InTouch Issue 2

Investing inCommunities

Investing in Communities (IIC) is anexciting and innovative major newprogramme, funded through the East

of England Development Agency’s SingleProgramme funds, which will encouragea holistic partnership approach totackling regeneration and renewal indeprived communities in the East ofEngland. Supporting the vibrant East ofEngland social economy

One of the key priorities for IIC will besupport for the development of a vibrantsocial economy in the East of England.Evidence from research funded by EEDAshows that the social economy accountsfor an estimated 30,000 full time jobs,13,500 part time jobs and has anestimated turnover of £4.7 billion in theEast of England. It is therefore vital to thedelivery of goods, services andemployment opportunities todisadvantaged communities, inparticular where there is notable publicand private sector market failure.

Broadly, Investing in Communities will

By John Wilkinson

InTouchInside:Local and national policy 2Suffolk ACRE, the Rural CommunityCouncil for Suffolk has beenrecognised as an Approved Supplier ofBusiness Link services to social andcommunity enterprises.

From the Editor 3Editor David Lloyd discusses the aimand objectives of SEEE – SocialEnterprise East of England.

Feature – conference report 4Special four page report from the SEEEConference, ‘Social Enterprise: ThePromise and Perils’ on 12 November.

Initiatives 8A report on the recent visit by Britishand Italian groups to Portugal to study‘Innovations in the Social Economy’ –the Portuguese ‘Equal Programme’

The WasteWISE project 10Eastern England was the best inEngland at recycling in 2002-3. Welook at the four capacity-buildingstrands of WasteWISE, APU’s initiativeto assist enterprises and communitiesto profit from waste in our region.

The WISE programme 11We take a look at Anglia PolytechnicUniversity’s Working in SocialEnterprise (WISE) programme.

Focus on... 12In this issue we focus on Norfolk.Trainee Journalist Sarah Chartersreports on various social enterprises inthe county.

Networks unlimited... 14News from across the six counties, andyour opportunity to tell us what youare doing.

Internet:SEEE’s Web partner services are at:http://www.nearbuyou.orghttp://www.socialenterprise-east.org.uk

November/December 2003 • Issue 1 SOCIAL ENTERPRISE EAST OF ENGLAND

support long-term regenerationprogrammes, which have the greatestimpact in the 10% most deprived wardsin the region, communities of interest,rural disadvantage and pockets ofdeprivation. In addition to support forthe social economy, the key priorities foraction include social inclusion, learningand skills, community and voluntarysector capacity building, businessdevelopment and social capital. IIC willmaximise the use of existing andmainstream funding and influence howmoney and services are delivered toachieve the goals of the communitystrategies and Local StrategicPartnerships.Strategic Partnerships

The programme will be deliveredthrough strategic partnerships at regionallevel and sub regionally in each of thecounty/ Local Economic Partnershipareas, building on existing structures.Within these sub regional areas LEPshave been asked to lead a consultation onlocal priorities and the ➜ page 2

Suffolk ACRE achieves Enterprise Development Standard

Suffolk ACRE, the primary communitydevelopment charity in Suffolk, has

been recognised as an Approved Supplierof Business Link services to social andcommunity enterprises.Meeting standard for business advisors

This follows the successful assessmentof Suffolk Community Enterprise, abusiness advice and support project leadby Suffolk ACRE, against the Small FirmsEnterprise Development Initiative,SFEDI, standards for Business Advisors.

These achievements were recognised ata recent meeting of Suffolk ACRE’s Board,where Peter Button, CEO of Business Linkfor Suffolk, presented a plaque to SuffolkACRE and certificates to Peter See andCynthia Schears, members of the SuffolkCommunity Enterprise project. PeterButton stressed, “ The social sector isgrowing in importance to the economy.Business Link for Suffolk and SuffolkACRE share many common aims in

supporting social and communityenterprises.”

Social enterprises are businesses withprimarily social objectives, whosesurpluses are re-invested in the businessor in the community, rather than bedriven by the need to maximise profits forshareholders or owners. Examplesinclude rural community transportschemes, community ownedshops and Post Offices,Credit Unions and schemesto offer training andemployment opportunitiesto people disadvantaged inthe labour market.The goal – customer satisfaction

Cynthia Schears explainedthat the assessment processhad concentrated on howcustomers were dealt with.

