A new study by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) has found that Match Trading™ helps social ventures grow income, build stronger organisations and stay true to their mission.
The research, carried out by the Marshall Institute, looked at how Match Trading influences the way organisations think, plan and grow over time. It found that the model helps leaders become more strategic, more confident about trading and better equipped to make decisions about pricing, customers, markets and business models.
The study suggests that Match Trading does more than provide funding. By linking grant funding to growth in earned income, it encourages organisations to test ideas, develop new income streams and explore new ways of working. Participants described becoming bolder, more commercially aware and more willing to act on opportunities.
The research also found that the combination of training, peer support and conditional funding is a key part of the model’s impact. Leaders were able to apply new learning directly inside their organisations, helping to build skills, strengthen systems and embed new ways of working across teams.
For many participants, this led to wider organisational change. They reported stronger governance, clearer financial systems and better operational processes. In practice, the funding also created space to step back from day-to-day pressures, invest in staff time and focus on longer-term planning.
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This research reflects what we’ve seen in practice for years. Match Trading helps social ventures grow trading income in ways that strengthen their organisation, deepen their impact and build long-term resilience
Robin Chu, director of partnerships and policy, SSE 
Importantly, the study did not find evidence that increased trading led to mission drift.
This matters because social enterprises and charities have long faced questions about whether a stronger focus on earned income can pull them away from their purpose. In this study, participants generally said the opposite was true. Commercial growth was usually seen as supporting their mission, and in some cases helped them reach more people and deepen their impact.
The research also found that earned income and grants are not seen as alternatives to one another. Participants valued trading as part of a stronger and more resilient model, but they also said grants remained essential for innovation, subsidising services and supporting work with people and communities who might otherwise be excluded.
For funders and policymakers, the findings point to the importance of programme design. The study suggests that well-designed enterprise grants can help organisations build commercial confidence and long-term resilience, especially when funding is combined with practical learning and support.
Match Trading was created by the School for Social Entrepreneurs to help social enterprises grow trading income while reducing long-term reliance on grants. The model matches growth in earned income pound-for-pound with grant funding and is delivered alongside a learning programme.
Since 2016, Match Trading has supported more than 1,200 organisations and distributed more than £8 million into communities across the UK.