There are several main sources of funding and each has different characteristics – some have requirements and/or restrictions that could influence their suitability to an organisation. The most common sources are:

• Grants & Donations
• Grants
• Funding from trusts
• Funding from the National Lottery
• Fundraising activities and events
• Donations and legacies 
• Funding from public bodies 
• Support from the corporate sector 
  
• Selling Goods & Services 
• Contracts and SLA 
• Social enterprise 
• Trading 
• Tendering and negotiating 
• Full Cost Recovery 
• Loans & Equity Finance 
  
• Non-money Support 
• Help in kind 
• Asset transfer 
  

Once you have some idea of the issues involved in financing your proposed activities, you need to consider which financial products might best suit your needs. Internally generated funds (surplus profit/cash) can be used in any circumstance, if they are available. Beyond this, a number of commercial products may be appropriate. Each social enterprise follows its own path.
However, certain patterns are typical. Often, social enterprises use grant funding to start up new income-generating activities. They then look for non-grant finance as the enterprise develops a track record and becomes increasingly self-sufficient. In certain cases, a package of products may be appropriate including both grants and one or more forms of non-grant finance.

Unlocking the Potential, a guide to finance for social enterprises 2004, Social Enterprise Coalition

The amount of finance that you require will affect your options, as some finance providers will not consider an application that is above or below their guidelines. Grants are usually available from very small to quite large amounts, depending on the grant maker. Commercial banks do not often consider loans for less than £10,000 but can consider much larger sums than grant makers, as long as the social enterprise can make a strong business case. Equity finance, whether from venture capital or public sources, tends to start at much larger sums, typically £250,000 or higher, although some providers might make investments of £50,000 - £100,000.