MATCH TRADING® GRANTS
EMPOWER COMMUNITIES
TO IMPROVE OUR SOCIETY

INNOVATIVE GRANT MAKING TO REGENERATE BRITAIN

This beautifully simple innovation in grant-funding matches pound-for-pound an increase in trading income. By incentivising sales growth Match Trading® (also known as Match Trade) builds financial sustainability, not grant reliance. Developed by the School for Social Entrepreneurs, this has proven effective in growing social enterprises – especially in marginalised areas.

A more equitable relationship between funders and grantees

IMPACT

Data from

Match Trading programmes of over 900 organisations demonstrates that the approach supported up to 29% increase in trading income within one year. This compares to a 12% increase in trading income for an equivalent control group who received traditional grants (control group study in partnership with Power to Change).

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900+

Social organisations have used
Match Trading grants to date

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29%

Average % increase in
trading income in one year

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£££

Ensuring social organisations in marginalised communities access funding that works for them

GET INVOLVED

A range of delivery methods are available for funders and partners to increase their impact and sustainability of organisations through Match Trading. By joining Match Trading, you can join the movement in a new way of grant making, share in aggregating data and be at the forefront of developing what works.

Table showing three different service levels for licensing Match Trading: Lean, Core and Full

Please email matchtrading@sse.org.uk and Robin or Jo will contact you to find the Match Trading approach best suited to your organisation. 

WHAT OUR SUPPORTERS SAY ABOUT US

``We are keenly aware of the deep-rooted problems social enterprises face in accessing the variety and range of funding and investment needed to assist them at different stages of their development, thus we support further investment into Match Trading, a vital part of the social impact investor eco-system.``
Peter Holbrook - CEO - SEUK

``We remain great supporters of SSE’s pioneering Match Trading enterprise grant tool. We believe it has the potential to grow impact, in collaboration with funders and other significant stakeholders in the sector.``
James Banks - CEO- London Funders

``We cannot regenerate people, places and our planet without new innovative approaches to persistent problems. Match Trading is one such innovation, which when coupled with skills development, will help deliver the levelling up agenda.``
Andy Haldane - RSA and HM Treasury’s Economic Advisory Council member

``We’re excited to be working with SSE and Match Trading as part of the Community Enterprise Growth Plan partnership and see Match Trading as a critical element in supporting enterprise growth as well as building pipeline for the social investment sector.``
James Westhead - Head of Engagement - Big Society Capital

MATCH TRADING CASE STUDIES

Nikki DiGiovanni, REMO

"Not only did the programme help us to learn how to increase traded income and how to respond to that in an agile way, it also gave us the confidence to strategically invest in the development of the organisation via social investment and larger pots of capital based finance."

Read Nikki's Story

Grace Harrison, Kitty's Launderette

"It was good to be on a programme that had an emphasis on trading and our long-term sustainability. Our organisation started as a project with the need to fundraise and secure investment to start the business, but we always wanted to move towards a more sustainable model”

Read Grace's Story

Emma Roberts, The Cornwall Bicycle Project

“Being on the programme with other people that are at the same point with their businesses was great. Although everyone was running very different organisations having other people to talk to was most helpful – creating that network. The Match Trading funding was great because it was a motivation to really try hard to think about ways of increasing our traded income to be a sustainable business.”

Read Emma's Story

Carolyn Whitehead, Beautiful New Beginnings

"Looking at the sales and revenue in order to be able to apply was hard but worth it because there was a goal... So Match Trading was a driving force to increasing sales so that we could then invest more going forward.”

Read Carolyn's Story

Martin Campos, Breadwinners

“We have three programs where young refugees start doing work experience at the market... The programmes allow them to use their skills and gain new ones, have their first work experience in the UK and progress into their careers in their new home country.”

Read Martin's Story

Helene Virolan, Girls Into Coding

“The Match Trading grant allowed me to explore new perspectives and strategies to develop myself and the business. I’ve also benefited from a support network that helped me to strengthen my confidence, resilience, and leadership."

Read Helene's Story

Felicia Boshorin, Spring Community Hub

“The grant made me more strategic, looking at the future rather than the day-to-day. It gave me the time to reflect and plan both financially and for the community’s future needs. It changed my life totally."

Read Felicia's Story

Simon Redding, Monkey Park CIC

“The learning programme made us more resilient and helped us to grow our income from trading and profitability.”