“The real goal is customer satisfaction –

by Peter See

development of 10-year strategies, which will formthe basis of a negotiation with EEDA on delivering IIC.

At this sub regional level EEDA is keen to support thedevelopment of sub regional social enterprise networks. Thesewould draw together key social enterprises, mainstream andspecialist business support organisations, finance providers andothers. These strategic partnerships would deliver, in a co-ordinated way and with identified key priorities, support toindividuals and groups starting and growing social enterpriseorganisations.

At a regional level, EEDA will be looking to support regionalinitiatives and pilot projects to achieve the goals of IIC wherethis adds value to local work or where local initiatives are notable to take forward regional priorities.SEEE will be the regional infrastructure network

At this level, EEDA will support the development of SocialEnterprise East of England (SEEE), building on the workcurrently being carried out through the EQUAL funded SSEERDevelopment Partnership. SEEE will become the regional socialenterprise infrastructure network, drawing together, but notsubsuming key delivery networks such as the East of EnglandMutual and Co-op Council, Social Firms Eastern Region, East ofEngland Business Links and Community Renewal Network Eastalong with the emerging sub regional social enterprisenetworks.

SEEE will be responsible for co-ordinating the development ofa social enterprise strategy and action plan for the region. Thiswill ensure a strategic regional approach to support for thedevelopment of the social economy as a whole, includingcommunity and voluntary organisations wishing to increasetheir tradable income.

SEEE will promote the social enterprise sector by representingits views, by lobbying and influencing policy relating to the

Local and national policy

InTouch NO 1 November/December 20032

sector, by sharing good practise and information and by being apoint of access to social enterprises and social enterpriseadvisers. It will support delivery through the sub regionalpartnerships of local actions to tackle the challenges facing thesector, notably barriers to investment, poor access toappropriate business support and skills gaps and shortages.Working through existing structures

In tackling these and other challenges IIC will build on whatalready exists rather than establishing new systems. For thesocial economy this means, where possible, working throughexisting structures, such as Business Links, the Small BusinessService, existing specialist support agencies and Banks at aregional and sub regional level. The budget and how to bid in

The budget for IIC is approximately £9.7 million in 2004/5 and£17 million in 2005/6. The size of the programme over 10 yearsis expected to be approximately £230 million, with a minimumof 50% revenue over the lifetime of the programme.

In order to access funds from Investing in Communities,social enterprises and support agencies should in the firstinstance contact their relevant Local Economic Partnership(LEP). These contact details are set out in the IIC frameworkdocument, which can be found within the partnership sectionof EEDA’s website at http://www.eeda.org.uk. At a regional levelcontact Elaine McCorriston, EQUAL project manager at HertsBusiness Link, who are co-ordinating the development of SEEE,on [email protected].

All of the documents associated with the negotiations,including delivery plans and key formal EEDA responses will beplaced on the EEDA web site.

➜ cover

About Suffolk ACRESuffolk ACRE is the Rural Community

Council for Suffolk and has projects rangingfrom village hall advice through ruralinclusion, affordable housing and childcaredevelopment to creation of a care co-operative to provide help for elderly peoplein their own homes.Peter See is manager of Suffolk CommunityEnterprise and may be contacted via SuffolkACRE, 2, Wharfedale Road, Ipswich IP1 4JP01473 242514 or at [email protected]

i

understanding the customer’s needs anddelivering a service to meet thoserequirements.”

Peter See said that, “We are delightedwith the assessment. It underlines thatsocial and community enterprises arereal businesses and have the sameprofessional support and advice that isavailable to the commercial sector.”

IIC /EEDA www.eeda.org.ukJohn Wilkinson, Social Inclusion Policy [email protected]

Editorial

InTouch NO 1 November/December 2003 3

InTouchFrom the Editor

Mainstreaming (“rolling out” to you and me) the social economy in the easternregion is one of the main purposes of the SEEE (Social Enterprise East ofEngland) network, and that in turn drives what we’re about at InTouch.

