An award for neighbourhood initiatives has honoured the London School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE), with unrestricted grant funding and leadership development for the organisation.

The Bank of America's Neighbourhood Excellence Initiative Awards is connected to the The Neighbourhood Excellence Initiative™ (NEI), which recognises two charitable organisations, five community leaders and five secondary school students who are helping to rebuild and revitalise their local communities in London.

Since the 2007 launch of NEI in London, Bank of America has committed over £470,000 in NEI awards to support the local community, modelled on its work in the US. In 2008, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation committed $20m globally to the initiative, which operates in 45 of the bank’s major markets, bringing the total commitment under the programme to more than $90m by the end of the year.

SSE won one of the two Neighbourhood Builders awards, along with Trees For Cities, for local charitable organisations working to promote vibrant communities. The school receives £110,000 in unrestricted grant funding, and the opportunity for an executive director and an emerging leader from each organisation to participate in a leadership development programme. This is sponsored by Bank of America to enhance their strategic skills with their peers from US charitable organisations.