Helping organisations access LEADER funding

After an uncertain period last year, the LEADER funding programme is now definitely up and running. At SIS, we’ve seen a significant increase in enquiries over the last few months from organisations who need our help to get their projects financed. With the Brexit stopwatch about to start, securing bridging facilities or match funding now could be really important going forward.

For that reason, we’d like to remind you about the ways in which SIS can help.

•        Bridging Facilities – Used to cover timing issues between the spend and receipt of approved LEADER grant monies, it enables projects to proceed when the secured grant funding is paid in arrears. Approving loans for this type of arrangement is often quite straightforward because we know that the project has the means to repay the loan once they receive the grant.
•        Match Funding – Many organisations struggle to identify ‘qualifying’ match funding to secure the LEADER grant. If a project is developing a business solution that generates income and profit, then it may be possible for SIS to consider underwriting a business loan that can be used as match and unlock the grant.

But don’t just take our word for it…

Fyrish Gymnastics are a gymnastics club based in Alness in the Highlands. They successfully applied for £35,000 of LEADER funding to install a specialised ‘fitted floor’ which will enable coaches and young leaders to teach a wider range of skills to participants. They received a Bridging Loan to pay for the installation up front.

For a printable version on our guide to bridging or matching LEADER funding, click here.