The Build It award offers up to £40,000 in grant funding for early-stage social enterprises in Scotland to help them create new jobs and cover the salary costs. This will help the enterprise increase its income so it can become financially sustainable and deliver social impact without relying on grant funding.

Build It can offer:

• up to £27,000 for a single salary at the Real Living Wage
• up to £40,000 split between 2 or more salaries at the Real Living Wageopens in a new window, external link which will open in a new window 

To receive funding through Build It, you'll need to show that the award will allow your enterprise to establish new, permanent roles and increase its income and social impact during the next 12 months.

You'll need to submit an application form, a business plan, a pitch and cash flow projections. There are templates for all these on the Firstport website. Please use the templates provided and make sure you read the guidance thoroughly before you apply.

There's a new application deadline each quarter and a set date for shortlisted applicants to present their pitch to a panel.

To apply for Build It, your social enterprise must:

• have a registered office in Scotland
• operate primarily for the benefit of people or communities in Scotland
• not involve political campaigning or the promotion of religion
• have an asset-locked constitution registered with either Companies House, the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR), or the Mutual Public Register
• have a business bank account in the name of the social enterprise
• have a board of directors in place, where no more than half of the directors are related to one another or employed by the enterprise
• have been trading for 3 years or less
• be an independent organisation and not the project or subsidiary of an existing body
• provide evidence of successful trading
• demonstrate the potential to become financially sustainable
• provide evidence of the direct, measurable social impact it delivers
• pay a salary that adheres to the Scottish Government Fair Work policy 
• use the required cash flow template for the application

If you've previously received funding through Firstport's Start It award, you must be finished using this award before being eligible for Build It.

This is a free service.

Early-stage social enterprises in Scotland that want to work toward becoming financially sustainable.

There's a new application deadline each quarter.

The process from the application deadline to the pitch outcomes will take around 2 months.

After your pitch, you'll normally get a decision within a few days.

Visit the Firstport website to find the next application deadline and the date for the next pitching panel.

There's a new application deadline each quarter and a set date for shortlisted applicants to present their pitch to a panel. Visit the Firstport website to see the dates for the next deadline and pitching panel.

Visit the Firstport website for more information and to find out how to apply.