We all know how tight cash is and how councils are having to tighten their belts as never before. But our investment in the Bucks Big Society Bank is surely one of the best possible uses of our money – because it helps communities to help themselves.

Since 2011, we have ploughed £180,000 into the bank, specifically to be loaned out to voluntary and community organisations for worthwhile local projects. Unlike grant funding, which can only be spent once, the bank will be able to recycle – as a loan gets repaid, that money can be re-lent.

We were the bank’s founding contributor and our initial donation prompted other investors to come forward. The aim is to try to stimulate and support enterprising initiatives within communities because social enterprise, by its very nature, finds it difficult to raise traditional loan funding.

It’s because money is in such short supply these days that we are having to work so closely with communities and volunteers to deliver some of the services which councils can no longer afford to provide.

But why, in that case, should volunteers take all the risk? Why should they put their own homes on the line and get second mortgages to pay for community buildings?

If we truly expect these people to grasp the nettle of the Big Society and make things happen for themselves, then we have to be prepared to meet them halfway.

Our investment is designed to achieve just that by supplying the funds for unsecured interest-free loans that will kick-start projects without the volunteers having to take on all the risk. It also helps keep grant funding available for the initiatives that really need grants rather than loans.

The Bucks Big Society Bank carefully checks out projects before loaning between £1,000 and £30,000. The only cost to volunteers is an admin fee.

We have now seen several examples in our county of where the loans have been a spectacular success.We are proud to stand firmly behind our communities to give them the backing and share the risk as these amazing volunteers help us build a better and more independent Big Society.

Martin Phillips, Cabinet Member for Community Engagement