Our application portal is currently closed whilst we make some important updates

We plan on re-opening for applications on 28th April. Any applications which were not submitted by 11.59pm on 24th March are lost. You can start a new application when the portal reopens.

This is a preview of our application form

Once you are ready to start your application, sign-up to an account and click 'Start a new application'.

Start your application Back to Award

Forming an idea

You have an idea, and it is in the early stages of development. You have not yet started trading.

Starting up Award

Up to

£8,000

For social venture costs

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Contact details 1 2 3

The founder/leader of the social venture should complete this application form.

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Please enter the name you’d like us to call you when we contact you.

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Please tell us the pronouns you would like us to use when we contact you.

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Please provide at least one contact number, preferably your mobile if you have one.

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We ask for your date of birth to ensure eligibility; we unfortunately cannot support entrepreneurs under the age of 16 and we also want to ensure our awards are reaching people at all stages of life.

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We ask for your National Insurance number to ensure that we can correctly link records, should you have a number of applications with us.

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Equal opportunities & monitoring 1 2 3

We are committed to 50% of our Awards going to Black, Asian and minority ethnic social entrepreneurs, and/or disabled social entrepreneurs across our funding programmes.

We value lived experience and equal opportunity and encourage you to share openly, as we are committed to ensuring our Award making is free of discrimination and bias. Our commitments to inclusion can be found on our website.

We use the data you provide in this section to drive improvements in our Award making and support. We know that some of these questions are very personal. We do not publish or use this data in any way which allows any individual to be identified by a third party.

We use the definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010.

I confirm that I am the founder/leader of the social venture, and all details I provide in the application relate directly to me or my social venture.

2. Do you have any of these disabilities or health conditions? Required

If your application progresses and you are invited to an online panel meeting, we will ask you if you require adjustments to make the panel meeting accessible for you.

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Whilst we recognise that there are many fantastic entrepreneurs who may not have the right to live and work in the UK, unfortunately we are only able to work with those who do.

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Please select the most relevant response for how you first found out about UnLtd/our award programmes and be specific about names and organisations. This helps us track the success of our communications and our work with local partners.

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About you 1 2 3

In this section we would like to get to know about you as the founder/leader of the social venture and how your own experiences have motivated you.

Your response could include: • How you have developed an understanding of the social or environmental issue • Why you are motivated to address this issue There is no need to share anything that may be upsetting for you, or of a sensitive nature. Any information you choose to share will be treated sensitively.

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Examples of direct experience:

  • Someone who has been homeless and is working to improve homelessness services
  • A disabled person who has set up and is running a support service for other disabled

Examples of indirect experience:

  • The parent of a disabled child providing services for disabled people 
  • The carer of someone with dementia selling products to support people with dementia to live independently

Examples of professional experience: 

  • A former teacher setting up a service for young people not in employment, education, or training
  • Someone who works in climate science who is setting up a social venture to reduce carbon emissions

Of your direct, indirect, or professional experience, please select the social issues that most closely fit your experience by using the 'Add Experience' button on the right, you can select a maximum of three.

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Social venture stage and programme 1 2 3

The questions that follow will depend on the stage you select here.

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Forming: I have an idea

You have an idea, and it is in the early stages of development.

You can apply for up to £8,000 which can be used for organisational costs. This cannot include living costs, paying yourself, or staff on payroll.

Forming: I have an idea

You have an idea, and it is in the early stages of development. You have not yet started trading.

I've been trading for less than one year

Your social venture has been trading for less than a year. By trading we mean selling goods or services, not including grants.

I've been trading for one year or more

Your social venture has been trading for over a year. By trading we mean selling goods or services, not including grants. If you select this stage, we require some financial data to support your application, details of which can be found on our financial data webpage. If you think you might need support to provide this data, please get in touch with us.

If your social venture has been incorporated for over four years or had a turnover of over £250,000 in its last financial year, you are not eligible for support through our awards. You may wish to look at our investment offer. You can find information about this on our website.

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If you are interested in or have been advised to apply for a specific Award programme you can tell us here.

When we assess your application, we may decide that it is better suited to one of our other Award programmes. If you are not sure, you can leave this question blank. You can read more about our programmes on the Awards page of our website.

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About your social venture 1

In this section we would like to get to know about your social venture, in particular the types of people you intend to work with and the focus of your social venture.

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Enter the name of your venture, or proposed name, if you are at idea stage.

If you don’t have a website, you can leave this blank.

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Here we want you to tell us where in the UK your venture will be working. This could be in your local community, borough, city, or county, It could be in several locations or UK wide.

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Select up to a maximum of three groups that most closely fit by using the Add' button on the right.

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You can select up to a maximum of three sectors that most closely fit by using the 'Add Sectors' button on the right.

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Social venture: impact & inclusion 1

In this section we would like to understand the social or environmental issue you are addressing. We’d also like to understand the positive changes you plan to create and how you will do this.

