Useful resources

• The Guide to Loans and Other Forms of Finance (download PDF 850kb), produced by NCVO’s Sustainable Funding Project for the Finance Hub, provides an introduction to accessing loans and a description of a variety of scenarios in which loans can be used.

• A Brief Guide to Loan Finance (download PDF 175kb) - the publication is designed for trustees considering loan finance for their organisation, or for those who just want to be better informed about the issues. It introduces the benefits, presents some factors that should be thought through and signposts to further information.

• Social Investment Taskforce launched in 2000 laid the basis for much of the development of social enterprise in the UK. Their website includes many of the loan initiatives currently available to the sector. For further details visit www.enterprising-communities.org.uk

• The Charity Commission provides guidance on charities and social investment. For further details visit www.charity-commission.gov.uk/supportingcharities/casi.asp

• Venturesome have produced a series of papers outlining what they have learned from the shared experience of investors, charities and intermediaries. Approaches to funding charitable work: tracking developments – January 2006 provides a useful summary of the history and current state of loan and finance initiatives for the sector and updates similar papers produced in 2003 and 2004.