Recent research conducted by the think tank NPC for Big Society Capital has found that charities and social enterprises have received £3.4m in two years thanks to Social Investment Tax Relief (SITR) introduced by the Treasury.

NPC’s paper, published on 4 July, found that:

• 30 projects have raised investment using SITR deals since April 2014
• On average these investments have raised capital of £100,000 for charitable causes, including in education, homelessness, heritage work and work in local communities
• The market has predominantly boosted organisations outside of London. Activity has focused on
• Scotland (a third of all projects) and the south west (one in five)
• An increasing number of retail investors—often members of the local community via community shares—are using SITR with the average investment size as low as £230
• NPC found that SITR has predominantly helped organisations with revenues under £500,000 a year