unloc, said: “This funding is an extraordinary opportunity for our area and young people.

“Through this deep and long-term investment and support we can make very real and sustainable impact for young people and all those around them in Portsmouth.”

Blagrave has also revealed that its current place-based strategy focused on the three cities is likely be “be our last” as a charitable funder.

“As the strategy develops, our trustees will reflect carefully on whether Blagrave has a useful continuing role to play beyond the next ten years – for example through capacity-building, learning, convening, or wider ecosystem support,” it adds.

“No final decision has been made at this stage; we instead want to be led by the priorities and needs of young people and their communities in the three focus areas.”

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