Read Simon's Story

“The Match Trading grant is incredibly motivating. It pushes you to make sure you do what you say you’re going to do, to increase your trading. It’s an incentive to actually follow through with what your aims are, because you want to get the funding.”

Read Madeline's Story

Maeve Darroux, Brilliant Women

“The Match Trading grant has been instrumental in our development, from taking the important decision to create Brilliant Parents as a company in its own right, to one year on from the programme ending, 100% of our income is via trading!”

Read Maeve's Story

"Not only did the programme help us to learn how to increase traded income and how to respond to that in an agile way, it also gave us the confidence to strategically invest in the development of the organisation via social investment and larger pots of capital based finance."

ABOUT US

Match Trading was created by SSE from 20 years of experience of helping people to create sustainable change in their communities. Match Trading was originally made possible with the support of pioneer partners, Lloyds Banking Group and Big Lottery Fund. 

 

The team is now led by Robin Chu, SSE’s Director of Strategic Projects, alongside Strategic Projects Manager Joanna Verney.  

CREATED BY

PIONEER PARTNERS

Delivery partners

SSE has since partnered with Scottish Government, Access – the Foundation for Social Investment, Rank Foundation and Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity. More recent delivery partners also include the The National Lottery Heritage Fund, City Bridge Trust and The Dulverton Trust.

Match Trading Task Force partners

The Match Trading Task Force ran from 2018-22, Chaired by Carol Mack (CEO – Association of Charitable Foundations). The goal was to create opportunities, ideas and collaborative practice around Match Trading. The Task force included over 20 partners, including Lloyds Bank Foundation, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Esmee Fairburn Foundation, The Mercers’ Company, Voice4Change England, London Funders and more. We’d like to thank The Mercers’ Company and Esmee Fairburn Foundation for providing SSE with development funding for Match Trading during this time.

 

The Task Force has now expanded in scope; to explore the Enterprise Grants movement. Supported by a steering group led by SSE, Chaired by The Dulverton Trust and including Access and Association of Charitable Funders, the Task Force meets quarterly and includes members of the Match Trading Task Force plus City Bridge Trust, Coutts Institute and more.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

We hope to answer some of your questions below. Please email matchtrading@sse.org.uk if you’d like to discuss any aspect of Match Trading further, and a member of the School for Social Entrepreneurs team will get back to you as soon as possible.

How can my organisation give out Match Trading grants?

We’re keen for more organisations to support their beneficiaries and grantees with Match Trading grants. Please email matchtrading@sse.org.uk and a member of the School for Social Entrepreneurs team will get back to you as soon as possible to explain the ways you could use the Match Trading™ approach.

What type of grantee can Match Trading benefit?

So far, we have offered Match Trading™ grants to social enterprises, community interest companies, community businesses, and charities seeking to increase their income from trading. All have been established for at least one year, though some have been going much longer. Crucially, they are at stage where they are actively seeking to increase their income from trading.

We are keen to test the parameters of Match Trading: what are the minimum and maximum grant amounts that could be offered? What other sectors could it benefit? What size and maturity of organisation is it best suited to?

We warmly welcome you to contact us to discuss how Match Trading grants could benefit the organisations you work with, so we can explore its broader utility. Please email matchtrading@sse.org.uk and a member of the School for Social Entrepreneurs team will get back to you as soon as possible.

How do grantees draw down the Match Trading grant?

So far, we have offered Match Trading grants to grantees over a period of one year. They can draw down the grant on a quarterly basis, matched against increases in their income from trading compared with the baseline year.

How do you define “income from trading”?

The School for Social Entrepreneurs spent three years developing Match Trading grants. Part of this development period was establishing what should and should not qualify as “income from trading”, as it can become quite nuanced! We would be happy to discuss our conclusions further with you, if you are interested in offering Match Trading grants or partnering with us in other ways. Please email matchtrading@sse.org.uk.

Where can I get more data about the impact of Match Trading?

Please email matchtrading@sse.org.uk briefly introducing your organisation and request, and a member of the School for Social Entrepreneurs team will get back to you as soon as possible.

You can also sign up to the Match Trading mailing list to hear about new impact data on Match Trading as it is published.

How do I apply for a Match Trading grant?

You can currently access Match Trading grants through programmes offered by the School for Social Entrepreneurs. Please visit SSE’s website for more information.  You can also sign up to the Match Trading mailing list to hear about opportunities to access Match Trading grants as they become available.