Up to £50,000 is being offered to aid long-term financial stability for eight Torfaen social enterprises.

Torfaen is home to more than 30 social enterprises according to estimates, including social care providers, recycling initiatives, and food cooperatives.

These organisations typically depend on short-term grants and various funding sources.

The grants of up to £50,000, along with a support scheme, aim to discover sustainable income sources and develop a 12-month sustainability model.

Run by Torfaen County Borough Council’s Building Resilient Communities, the Social Enterprise Challenge encourages organisations to lessen dependence on limited funding.

Councillor Fiona Cross, the council's executive member of communities, said: "This is a great opportunity for Torfaen social enterprises to make a lasting difference to their organisations and local communities.

"This challenge aims to help them become more independent and less reliant on short-term pots of funding, so they can create real and sustainable change."

By emailing CommunityResilienceGrants@torfaen.gov.uk by July 31, interested organisations can indicate their desire to participate.

Eligible social enterprises will receive application packs, with applications due to be submitted in August.

This initiative comes after the Healthier Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s report on the economic and societal value of social enterprises was discussed in September.

The Social Enterprise Challenge is backed by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to the tune of £450,000.