Over the last few months, UCIT (Ireland) have met with a number of groups with decent business models in search of finance. However the provision of Social Finance is not solely based on economic return and groups need to inform themselves accordingly.

It is no longer merely enough to be a registered charity and expect that a social finance provider will favour your business proposal merely on that basis. Obviously, if the provision of social finance is to remain a constant within the Social Economy, credit risk must also be considered seriously.

But if the pool of resources available to communities in this way is to further increase, new investors will want to see a record of the real social impact of Social Finance thus far, and social lending organistaions are most conscious of this fact.

Community enterprises are encouraged to remain true to the social impact of their existing actions and future development plans when seeking social finance.