This is no small task, and we launched InTouch with the objective of it taking avisible and enabling role in communicating with, to and for the social economy. Asmentioned in last issue’s editorial, that’s a challenge when you’re still discovering thesizes and shapes of all the component parts – doing part of the mapmaking job as youdiscover the terrain.

In this issue we feature some of the recent activities that SEEE has been involved in,as well as articles and information that we believe will inform decision-making atdifferent levels in the social economy in our region. The SEEE network is in its infancyand your contributions to InTouch are one way of influencing how SEEE evolves in thefuture, so we are pleased with the interest and support given by the variouscontributors.An enabling process

We trust that spelling out the aim and objectives of Social Enterprise East of England(SEEE) — of which InTouch is a visible element — will help understanding of what it’sabout and trigger some ideas about how you might take your own objectives forwardby getting more profitably involved in the social enterprise network.Aim

To be the voice for social enterprise in the East of England.Objectives• To create and manage a sustainable social enterprise network• To promote the social enterprise sector• To lobby and influence policy relating to social enterprises• To represent the views of social enterprises• To share information and good practice• To be a point of access to social enterprises and social enterprise advisers• To improve the skills and knowledge of individuals working in social enterprises and

social enterprise support agencies• To maximise the capacity to trade of social enterprises• To maximise the social impact of social enterprises• To develop and implement a regional social enterprise strategy.

How and if we achieve these objectives will have much to do with how muchorganisations involved at various levels of the social economy engage with one anotherin sharing information, ideas. It also has to do with enabling the hard outcomes oftrading, good management and effective decision-making. We hope this issue willassist a little in both the “soft” and “hard” areas.

Two more things. This newsletter is free of charge and the more people – involved inany way with the social economy in the eastern region – who receive and read it, the

more effectively we can fulfil our purpose ofmainstreaming. So why not be a part of thatby passing on the enclosed subscriptioncards?

Secondly, we welcome comments,suggestions and contributions, whether fullarticles, press-releases, diary items or justshort snippets of information.

David Lloyd is joint managingdirector of Business for Peoplein Huntingdon, and editorand contributor to variouspublications

Social EnterpriseEast of EnglandJanuary/February 2004Volume 2 Issue 1

The SEEE network is co-ordinatedby Hertfordshire Business Link

InTouch is financed by SEEE (fundedby the European Social Fund ) andpublished in its support by Businessfor People in partnership withCreative Touch, both of which are social enterprises

4 Archers CourtStukeley RoadHuntingdonPE29 6XG

SEEE Staff:

Social Sector Manager: Jo Ransom

Project Manager: Elaine McCorriston

Web Managers: Lin EvensMichael Waring

Editorial Staff:Editor: David Lloyd

Content Editor: Peter Durrant

Assistant Editors: Sarah Charters

Advertising Sales: Joe Law

Creative/Production Editor:Austin Bambrook

Production Staff: Martin Young

Please send PR and other information items to:Peter Durrant, e-mail:[email protected] 01223 262759

The opinions expressed in this publication are notnecessarily those of the publishers or ofHertfordshire Business Link, Business for PeopleLtd or Creative Touch. All rights reserved. No partof this publication may be reproduced, stored inan information retrieval system or transmitted inany form without the written permission of thepublishers. This publication has been preparedusing information provided by contributors and,while we make every effort, accuracy cannot beguaranteed. SSEER is unable to accept any liabilityfor the consequences of any inaccuracies, errors oromissions in this publication. No representations,warranties or endorsements of any kind areintended.

© SSEER October 2004

To SE or not to SETo define all the individualorganisational types that the term“social enterprise” encompasses is ahuge challenge – as we indicated inlast month’s editorial – creating adebate that can act as a barrier tomoving forward. SEEE uses the termsocial enterprise to encompass thewhole spectrum of socialorganisations that trade as a meansof creating opportunities andwealth for the benefit of theiremployees, community ormembership.

Jerr Boschee, founder and executivedirector of The Institute for SocialEntrepreneurs, is a US-based expert

on social enterprise. His visit to the eastof England was part of a DTI-funded tourof nine of the UK EU regions. Over,Cambridge was the venue for a one-dayconference on 12th November onsustainable social enterprise. It wasorganised by the east of England SEEEproject and SEEE project director, JoRansom of Exemplas, introduced theevent and the speakers.

