Social Investment Cymru birthday party grant scheme
LET’S CELEBRATE!
For the last 20 years, Social Investment Cymru has helped voluntary organisations of all shapes and sizes invest in the change they want to see. We’re extremely proud of the impact we’ve made through our Social Investment Cymru team, but our 20th year anniversary celebrations aren’t about us! We’re using the occasion to shout about the amazing achievements of the voluntary organisations we’ve been fortunate enough to work with in the last 20 years.
To mark 20 years of Social Investment Cymru we’re looking for 20 of our previous loan recipients to help us celebrate the occasion!
Rather than run our own birthday party, we’re offering grants of £1,000 to organisations to throw their own. We’re looking for organisations that want to celebrate their successes, highlighting and promoting the impact that you’ve had and continue to have in communities across Wales.
LET’S TALK ABOUT YOUR IMPACT
Social Investment Cymru started life as an EU funded project and some of those early loans we made have long since been repaid, with the money re-lent two or three times over. We fully understand that the impact of a loan is long-term and lasts long after the original money has been spent.
Our anniversary celebrations have been a great excuse for us to share inspiring stories about what voluntary organisations in Wales have achieved with repayable finance. The birthday party grant scheme is very much an extension of that, let’s take a moment to celebrate and show people what’s possible!
WHO CAN APPLY?
If you’ve borrowed from us in the past, you’re eligible to apply. Whether you’ve already repaid your loan or still have one running. The schemes we’ve run include:
Bridge and Build Loans
Community Asset Development Fund
Community Asset Loan Fund
Communities Investment Fund
Social Business Growth Fund
Third Sector Resilience Fund
Wales Micro Loan Fund
If you’re not sure if you’re eligible, just email us on sic@wcva.cymru and we can check for you.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications will be open until 2July 2026 and awards made in July.
In order to apply you will need to register with WCVA’s Multipurpose Application Portal (MAP). Organisations can register by visiting the website: map.wcva.cymru. If you have previously registered with MAP, you can log in by entering your username and password on the home screen.
You’ll find the ‘Social Investment Cymru Birthday Grants Scheme’ under the Applications tab.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
There are six short, scored questions focused on what you plan to do, how you’ll include the whole community and how you’ll measure success. As we’ve supported over 300 organisations in our twenty years we expect it to be quite competitive. Final awards will not only be based on scores but will also seek to ensure wide geographical coverage.
There’s no set format for what we expect a party to look like. It’s really up to you and your imagination as to what will work best in your community. All we ask is that you have a good time and share photos or videos of your celebrations. Our awards panel are looking forward to being enthused by your plans!
Good luck with your applications and if you have any queries please email us on sic@wcva.cymru.
Source: WCVA.cymru