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Social Enterprise Explained. Social enterprise FAQs / About. 1. What are social enterprises? Have you ever bought the Big Issue? Read it over a bar of Divine chocolate with a cup of Cafe Direct coffee? Watched Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen? Well, then you already know a bit about social enterprises: businesses that are changing the world for the better. Social enterprises trade to tackle social problems, improve communities, people’s life chances, or the environment. Read the short guide - Social Enterprise Explained - to find out more. According to Social Enterprise UK, social enterprises should: Have a clear social and/or environmental mission set out in their governing documentsGenerate the majority of their income through tradeReinvest the majority of their profitsBe autonomous of stateBe majority controlled in the interests of the social missionBe accountable and transparent More detail about these points can be found in the short paper - What makes a social enterprise a social enterprise?

2. 3. We are the national body for social enterprise. 4. 5. 6. Learn Educate Discover - Discover What You Were Meant To Do. Setting up a social enterprise. You must choose a business structure if you’re starting a business that helps people or communities (a ‘social enterprise’). If you want to set up a business that has social, charitable or community-based objectives, you can set up as a: If you’re setting up a small organisation like a sports club or a voluntary group and don’t plan to make a profit, you can form an ‘unincorporated association’ instead of starting a business.

Community interest companies (CICs) A CIC is a special type of limited company which exists to benefit the community rather than private shareholders. To set up a CIC, you need to apply to Companies House, and: The CIC regulator has guidance on CICs, including the forms you need to set one up. Further information Get advice and case studies from Social Enterprise UK, Inspire2Enterprise and UnLtd or download guidance on business structures for social enterprises.

Find out about legal forms for social enterprise. Inspire2Enterprise - Driving Social Enterprise Success. UnLtd - for Social Entrepreneurs. Breaking into Social Enterprise | Milkround. For generations, bright graduates have been interested in what they can do to improve society and address inequality. But the options for socially-conscious graduates in 2014 might seem limited. While Teach First and Frontline offer a recognised entry route into education and social work respectively, your interests might lie elsewhere; months and months of think tank internships are unlikely to teach you much more than stapling skills; and the prospect of becoming an admin assistant in a charity – if you beat 100s of other applicants to the job that is – probably doesn’t fill you with excitement. But recently, some trailblazing grads have been discovering Social Enterprises, businesses with a social mission.

For those who are left cold by corporates, social enterprise is business with a heart. For those who have doubts about the effectiveness of traditional non-profit activity, social enterprise is charity with a brain. And it’s booming. Six strategies for social enterprise success. Social enterprise. Main Body Text A social enterprise is a business that puts social purpose at the heart of everything it does, reinvesting the profits it makes towards achieving that purpose. Well known examples of social enterprises include The Big Issue and Jamie Oliver's restaurant Fifteen. Leeds has a vibrant social enterprise sector which the Council is committed to helping to grow. We work in partnership with Leeds Community Foundation and Voluntary Action Leeds, who provide grants and assistance to the sector. We also provide part of the funding for the Community Foundation's Yorkshire Venture Philanthropy Programme, set up in partnership with ERDF and Key Fund to support the growth of social enterprise in the region.

The programme consists of financial and practical support for social enterprises including small grants up to £5,000 to support the development of enterprising ideas and plans. Leeds Community Foundation also runs the ‘Ideas That Change Lives’ programme in partnership with SEE Ahead. Prove and Improve. Community Interest Companies (CIC) – The facts - James Comer. Register a community interest company or CIC Company. A community interest company, known as a CIC is a hybrid between a regular commercial trading company and a charitable company, and became available from July 2005.

The idea behind the CIC was to promote social entrepreneurship, allowing for projects to be undertaken where high calibre directors can be recruited by offering market salaries, and investors with a social conscience can receive a return on their money, albeit capped by regulation. A key feature is the "asset lock" whereby the assets of the CIC can only be applied directly for the objects of the Community Interest Company or similar enterprise upon cessation of the company's business.

It will not be automatically treated as a charity and it will ordinarily pay tax like any other company, although certain tax breaks for investors may be available. There will be a regulator for Community Interest Companies and upon the approval of the regulator an application for company formation can proceed to Companies House. Community interest companies: guidance chapters. 11 1400 guide legal forms for social enterprise. Yorkshire & Humber. Locality members in Yorkshire & Humber are supported by a team providing one-to-one support and advice across the region.

The Locality Yorkshire & Humber team Kathryn Roper, Membership Developer@LocalityNorth t: 0781 8570192 kathryn.roper@locality.org.ukNeil Berry, Director of Services @neilberry1 t: 01142 500613 m: 07912 269672 neil.berry@locality.org.ukSophie Michelena, Development Manager @sophiemichelena t: 07515 576369 sophie.michelena@locality.org.ukJohn Dawson, Development Officer t: 07792 623783 john.dawson@locality.org.uk What support do we offer? We offer all Locality members in Yorkshire & Humber a bespoke support service.

As experienced voluntary and community sector professionals, we provide advice, guidance and information linked to both our core benefits and the individual circumstances of our members. We also run regular regional events, workshops and training sessions. Trading and social enterprise — Knowhow Nonprofit. Information and case studies about raising money through trading and forming social enterprises. The number of social enterprises has increased rapidly over recent years and is likely to carry on doing so, particularly as the current economic climate seems to have initiated an entrepreneurial spirit amongst school leavers and graduates who are struggling to find work. In this section we've gathered resources to help if you are just getting started or want some fresh inspiration.

Getting started Case studies Setting up a social enterprise - a case study - how four fathers set up a fundraising site to benefit charities and schools and what they learnt about the process of giving rather than taking.From company to social enterprise - a case study - how Travel2Give made the transition from Limited company to social enterprise. Other sources of help. CAN - About us. Social Enterprise UK. Social Enterprise YH (@SocialEnterprYH) | Twitter. Charity Bank: Ethical banking | Charity loans | Charity Bank. Yorkshire & Humber The School for Social Entrepreneurs. The SSE in Yorkshire and Humber provides training in the form of action learning programmes and specialised workshops to enable individuals to use their entrepreneurial and creative skills to develop social enterprises that benefit the communities in which they live and work.

The region we cover is diverse. It includes some of the most deprived areas in the UK sitting alongside affluent cities, such as Leeds, the UK’s largest centre for financial and business services outside of London. Large parts of the region are rural, resulting often in pockets of isolated communities.The SSE prides itself in reaching out to individuals in all these areas that want to create social change – Doing Learning Differently! SSE Yorkshire & Humber move around the region with our programmes, preferring to not restrict our activities by basing ourselves in any one location.

We run a variety of long and short term programmes. Get Involved Lloyds Bank Social Entrepreneurs Programme. Social enterprises | Society.