If you’ve been thinking about investing in your marketing – a proper strategy, a clear plan, some outside expertise to help you work out what to focus on – but haven’t quite got there yet, this is for you!
The NBSL North of Tyne Business Support Fund and Sunderland Business Support Fund offers eligible businesses up to 50% funding towards business improvement projects. And Gingerfizz Marketing is now a Registered Provider, which means marketing strategy and planning support is something you can apply to have part-funded.
What is the North of Tyne Business Support Fund?
The North of Tyne Business Support Fund is part-funded by the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund, delivered by NBSL through the North East Combined Authority. It’s designed to help SMEs access external expertise to support business growth and improvement — and marketing strategy sits squarely within that.
Eligible businesses can access up to 50% funding towards projects costing between £3,000 and £8,000. That’s a meaningful contribution towards the kind of strategic marketing work that tends to make a real difference.
Who is eligible?
To be eligible, your business needs to be a trading SME based in the North of Tyne Combined Authority area — that’s Newcastle, North Tyneside, and Northumberland. There are some additional eligibility criteria worth checking on the NBSL website, but if you’re a small or medium-sized service business in that area and you’re planning to grow, it’s worth taking five minutes to look.
What could the funding cover?
As a Registered Provider, the work I do with clients on marketing strategy and planning is eligible under the fund. That includes:
- A Marketing Audit: An honest, structured review of what you’re currently doing, what’s working, what isn’t, and where the gaps are. A useful starting point if you’re not sure where to begin.
- Marketing Strategy and Planning: Focused, intensive sessions that result in a written marketing strategy your business can actually follow. Clear priorities, a follow up plan and channel recommendations based on your specific situation.
- Marketing Coaching and Accountability: Ongoing strategic support for business owners and founders who want to keep moving in the right direction. Regular sessions, accountability and a sounding board when you need one.
These aren’t off-the-shelf packages. The work is tailored to each business, and the goal is always the same: to help you make better marketing decisions, more consistently, without it taking over your life.
How does the funding process work?
According to NBSL, the process is straightforward — you could have a decision on your application within a few weeks. You’ll need to provide some details about your business, the project you want to fund, and how it will help your business grow or become more resilient.
If you’d like to talk through what a project might look like before you apply — what it would involve, what you’d get out of it, and whether the timing makes sense for you — I’m happy to have that conversation. No obligation, just a practical discussion.
Find out more
Full details of the North of Tyne Business Support Fund, including eligibility criteria and the application form, are available on the NBSL Website.
Or if you’d prefer to talk it through first, get in touch and we can go from there.