Southwark Local Access Partnership Trade Up Programme 2026

This programme is designed to support social enterprises and charities that are making a meaningful difference in Southwark. 

We recognise that many organisations work across boroughs, across London, or even internationally. Being registered in Southwark is not the only way to demonstrate eligibility. What matters most is your organisation’s genuine and ongoing impact in Southwark. 

You are likely to be eligible if: 

• You are based in Southwark; or 

• You are based elsewhere but deliver a significant proportion of your work in Southwark; or 

• You work across multiple boroughs (e.g. Lambeth, Lewisham, Southwark) and have clear, sustained delivery in Southwark; or 

• You deliver both locally and internationally but can demonstrate substantial activity and benefit within Southwark. 

You are unlikely to be eligible if: 

• Your organisation has only minimal or occasional activity in Southwark; or 

• Your work is primarily delivered outside Southwark (for example, mainly overseas) with little or no direct benefit to Southwark communities. 

What we mean by “significant connection” 

When assessing applications, we may consider: 

• Where your beneficiaries are based 

• Where your activities are delivered 

• The proportion of income linked to Southwark work 

• Partnerships or contracts within Southwark 

• Your organisation’s strategic commitment to Southwark communities 

• Southwark does not need to represent 100% or even a majority of your work — but it must be a meaningful and demonstrable part of what you do. 

If you are unsure whether your organisation qualifies, we encourage you to contact us before applying. 

The income level is a guide for who might be at the right stage for this programme. We are really looking for people who are growing their trading and want to grow. 

If you have had income of £30,000 to £50,000 income in your last financial year, or in the last 12 months, or you have secured this for this financial year, we can consider you for this programme. In addition, if you have income over £50,000, there may be some exceptions, see below. 

We mean all income, including grants, donations and trading income. Don’t include loans or equity investments.  

You should have had at least £30,000 income in the last financial year or the last 12 months or secured for this financial year. A budget or planned income is not enough, it should be secured. 

There may be some exceptions to the £50,000 limit. If you have recently had a large grant that will be spent this year, or other unusual income, then talk to us about that. We are really looking for organisations who are right for this level of programme, and we will consider exceptional cases, if we feel the programme would work well for you. 

However, we are very unlikely to consider large or well-established organisations with significant income for this programme.  

If you have under £30,000 income, one of our other programmes may be a better fit for you. Feel free to ask us about this or come to one of our online Information sessions to find out more. 

We are keen to enable people with disabilities and other access issues, to join our programmes. There is a separate small fund held by SSE to enable students who have particular needs to access the programme. This will be agreed on an individual basis. If you have specific needs and are concerned about this, please contact [email protected] to discuss.

Previous participants have included people who have criminal convictions, some of whom have used their experience to make a difference to the lives of ex-offenders. You do not need to let us know about previous convictions unless they are relevant to your application. 

If you have unspent convictions for fraud or convictions which may affect your ability to run your project, including working with children, young people or adults who are vulnerable, you must let us know. We may undertake checks during the course of the application assessment.

You are welcome to apply if you have previously had training and support from SSE. However, we will not be accepting applications from anyone who will be on another programme with SSE that lasts more than 6 months and continues beyond June 2026.

We cannot accept applications from people who are staff or trustees of SSE. If you have a close connection with SSE or any of the funders of this programme or any staff, or trustees of these organisations, then please contact us before making an application.  

As a charity we can only support work that is for the public benefit, and not for private gain. We cannot support “non-incidental” private benefit. You can pay yourself and others a salary or fees for work you are doing for your project, as this is “incidental”. You can also pay yourselves or others rent or fees for work undertaken for your project, as long as this is at market or below market levels.  

If you have shareholders, you will not be able to pay dividends to private individuals during the course of the programme, though you may agree with us to pay yourself a dividend in lieu of salary. You should not use our grant for work not connected to your project, or to pay ex-gratia payments, fines or for entertainment for individuals which should be declared for tax purposes.

We use the term global majority to refer to people who are Black, Asian, Indigenous, mixed-heritage, and others who are racially or ethnically minoritised in the UK. 

When we say an organisation is global majority–led, we mean that people from the global majority: 

• Hold senior leadership positions (e.g. CEO, Director, Founder) 

• Have meaningful decision-making power 

• Shape the organisation’s strategy, vision and direction 

• Are represented at board or governance level 

This is about leadership and accountability — not just representation among staff, volunteers, or beneficiaries. 

We recognise that organisations are structured in different ways, so we encourage applicants to explain how leadership and decision-making sit within their organisation.