Co-operatives and community businesses given boost by new funding for community shares sector 

The funding is an extension to the existing Community Shares Booster Fund and Energy Efficiency Sharematch programmes. 

Boost to community shares funding 

The Community Shares Booster Fund has extended its offer of flexible funding, thanks to a top‑up of support from Access – the Foundation for Social Investment. This will enable the fund to continue supporting the community shares market throughout 2025 and beyond.  

Community shares are a way for people to invest in businesses that benefit their community – like setting up a renewable energy project or turning an old building into a community hub. Instead of relying on big banks or wealthy investors, local people can buy shares, become co-owners and have a say in how the business is run.  

Of the £560,000 added to the fund:

• £200,000 will be allocated to development grants through Co-operatives UK
• £360,000 will be available for matched equity investments for community share offers through Co‑operative and Community Finance and their investment partner Community Shares ICOF 

The additional funds will help more communities to raise their own patient, flexible finance in the form of community shares. 

Development grants provide vital funding for organisations to prepare and launch a share offer, while matched equity incentivises others to invest by providing an institutional investment that builds trust and confidence in share offers.   

John Dawson, Head of Market Development at Co‑operatives UK, said: “This is a great show of support to the power of communities raising their own finance and providing the answers to some of their own shared ambitions.”

The Booster Fund has been hugely successful, having already invested over £4m into 88 organisations alongside 19,242 individual investor members and provided development grants to many more. To date, the community shares market has raised more than £230m.   

Seb Elsworth, CEO of Access – the Foundation for Social Investment said:  “We are pleased to support Co-operatives UK, Co-operative and Community Finance, and Community Shares ICOF. This will enable them to deploy further community shares investments, which will boost the cooperative economy by providing opportunities for community focused cooperatives to benefit from more patient and flexible capital.“

Tim Coomer Business Development Manager from Co-operative and Community Finance said: “We are delighted that Access has committed extra funds to allow us to continue investing in community share offers and make it easier for enterprises to raise the funds they need through matched local investment and finance.”  

With Labour’s manifesto commitment to double the size of the co‑operative and mutual sector, there is significant potential to expand community shares investment. 

Find out more about the Community Shares Booster Fund here.

Alongside our partners in the community shares space, we wrote to government ministers in January making the case for a scaled-up Booster-style investment fund, within a new investment institution for the sector. We now have formal agreement in place with our partners and are working together on next steps. 

Energising co-operatives: Extended deadline for energy efficiency grants 

Announced at the same time is the extension of the deadline to apply to the £250,000 Energy Efficiency Sharematch Fund, which supports co-operative and community businesses raising finance for energy efficiency measures.  

Delivered in partnership by Co-operatives UK and Crowdfunder, and funded by Access – the Foundation for Social Investment, the fund supports co-operative and community benefit societies in England to raise capital via community shares to pay for measures that reduce their energy bills and carbon footprint. Individual grants of up to £50,000 are available.   

Organisations now have until March 2026 to raise the match funding required through a community share offer in order to draw down the match grant funding from Crowdfunder. 

Examples of eligible measures include:   

• Installing solar panels or heat pumps
• Insulation
• LED lighting
• Double glazing
• Draft proofing
• Purchasing energy efficient equipment and transport  

Community shares could be a more affordable way to pay for these measures than loan finance. They also offer an opportunity to engage the local community in the climate crisis. Find out more about Energy Efficiency Sharematch here.

FREE Energy Efficiency Sharematch webinar  

Co-operative and community benefit societies considering investing in energy efficiency measures are invited to join a free webinar on Wednesday 26 March at 12pm to discover how the Sharematch fund can support them in raising the capital to do so.   

The webinar will explain the grants available through the fund, the criteria and how it works – and there will be the chance to ask questions and hear about other organisations going down this route.