Community Capacity Building Peter Williams Director Development Trusts Association Wales Village SOS Narberth 1 st May 2012.

Community Capacity Building

Peter WilliamsDirector

Development Trusts Association WalesVillage SOS

Narberth 1st May 2012

Development Trusts Association Wales

• The Development Trusts Association supports its development trust members as part of a community regeneration & enterprise network of 50 Trusts in Wales & more than 500 across the UK

• Our members hold community owned assets worth £430 million across the UK

• Income generated from assets is £20 million pa

• We are part of the Social Enterprise & Communities Regeneration Networks in Wales, helping to grow the Social Economy and build sustainable communities across Wales

Development Trusts

• Community owned and led Community accountable and based organisations Independent

• Cultivating Enterprise Operating as social and community enterprises Trading in good or services Not for private profit

• Building Assets Acquiring community owned land or buildings to create income & ownership Engaged in long-term economic, social, environmental & cultural regeneration

• Securing Community Prosperity Creating wealth in communities and keeping it there

• Diverse Operate in villages, market & coastal towns, rural areas, former mining communities, housing estates & urban areas Committed to guiding values, new ways of working, actively involved in partnerships

Community Anchors

Term used to describe Development Trusts and other community organisations that are :

• Independent community led and based

• Multi-purpose providing range of integrated solutions and services

• Inclusive

• Leading community renewal

• There for the long-term

Social and Community Enterprises

• Social enterprises are organisations which are trading for a social purpose

• Community enterprises are organisations trading for a social purpose within a defined geographical area or ‘community of interest’

Sustainable and Resilient Communities

• Integrated and innovative, long term approaches to sustainable economic, environmental, social and cultural regeneration as real alternative to ‘business as usual’.

• Triple bottom-line focus of social enterprise and third sector well placed to take this forward.

• Opportunities for our sector in delivering practical solutions to climate change with local benefits.

• Renewable energy, energy minimisation, zero waste and re-use, local currencies, food security, green homes, community land trusts, natural assets – woodland, biodiversity, new technology.

First Steps

‘Creating an effective and viable community owned enterprise that can meet local needs and sustain in its own operations

through trading and income generation’.

Build on Diversity

• EVERY community is different

• Key is ownership and meeting communities own needs and opportunities

Starting Points

• An individual, social entrepreneur or community activist

• People coming together to make something happen

• An existing group or partnership wanting to grow or develop a new enterprise or service

Getting Started

• Vision or good idea or business proposal• Campaign, community development and planning• Listen to others – is there a need, loss of service, resource or new

opportunity?• Who and where is your community and market?• Identify and build on local skills and commitment• Communicate your vision – spread the message• Get support from others• Talk to other communities that have been there before

Develop a Plan or Business model

• Keep it simple to start

• Try to focus – e.g. Balanced Scorecard (now, sooner, later)

• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket – spread the risk

• Get advice and talk to other community enterprises – what works?

• Identify your stakeholders (mapping)

• Capacity and capability to deliver

Getting Organised

• Formal working group

• Legal Structures – options

• Governance – membership and ownership, skills required

• More detailed business plan

• Know your numbers

• Mixed economy of funding and income

• Get support and work with partners – but keep ownership

Keep Open to Ideas

• Plan carefully but operate flexibly

• Test your assumptions with critical friends

• Social Media – different ways to win support

• Crowd funding – Buzz Bank

• Time banking

• Community Share Offers

• Join Networks, develop your links, exchange ideas.

“Fundraising to Investment ”

• Recognition that a range of community services or social and environmental goals are best delivered through a business model.

• Historic shift in financing of social and community enterprise from fundraising approach to investment in assets, community shares and loan or equity finance.

• Major increase in community ownership and transfer of assets through development trusts, co-operatives, community land trusts, community renewable schemes.

Key issues for Grant Funders and Investors

• Credibility - of proposal or business model

• Competence - of organisation, governance, financial management etc

• Capacity - to deliver and to grow

• Confidence –to promote and sell your idea

Grants• Welsh Government- RDP, Community Facilities and Activities,

Communities First, Sustainable Development, Renewable Energy, Micro business loans etc

• European Structural Funds

• Big Lottery- People and Places and specific priorities

• WCVA- volunteering, ILM’s,EU grants

• Local Authorities CVC’s- local grants and start up

• Trusts and foundations-Lankelly Chase, Tudor , Community Foundation

• Social Enterprise- Wales Co-operative Centre, DTA Wales, Cylch, Social Firms Wales

Loans and Investments

Borrowing• Own Bank• Sector Specialists-Triodos/Unity/Charity Bank/CDFI/ Co-operative and

Community Finance/CIF • Regional Development Funds – Finance Wales• Social Brokers—New Venture Philanthropy, Equity Plus, Investing for

Good etc • Programme related Investments – Cylch, Welcome, Esmee, Tudor

Equity• Community Share Issues• Venture capital funds – Venturesome, Big invest

What is Asset Based Development?

