As well as taking investment from individuals, your investment will be supported by larger social and impact investment institutions. At this time we work with two - Unity Trust Bank and the Esmee Fairburn Foundation. Here is how it works:

• Esmee initially matched the amount invested by local people at a 50% rate. So for every £1,000 invested by local people into your raise, Esmee will invest an additional £500. However as of December 2025 this increased to 100% matching
• Unity have a broad mandate to invest a minimum of £15m into council investments through our platform. They will spread this across all councils raising money

Both these institutions want to support the growth of this way of investing, as well as using the returns as part of their treasury management programmes. You can learn more about these partnerships here >> https://www.abundanceinvestment.com/our-partners

What this means in practical terms

Neither Esmee or Unity want their investment to crowd out any residents who wish to invest, given their goal to grow this way of investing. So typically they will both make a first investment into your offer after around a month, with a final investment made on the very last day to take up any remaining investment that is available at that time. Esmee’s amount will be matched to local investors, and Unity will pick up whatever is left over after that is done.

This means that your raise will reach its target come what may, due to this institutional backing.

You are also welcome to mention their support in your comms - in particular the Esmee backing for local investors might be relevant to increase engagement.