Monthly Archives: July 2017

Taking a new view

Digging a hiole - image
Getting the right direction of travel first really helps!

Sometimes, in a committee room or at your office desk, starting a new community enterprise – or entertaining the very thought – can be a bit like the image above.

SocEntEastMids logo and web link - About us.Here at SocEntEastMIds we are trying to build a new starting point. A resource for information about social enterprise, news and stories from successes, and those that didn’t go well. To promote understanding and to get easy access to a community project road map.

First principles are important and you can find a good read about building social businesses on our Good Reads page here. We will be expanding our library of good reads in the future. (It’s been our road-map for a long time now too…Ed.)

Having a chat about your idea is also important too. Not all project ideas grow, but those that do invariably begin by talking to experienced practitioners, even informally. You get an idea about a business landscape before you enter it. SocEntEastMIds is happy to have a conversation – contact us here.

Social Enterprise in the UK - British Council - cover image and web link
View, print or download your book here – pdf

The British Council have published a great resource, Social Enterprise in the UK, a sort of ‘SocEnt primer’ and an illustrated overview of the social business sector. One of the best we know.

It covers everything you might need to know about social enterprise and community business – from governance to diversity, from incubation to consortia.

You can download your free copy here. It’s a big book, packed with information and structural insight.

 

If we can help pick a chapter and we’ll come and talk to you about it.  Contact us here.

If you need it, pick a chapter, and we’ll create a one hour workshop and come and deliver it to you.  Contact us here.

We are particularly keen to hear from community groups, faith groups, childcare and education settings of all kinds who are beginning to wrangle with ‘sustainability’.

No charge and, as our Partnership Australian colleagues say, ‘no worries’. You can find out more SocEntEastMids on our About Us page here.


Social Saturday 2017

A date for the diary – Saturday 14th October 2017 – Social Saturday.

See more from Social Enterprise UK

‘Social Saturday is an annual campaign which inspires consumers to buy from social enterprises, businesses that put people and planet first. It is led by the national body for social enterprises, Social Enterprise UK (SEUK) and is supported by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.’

In 2016 over sixty events took pace across the UK, and this year there are lots of ways in which to get involved at home and work.

You might be a consumer looking for a social enterprise gift; work in a local authority and keen to support social enterprises in your borough; or a business looking to buy from social enterprises to improve your supply chain.

Source: https://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/social-saturday-2017

Buy Social Corporate Challenge

Led by Social Enterprise UK in partnership with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and Business in the Community, a number of forward-thinking corporate businesses are opening up their supply chains to the UK’s 70,000 social enterprises. The ambition is to collectively spend £1 billion with social enterprises by 2020.  Why not join them.

Local Authorities

Within local authority settings social enterprises can play a number of key roles in your supply chain. As ethical social businesses thay can provide services to the public, fromhealth support to transport, or deliver environmental projects to protect green spaces and foster good community interaction and engagement.

Things you might do in the LA area…

  • Organising visits to local social enterprises for MPs and Councillors
  • Put on event bringing together social enterprises in your area. This could be a social enterprise marketplace or a networking event bringing together social enterprises with other key stakeholders in the area
  • Raising awareness of the Social Saturday through your Council’s communications channels

Lets make Social Saturday 2017 another fantastic day for your social enterprise.