GMCVO’s Energy Resilience Fund (ERF) is available for Greater Manchester organisations seeking finance for retrofit, energy generation, and green technology projects.
What can you get from the loan?
The loans vary between £10,000 and £150,000 with 40 per cent of the funding offered as a grant. The loan period is between 12 months and 7 years with repayments made based on savings made on bills by installing energy measures supported by the fund, paid back at a flat interest rate of 6.5 per cent.
Eligibility criteria
To qualify for the fund, buildings must be community owned or managed, at least 30 per cent of the organisations income should be generated through trading, the building must undergo an energy audit or have completed one in the last 12 months, and organisations must be an incorporated entity. Further to this, organisations seeking support from GMVCO’s ERF will need to be not-for-profit and have clear policies regarding restrictions on profit distribution.
How to apply
The application is a two stage process.
Stage one involves completing an enquiry form, carrying out an energy audit if you haven’t done so in the last 12 months, and then reviewing the audit and specifying how you’d like to use the ERF and how much you’d like to borrow.
Stage two requires you to submit finalised information of requested amount for investment, a business plan, quotes for capital expenditure work, management accounts and bank statements.
GMCVO will assess applications and prepare fund distribution. You can find out more about the fund, eligibility, and application process here.