Your response could include: • Your understanding of the issue • Who it affects and how (e.g. the number of people and/or demographics) • The scale of the issue (e.g. is it a local or national issue?) • The impact of the issue in the short-term and long-term It would help to include some data. This could be evidence from your own research or testing.

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Your response could include:

  • The services or products you offer or plan to offer
  • A timeline of key activities
  • The people or partners you might want to involve in your work (e.g. a local authority, NHS provider or community organisation)
  • What other resources you think you will need – these could be physical, human and/or financial
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We would like to understand the positive changes your work will create for people or the environment. Your response could include:

  • Both short-term and the long-term impact of your work
  • How frequently and for how long you will work with people
  • How you might start to understand if your work is having the impact you expect
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We would like to understand how many people your social venture has impacted directly in the last 12 months. By individual people we mean that if a person has, for example, attended three workshops they should only count once in your total. This number should not include wider audiences such as social media followers, unless you are providing a material and direct benefit to each. If your venture has not benefitted anyone yet, please enter ‘0’.

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We would like to understand how many people your social venture will impact directly in the next 12 months. By individual people we mean that if a person will, for example, attend three workshops they should only count once in your total. This number should not include wider audiences such as social media followers, unless you are providing a material and direct benefit to each.

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Your response could include:

  • How you will reach the people who are most affected by the social or environmental issue you are addressing
  • How you will involve the people who are most affected in the design or planning of your social venture or in decision-making processes
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Social venture: sustainability 1

In this section we would like to understand how you plan to make money and grow the impact of your social venture.

We want to understand your business model, by which we mean what products or services you are planning to sell or how you plan to make money. Your response could include:

  • Who your intended customers are
  • What you are planning to sell
  • How you know there is a demand, and that people will pay
  • How you are going to cover the costs of your activities
  • Any other ways you are planning to bring money in
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Funding request 1 2

In this section, we would like to understand how much money you would like to apply for and what you would spend it on, over the 12-month Award period.

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You can apply for up to £8,000. Please note that the amount you apply for does not affect the outcome of your application.

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We would like to understand your social venture costs. When planning your budget please bear in mind that an UnLtd Award can only be used to cover costs after the approval date. Any costs you incur before this date cannot count towards Award expenditure. We may ask you for more detail if your application progresses.

UnLtd Awards can be used primarily for running costs, but we will consider reasonable requests for capital items (fixed assets such as equipment). Conditions will apply to any individual items that cost over £1,000.*

Examples of the types of costs you could use an UnLtd Award to pay for:

  • Company formation and registration fees
  • Insurance
  • Enhanced disclosures and safeguarding costs
  • IT costs (conditions will apply to IT hardware items over £1,000)
  • Printing, advertising, and publicity
  • Venue and equipment hire
  • Materials
  • Travel and subsistence
  • Volunteer expenses
  • Mentoring and support
  • Sessional and freelance costs
  • Minor repairs, decoration, or the installation of minor fixes

This type of UnLtd Award cannot be used to pay for:

  • Living costs, paying yourself, or staff on payroll
  • Capital works; such as the acquisition, development, or structural improvement of land or buildings (including semi-permanent structures)
  • The purchase of vehicles such as a car or van (we will consider the purchase of a bicycle(s) which is not for personal use)
  • Loans or interest payments
  • Contingency funds or amounts for general expenses where the intended use of funds is not clear
  • Funding activities outside the law, against public policy or anything that fosters ethnic, religious, or commercial disharmony
  • Funding to undertake formal qualifications (but can be used to provide short-term training if critical to the success of the venture)
  • Funding to employ others to undertake the bulk of the award activity
  • Costs incurred prior to receiving an Award approval from us

Value for money and transparency:

We expect Award Winners to ensure they are getting value for money; this may mean obtaining more than one quote for the supply of goods and services, using price comparisons, or considering alternatives where feasible. When using funds to pay others (such as sessional or freelance workers) Award Winners must avoid conflicts of interest, such as paying members of immediate family or household. Approval must be sought if you think a conflict of interest exists. We may ask you for more detail on your costs if your application progresses.

*In relation to assets costing £1,000 or more they will remain UnLtd’s property unless we agree otherwise, and at the end of your venture you must dispose of them as required by UnLtd. If disposal of assets gives rise to any income, we may seek repayment of the whole, or any portion of that income. Assets must only be used for the purposes of the venture. Unless we request disposal, at the end of your venture you will undertake to ensure that any assets will only be used for charitable purposes. If we end our agreement before completion of your venture, we may keep any of the assets.

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References 1 2 3

The people you name here should have known you for a minimum of six months and should be aware of your plans for your venture. At least one should know you in a professional capacity (such as an employer, teacher, or colleague); the second can be a character/personal referee. To avoid processing delays, please ensure that you enter the email addresses correctly.

We may contact your referees; but we will only do so at the stage the Award has been approved and we will inform you before contacting them.

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