The SWEF Enterprise Fund awards grants of up to £2,000 to young people in Dorset who are running a business in its early stages and need support with business costs that they would otherwise be unable to afford.
Grants should be used to help the business make a transformational change or take a significant step forward in its development.
This is not a loan scheme and recipients do not need to pay the grant back.
Business plans are not required, all we ask is that applicants complete the application form as fully as possible.
We need a reference to support your application. Your referee should not be a spouse, parent or guardian. It should be someone who knows your business and your skills. It might be a tutor, a previous employer or a support worker or mentor.
Depending on the current stage of your business you can apply for a start-up grant of up to £500 or a business grant of up to £2,000.
Eligibility (all applicants)
To apply you must meet the following eligibility:
- You are aged 18 to 30
- You currently live in the county of Dorset
- You are facing financial challenges preventing you from developing your business
- You are running a sole trader/limited company business that has been trading for under two years
- You are either the majority shareholder of the business or all shareholders must be aged 18 to 30
- You have a business bank account or are setting one up (grants are only paid into business bank accounts)
How you can use the grant:
- Equipment that will help a business achieve increased revenues
- Equipment that will help a business increase production where there is proven demand
- Materials or stock for new products (in the case of business grants, this should be for a new product line)
- Building a website or booking system build
- Training
- Product development
- Other business costs that will make a significant impact
You CANNOT use grant funding for the following:
- Salary or living costs
- Debt repayment
- Software businesses/App development
- Rent and utilities
- Invasive beauty treatment
- Ongoing software subscriptions
- New computers, phones, tablets (second-hand or refurbished versions may be considered)
Applying for a start-up grant
Start-up grants are for businesses that are not yet trading, or are within a month or two of starting to trade
- You can apply for up to £500
- Grants must be spent within one month of receipt of funds
- Applications solely for ‘business ideas’ will not be considered. We support young people who have taken significant steps to get a business off the ground (for example, doing market research or pro-bono work, developing social media followers, investing money into early business costs such as leaflets).
Your application form must show that:
- Your business idea has the potential to be profitable and to be your sole work focus.
- You have enough relevant experience and or training to potentially succeed
- The grant will be used to transform the business and take it to the next stage
- You have specific plans for how you will spend the grant, such as web links and costs for the items requested
NB: You will be able to apply for a business grant at a later stage when your business has shown progression and is in need of further financial support
Required documents:
- Download the application form here, and send your completed form by email to grants@dorsetcf.org
- Please ask your referee to download the reference form here, and send the completed form by email to grants@dorsetcf.org
- A copy of a recent bank statement (no more than three months old) to confirm your account details should you be successful. If you don’t have a business bank account yet, please let us know.
(You can include any additional documents, such as your business plan, although it is not required)
Applying for a business grant
Business grants are for businesses that have been trading for more than two months
- You can apply for up to £2,000
- Grants must be spent within one month of receipt of funds
Your application form must show that:
- The business is your sole work focus, or will become so shortly.
- The grant will be used to transform the business and take it to the next stage
- You have specific plans for how you will spend the grant, such as web links and costs for the items requested
Please note:
- Applications that involve ‘match funding’ and or the purchase of second hand items are particularly welcome.
- If you are asking for a contribution towards a single item that costs more than £2,000, we can offer up to 25 per cent of the total cost.
- If you receive a grant of less than £2,000, you will be able to apply for a second grant at a later stage (however the maximum you can receive over both grants in total is £2,000)
Required documents:
- Download the application form here, and send your completed form by email to grants@dorsetcf.org
- Please ask your referee to download the reference form here, and send the completed form by email to grants@dorsetcf.org
- A copy of a recent bank statement (no more than three months old) to confirm your account details should you be successful. If you don’t have a business bank account yet, please let us know.
- (You can include any additional documents, such as your business plan, although it is not required)
Next steps (all applicants):
- We will confirm that we have received your application within 5 working days
- We aim to contact you within two weeks to let you know if your application is moving to the next stage
- The next stage is to invite you to an online meeting. We will email you to arrange a date and time
- We aim to make a final decision within one week of your online meeting
- If you are successful, the grant will be paid by bank transfer
- You will be signed up to the SWEF monthly newsletter, be invited to take part in SWEF network events with other successful grant recipients and to join a closed SWEF Facebook group.
- We will ask you for feedback and updates six months after the grant is awarded, and again at 12 months
If you have any questions, please get in touch with us by emailing grants@dorsetcf.org or call grants manager Ellie Maguire on 07592 032666
Sources of support
The following organisations may be able to help you with developing your business idea and preparing a business plan, and may also provide ongoing business development support:
