Millions of pounds have been raised through an investment fund in Bristol to help tackle inequality and deprivation in the city.
City Funds - a collaboration between communities, businesses, finance providers and the public sector - has secured £10million to tackle some of the biggest social and environmental problems Bristol faces.
The fund is being financed by social impact investors Big Society Capital and Bristol City Council, which have committed £5million each.
Sums of between £50,000 and £1million will be spent on social initiatives and projects that support the economy as well as helping Bristol transition to a carbon-neutral, zero-waste city.
Ed Rowberry, City Funds board member and chief executive at BBRC, said: “Bristol is known for home-grown solutions to local challenges.
“City Funds maintains that DNA and is designed to amplify it — making finance work for the local projects and businesses with the ambition to have a positive effect in our communities.”
There will also be money available for community initiatives and Bristol’s ‘No Child Goes Hungry’ campaign, which aims to help communities grow, purchase, prepare and cook fresh, healthy and affordable food.
'Bristol is clearly leading the way'
Anna Shiel, head of operations at Big Society Capital, said: “City Funds is a premier example of what can be achieved when investment, grant and government support come together to focus on addressing the needs of a specific place through enterprising solutions.
“A place-based approach is much more likely to foster the collaboration and energy needed to tackle deep-rooted challenges such as inequality and poverty. Bristol is clearly leading the way.”
Charity Power to Change has invested a further £250,000 for the first year of the fund. This contribution will enable community businesses to access grants and loans alongside the financing offered by the wider fund.
City Funds is a strategic partnership between BBRC, Quartet Community Foundation and Bristol City Council.
It is part of the One City Approach, which is a sustained effort to work across sectors to create solutions to Bristol’s inequality.
Mayor of Bristol Marvin Rees added: “Aligning investment in City Funds to the One City Plan and delivering against the key challenges the city faces will be truly transformational for the city.”
Although Bristol’s economy produces around £31,000 of value per head, 272,000 residents suffer from income deprivation — as high as 49 per cent in some wards.
Initiatives seeking funding can visit www.bristolcityfunds.co.uk.
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