After illuminating and usefulpresentations by Nick Wilkie of NCVOand Nigel Boldero of DTA (seeaccompanying articles), key-speaker Jerrtook the floor after the mid-morningbreak. An immense amount of usefulinformation and analysis tools and tipswere packed into the rest of the day.

Feature – Special Conference Report


David Lloyd interviewed Jerr Boscheeduring the lunch-break at hispresentation Social Enterprise: ThePromise and Perils in the East of Englandon 12th November 2003

Jerr Boschee Talks Aboutthe Social Economy

Q: Jerr, what brings you to the UK?A: In recent times I’ve been a regularvisitor to the UK. In 1997 I was invitedhere by Business in the Community. In1999 NCVO and VCU sponsored mylecture series for voluntary andcommunity sector organisations inLeeds, Liverpool and London. I have alsomade a couple of informal luncheonpresentations in 2000 and 2001 for Arts inBusiness.

On this current trip I’ve beenconducting regional seminars at thebehest of the DTI, and in collaborationwith the Regional DevelopmentAssociations, and others. By the end ofnext week I will have covered eight of thenine UK regions.Q: What progress in the area of socialentrepreneurship have you seen here inthat relatively short period of 6 years?A: There was not much of a discussiongoing on about social enterprise in the

UK when I first arrived in 1997. After my1999 lecture series, NCVO set up itssustainable funding project. At the sametime, Jonathan Bland was workingdiligently through Social EnterpriseLondon to build support for the concept;and Liam Black of the Furniture ResourceCentre began offering workshops out ofLiverpool. As a result the social economybegan to be talked about more.

The government interest in, andsupport of, the social economy has beena powerful boost, particularly such DTIinitiatives as the publication of SocialEnterprise — a strategy for success (Ed:available on the DTI website). There isalso a great deal of new money and newways of making this money available, andof course, that helps.Q: With the government focus on socialentrepreneurship, it is apparent that thereis something of a window of opportunityhere. Things tend to move cyclically, with

the focus likely to move to other areaswithin a few years. Are there indicationsthat the social economy might reach acertain “critical mass” by the time thespotlight — and possibly the variousfinancial offerings — move to some otherpriority area?A: I feel we have critical mass in the USand, encouragingly, the UK is catching usup and in some ways — embarrassing forthe US — overtaking us. One thing I havenoticed — which is quite a sea-change —

Social Enterprise – the Promise and Perils

Effective managementJerr argued that the use of effective

management analysis to determine thevalue and sustainability of projects wasevery bit as essential in the voluntary andsocial economy sectors as in widercommerce. He pointed out that for thoseorganisations taking the route of thesocial economy it can take up to threeyears to cover the greater percentage ofcosts with earned income, and a positionof profit from earned income alone cantake seven to ten years.

He made some important distinctions.Dependency is the constant reliance onphilanthropy and government subsidy.Sustainability can be achieved through acombination of philanthropy,government subsidy and earned revenue,whereas self-sufficiency can be achievedonly by relying completely on earned

revenue. Earned income can takenumerous forms, for instance: fee forservice (direct or indirect), product sales,ticket sales, consulting contracts,tuition/registration fees, royalties,rents/leases, advertising sales for aperiodical or directory.Bottom line definitions

The first and most basic principle asocial enterprise should work from is “thedouble bottom line” — financial returnon investment (FROI) and social returnon investment (SROI). Taking a greaterinterest in financial return should notmilitate against social objectives butrather the two should be made to worktogether. In fact, Jerr defines “socialentrepreneurship” as “the art ofsimultaneously pursuing both a financialand social return on investment”. Hedefines a “voluntary sector entrepreneur”