• Community ownership of buildings & land leads to community transformation • Possession of tangible assets is a key to achieving viability, independence & sustainability which underpins community based enterprises & regeneration organisations

• Focus on acquisition or transfer of land and buildings by Development Trusts, Co-operatives & other Community Enterprises

• Can also include equipment, other natural assets (woodland, materials for recycling)

• Financial assets – capital funds, endowments or investments on balance sheets

Making Assets Work - Creating New Social & Community

Enterprises Assets are the base for a wide range of community enterprises & services provided by Development Trusts, co-operatives & other social enterprises.

Examples in Wales include:

• Managed workshops or office space• Shops & retail developments• Restaurants & cafes• Community resource centres• Arts & cultural enterprise centres• Heritage & craft workshops • Housing – including green homes• Sports & leisure facilities• Recycling & environmental improvements• Play & childcare facilities• Renewable energy businesses• Healthy living centres

Benefits Building Sustainable Communities

Community ‘ownership’ – demonstration of shift in ownership & local control. Communities ‘doing it for themselves’.

For communities – sense of stability & positive vision

Local economy – long term benefit, retaining wealth locally, growing assets as foundation for renewal & enterprise & creating local jobs

Builds independence and skills, credibility & viability of community organisations & enterprises

Creates a base & focus for new community enterprises & services – eg. employment, training, arts, resources, etc

Enables access to wider finance income generation & loans

Demonstrates sustainable development – regenerates derelict or underused land or buildings, productive use of resources, brings together social, environmental and economic solutions.

Community Shares

• Defined as community enterprises with more that 20 members with combined investment of more that £10,000

• Oldest surviving example in Lincolnshire Co-operative Society est. 1861: 161,000 members, £9.6m share capital

• Currently 142 enterprises fit this definition, 40% of which have been established in the last 30 months

• Combined community investment of over £300 million and combined membership of nearly 6 million.

• In last ten years there have been 41 cases with total community investment of £45m from combined membership of 60,000

Community Shares

• Early examples in Wales include: Bro Dyfi Community Renewables part funded by Community Shares

• Moelyci Environmental Centre Ltd IPS acquired farm and land to develop sustainable enterprises

• Cardigan 4CG (Rural Sustainability Society) -Share issues related to town Centre, former Co-op site 2010 shares at £200 each.

Social Returns on Investment

• Know your neighbourhood and business baseline statistics

• Quantify the cost of doing nothing

• Methods of Measurement– Social accounting– SROI—Prove it– Change Check

• ARAD report for Galeri Caernarfon

Support & Advice

DTA Wales www.dtawales.org.ukWales Co-operative Centre www.walescoop.comCynnal Cymru www.sustainwales.comWales Social Enterprise Coalition www.welshsec.orgSocial Firms Wales www.socialfirmswales.co.ukCommunity Housing Cymru www.chcymru.org.uk Cylch – Wales Community Recycling network www.cylch.org.ukLand for People (community land trusts) www.landforpeople.co.uk Unltd Wales www.unltd.org.ukEnergy Saving Trust / CSREG / YNNI’R Fro www.energysavingtrust.org.uk Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) www.wcva.org.ukArchitectural Heritage Foundation www.ahfund.org.ukPlanning Aid Wales www.planningaidwales.org.ukRICS Wales www.rics.org.ukRTPi www.rtpi.org.ukWales Community Woodland Association www.coedlleol.org.uk

• Emerging development trusts or existing community regeneration organisations or enterprises wishing to become development trusts can become Full Members of DTA Wales

• Housing organisations, local authorities & other partners can become Associate Members

• Benefits include: newsletter & publications, UK wide and Wales based conferences, training & seminars, access to best practice network, advice and support, members’ discounts, legal advice, members’ insurance scheme

[email protected] www.dtawales.org.uk Tel: 02920 190 260

Membership - Join us!