UnLtd’s Community Climate Action programme offers awards of up to £8,000, alongside business support, coaching and networking, to help early-stage social entrepreneurs tackle climate change in their communities.
The programme supports practical ideas that help people reduce carbon emissions while improving wellbeing, particularly where communities face financial, social or environmental disadvantage. It focuses on four areas: transport, home energy, sustainable food, and reducing waste and consumption.
The current round is aimed at founders who are developing an idea or whose venture has been trading for less than a year. Later-stage opportunities are expected to open in 2027.
Requirements:
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Be aged 16 or over.
- Live in the UK and have the right to live and work in the UK for the award period.
- Be the founder or leader of the social venture.
- Have a clear social purpose and demonstrate a genuine need for the venture.
- Be able to show that the venture mainly benefits people or places in the UK.
- Be working towards a financially sustainable model and seeking both funding and non-financial support from UnLtd.
- Have a venture incorporated for less than four years, with turnover below £250,000 in the last financial year.
- Be at the ideas stage or have been trading for less than one year for this early-stage round.
The venture must focus on at least one of the programme’s four climate themes. It must do more than simply raise awareness of an issue, and must not involve political or religious campaigning.
Applicants do not necessarily need to have established a formal legal structure before applying, although any venture that is already incorporated must be registered in the UK.
Funding Priorities:
UnLtd is particularly interested in founders with lived experience and strong connections to the communities they serve, including people from Black, Asian and other minoritised ethnic communities, disabled founders, and those working in economically disadvantaged areas. Projects should offer practical ways to reduce emissions and improve local wellbeing, with a clear social purpose and potential to create lasting change.
What They Will Fund:
UnLtd is particularly interested in founders with lived experience and strong connections to the communities they serve, including people from Black, Asian and other minoritised ethnic communities, disabled founders, and those working in economically disadvantaged areas. Projects should offer practical ways to reduce emissions and improve local wellbeing, with a clear social purpose and potential to create lasting change.
What They Will Fund
Awards can support the costs of setting up and developing a social venture. Potential uses include:
- Transport: community initiatives that encourage walking, cycling, shared transport or other lower-carbon travel.
- Home energy: projects helping households reduce energy use, improve energy efficiency or address fuel-related inequality.
- Sustainable food: community food initiatives that encourage sustainable food choices, local production or lower-carbon diets.
- Reducing waste and consumption: repair, reuse, recycling, sharing schemes and projects that reduce unnecessary consumption.
- Developing the venture: eligible costs needed to establish and deliver the social enterprise, build its operating model and develop its impact.
Successful applicants also receive one-to-one coaching, practical business support, peer learning and networking opportunities.
The award must be spent within 12 months of approval. Under UnLtd’s Starting Up Award guidance, the funding can cover social venture costs but cannot be used to pay the founder for their own time.
What They Won’t Fund:
The programme will not fund:
- Applications primarily intended to pay for formal or academic qualifications.
- Overseas travel as the main purpose of the application.
- Applications primarily intended to pay another organisation or person to deliver the work on the applicant’s behalf.
- Ventures involved in political or religious campaigning.
- Activities that are unlawful, against public policy, or likely to cause harm or division between communities.
- Ventures that only raise awareness without taking practical action.
- Ventures that do not meet the age, location, incorporation, turnover or early-stage requirements.
How To Apply:
You can apply using the button below through their online application form.
Want this information straight to your inbox? Sign up for our newsletter!