Social Bite Fund

The Social Bite Fund, a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) established in 2014 with roots in a 2012 Edinburgh coffee shop, drives a mission to end homelessness through innovative, dignity-led solutions like homes, jobs, food, and holistic support. Founded by Josh Littlejohn and Alice Thompson, it embodies values of inclusion, empowerment, and systemic change, pioneering a "social business" model that reinvests 100% of profits from its cafés into social impact. Distinctive initiatives include the Social Bite Village for transitional housing, "Pay it Forward" free food schemes, supported employment targeting those with lived homelessness experience, and high-profile campaigns like Sleep in the Park and The World’s Big Sleep Out to advocate for structural reform.

It funds targeted interventions for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and extreme social exclusion, prioritising long-term transformation via employment, stable housing, free meals (over 183,000 items annually), and multi-agency collaborations over emergency aid alone. Support goes to collaborative projects, capital builds like modular housing, and seed funding for scalable models, often delivered directly through its enterprises or to select partners.

Eligible applicants are UK-registered charities, preferably medium-to-large organisations with established networks and capacity for partnerships, operating primarily in Scotland (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee; occasional London projects). Unsolicited applications are not accepted—funding is invite-only, adhoc, and strategic, with no deadlines, portals, or open rounds; partners are approached via networks.

Grants typically range from £10,000 to £250,000 for project delivery or infrastructure, excluding core costs or unrestricted funding. Social Bite stands out for blending direct service provision, lived-experience governance, commercial sustainability, and global advocacy, favouring holistic, community-led responses to entrenched poverty.