On 1 April 2009, previous Communities Secretary, Hazel Blears, announced the names of recipient organisations of the Local Government Empowerment Fund and Social Firms UK was among those chosen. The total £9.25 million fund is being shared among twenty one third sector organisations who work to give people a real say in their communities.
The focus of the Empowerment Fund is delivery on the key themes of the Communities in Control White paper which include being active in your community; access to information; standing for office and ownership and control. Social Firms UK was selected to receive some of the fund to help with its work on using Social Firms to help excluded and disadvantaged groups back into employment.