Image: NIF2 client, Training Cave

The Mercers’ Charitable Foundation, of which the Mercers’ Company is sole trustee, has signed a £1 million loan agreement to support Key Fund’s Northern Impact Fund 2. The Fund invests in community and social enterprises in disadvantaged areas in the North of England and the Midlands, providing vital support and opportunities for people who need it most. 

The loan brings the Northern Impact Fund 2 to £8.45 million, which will enable the Fund to support organisations, with clear social aims and objectives, to create sustainable impact. The Fund is open until 2027 to social and community enterprises, charities, and co-operatives, with investment available from £5,000 to £150,000. Finance is available to support the development or growth of trading activity, including cash-flow, working capital, and asset development or purchase.

Key Fund’s Northern Impact Fund 2 follows the success of Key Fund’s first Northern Impact Fund, which ran from 2016 to 2022 and supported almost 200 organisations, with over £9m of funding. 

In addition to the Mercers’ Charitable Foundation, the Northern Impact Fund 2 has been supported by the following: Access - the Foundation for Social Investment, Better Society Capital, Barrow Cadbury Trust, The Places Foundation, The Regional Growth Fund and Unity Trust Bank and Joseph Rowntree Trust. 

Matt Smith CBE, CEO of Key Fund, said, “We have developed a lot of investment funds over the years, many with lots of flexibility built in, but the Northern Impact Funds are undoubtedly the most in demand, and have been for many years due to their simplicity. The grant element is provided up front and is not tied to performance or awarded retrospectively, so provides certainty for applicants; they know exactly what they are repaying and when, from the start. It embodies what Key Fund is about, making sure that we are clear and providing the right money at the right time – this is our central mission.”

Key Fund works across all sectors, from green energy, health and social care, employment, education and training, housing, the Arts, and sports and leisure. 

To find out more about Key Fund’s Northern Impact Fund 2, go to thekeyfund.co.uk.