Business Grants

Having provided interest-free loans to help support aspiring and existing business owners within Leicestershire and Rutland since 1542, The Sir Thomas White Loan Charity is delighted to announce a new pilot scheme, which will see £50,000 delivered in grants to businesses in need in 2021.

Applications are now open with individual grants of up to £5,000 available. Applications are welcomed from anyone who meets our full eligibility criteria, including current and former borrowers of the charity.

To be eligible for consideration for a grant for business purposes you must be:

• over 18 and under 45 years of age (at the time of the grant application decision)
• resident in Leicestershire or Rutland and operating your business from within this area
• running your business currently, and have been doing so for at least 1+ year
• able to demonstrate a real need for the grant and the positive impact receiving it will have on your business
• a sole trader, or run your business as a partnership or limited company. We regret we are unable to accept applications from registered charities or CICs

To make an application

Simply download the application form, equal opportunities form (optional) and supporting guidance, complete the application form in full and return to us via email or post no later than the application deadline. Please read the guidance carefully to ensure you are eligible to make an application and that your specific grant request is also eligible for our support.

Once an application is received, we will acknowledge receipt. We may also request additional information or ask you to clarify aspects of your application in more detail. The Grant Committee will consider all eligible applications and, you will be contacted in writing with their decision after the application deadline.

Application Pack

Please click on the links below to download the relevant application documents.

Key Dates

Deadline for receipt of applications: 31st August 2021. Early applications are welcomed.

All eligible applications will be considered by the Grant Committee and the final decision on grants to be awarded will be taken during the week commencing 13th September 2021.

As this is a pilot scheme, we are running one round of this initially.

If all available funds are allocated during the first round, then there will be no further rounds in 2021.

The scheme will then be reviewed in 2022 and a further grants scheme may be launched.

This webpage will be updated accordingly and we thus recommend you check back from time to time for updates.

If you are yet to do so we also recommend you sign up to receive our enewsletter and follow our social media channels, where any future grant rounds will be communicated.