Seven social enterprises and community organisations in Bristol and the south west have been shortlisted for the Santander Social Enterprise Development Awards, giving them the opportunity to win up to £50,000:
• Aspire
• Coexist
• Somerset Wood Recycling
• Nature Works Training
• Bristol Wireless Community Co-operative
• FRANK Water
• A Clean Sweep
The judging panel will be chaired by Julian Alexander, Regional Director of Santander Corporate Banking, along with four representatives from the local social enterprise and charity community including Alice Meason, Grants Director, Quartet Community Foundation. Three social enterprises will be selected by the panel to receive one of three prizes: £50,000, £30,000 and £15,000.
Julian Alexander said: "Picking winners from the strong shortlist won't be easy but we are confident our judging panel has the expertise necessary to select organisations that will make the best use of the prize money, generating a significant long term impact in the Bristol and South West area."
The Awards are part of Santander's commitment to supporting small and medium businesses in the UK and aim to help social enterprises and Community Interest Companies looking to grow their business and improve their local community.
Targeted at established social enterprises with two or more years of trading, the Santander Social Enterprise Development Awards offer social organisations the opportunity to win prize money that will help them realise their ideas and deliver social regeneration in their local communities. The winning social enterprises will also receive access to support from Santander including mentoring programmes, funding for internships and university business courses and training.
In addition, the successful applicants will gain valuable input from their local Community Foundation who will work alongside them to assess the social impact of their business and the effect the award will have on local communities.
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