Senan Hogan, 10 Jul
The Social Finance Foundation, a non-profit body that provides loan
finance to community organisations around Ireland, has reported
€1,917,000 in new loans to community groups in County Kildare in 2022.
When added to pre-existing loans, the total value of Social Finance
Foundation loans to community organisations in County Kildare is now
€2,273,000. This compares to counties such as Laois (€748,000 new
loans/ €1,015,000 total loans), Meath (€536,000/ €1,381,000), Offaly
(€933,000/ €1,357,000) and Wicklow (€366,000/ €805,000).
The new loans went to the Community & Voluntary, Educational and Sports
sectors and included community organisations such as Straffan Gaelic
Football Club, The Acre Project CLG and Ballymore Eustace Community
Development Association CLG.
Social Finance Foundation was established in 2007 by the Government of
Ireland to address the needs of community organisations and social
enterprises for loan funding where it is difficult to obtain from
mainstream financial institutions. Acting as a ‘wholesaler’, it
provides funding to its lending partners – Clann Credo and Community
Finance Ireland. Its motto is – ‘Finance for Social Good’.
Social Finance Foundation is advising community groups in
County Kildare that they can apply for funding of up to €500,000
through the Foundation’s partners – Clann Credo and Community Finance
Ireland. Applications are processed within a few weeks with personal
interaction a key feature of the lending process. This results in a
high approval rate for loan applications.
A key feature of loans provided by the Social Finance Foundation is the
provision of bridging loans. Community groups are often in receipt of
grants which are only paid when the work is completed and hence the
importance to have bridging finance for the development which is then
repaid when the grant is received. Approximately one third of its loan
book is comprised of bridging loans.
Commenting on the trends in the sector, Brendan Whelan (Chief Executive
Officer of Social Finance Foundation) said: “Our loan funding is
available to nine different sectors namely Community & Voluntary,
Sports, Social Enterprises, Healthcare, Social Care Housing, Childcare,
Education and Arts, Heritage & Tourism and Climate/Environment.”
He added: “We are seeing a notable increase in applications from the
environmental and bio-diversity sector which we are keen to grow as a
percentage of our lending. Similarly, we also want to foster more
social enterprises in communities.”
About Social Finance Foundation
Social Finance Ireland has an operating model unique to Ireland. It
combines the State, acting through the Government and Department of
Finance; the Private Sector through the representatives of the
participating banks (AIB, Bank of Ireland, permanent tsb and Ulster
Bank); the Third Sector through the Social Lending Organisations (Clann
Credo and Community Finance Ireland); and the EU through the support of
the European Investment Fund and the Council of Europe Development
Bank. It is this extensive and interdependent combination of support
that has enabled the Foundation to deliver on its mission to facilitate
social development through utilising finance and financial expertise.