is that the question so often asked in theUK has changed from “should we do ...?”to “how do we do ...?” I believe there willbe a natural shifting of priorities in bothcountries, but I also think the socialeconomy is here to stay.Q: Given that there is the encouragementfor voluntary organisations (using theterm broadly) and social enterprises tobecome completely self-funding, how doyou see the financial underpinnings of thesector changing over the next few years?A: Some organisations will have mergedinto the mainstream economy, some willbecome a part of, or a greater part of, thesocial economy marketplace. The socialeconomy isn’t for every not-for-profitorganisation. So there will be a settling.Funders have begun to adopt somedifferent rules and this trend towardtailoring packages for the sector will, Ihope, continue. The sector itself has to beresponsive to create a context that makesit worthwhile for vendors to engage withthe social economy and for enoughfinancial “pilot-fish” — such as attorneys,accountants, analysts and others — tospearhead appropriate financing models.Q: What about those organisations andpeople for whom becoming “commercial”is anathema?A: That’s fine, they have a place in thescheme of things. I know that somevoluntary people are suspicious of thesocial economy ideas that are currently in

vogue. Some still have a charitymentality. And others simply do not havethe desire to adopt a business mentality— they have been trained as socialworkers, artists or environmentalengineers, not as business managers.They all do good work though and, forsome of them, social enterprise willeventually turn out to be appealing.Q: You have mentioned that thediscussion about definitions of such termsas “the social economy” has become quitetedious. Is there any progress in agreeingterms?A: There are moves towards better, andagreed, definitions. Practitioners havegenerally agreed on some fundamentalpoints of principle, for instance that a“social enterprise” must have earnedincome. Academics often disagree withthe emphasis on earned income,however, because they would prefer tothink about social entrepreneurship asembracing all sorts of revenue streams,even if earned income is not involved.This is one reason funders in the US areendeavouring to create a commonlexicon around such terms as “socialenterprise” and “socialentrepreneurship”.Q: There’s that expression “the poor arealways with you”. You mentioned thismorning that needs in society areoutpacing resources. So is movingorganisations into financial independence

Jo Ransom, Social Sector Manager, HertsBusiness Link, introduced the one-dayconference on 12th November.

opportunities in order to generate moreearned income and do more mission”.

An organisation will need to go througha number of changes as it moves tobecoming a fully profitable socialenterprise. And different skills andapproaches are needed at various stagesof development. Innovators: are thedreamers who design the prototypes andhave the initial vision. Entrepreneurs: arethe builders who create the company.Professional managers: are the trusteeswho secure the company’s future. Ofcourse, some individuals can successfullyembrace more than one role, but thecompany will need to build systems,standards, infrastructure along thejourney.Working toward sustainability andself-sufficiency

In the afternoon Jerr took delegatesthrough a whistle-stop and somewhatbreathless tour of a seminar – Turningtheory into practice: working towardsustainability and self-sufficiency – thathe is usually able to take much more timeto deliver.

Again he emphasised the combination

of social purpose and financial impactworking in tandem. He gave someinsightful tools, such as his “organisedabandonment grid”, for sorting the wheatfrom the chaff in terms of whichprogrammes to take forward and whichto abandon. He also gave some usefuldistinctions, for instance between visionand mission:

Core CompetenciesJerr encouraged would-be social

entrepreneurs to focus on what theirorganisation core competencies andbasic assets. There’s a need to firmlyground initial enthusiasm with hardquestions about the potential market,such as:• Need• Critical success factors• Environmental forces• Competitors

a bit like painting the Forth Bridge —except that the bridge is getting longer?A: There will certainly always be people inneed. As Billy Shore wrote in hiswonderful book The Cathedral Within,the people who built the great cathedralsof Europe knew only two things about therest of their lives. First, they would beworking on the cathedral for the rest oftheir lives and, secondly, they wouldnever see the fruit of their labours. Ibelieve it is the same with most peoplewho are working to meet the ever-changing needs of society. But that’s noreason to stop trying!Q: What is your first impression of the firstissue of InTouch?A: We need storytellers. We have,surprisingly, no organs in the US such asthe newsletters that have recently sprungup in the UK. There’s only one onlinemagazine in the US. The nature of the UKis more concentric, so perhaps that’s thereason.Q: Some social enterprises in the UK havebeen remarkably successful — wespotlighted some Cambridge successes inInTouch. Are they models for other socialenterprises to follow?A: We can and should learn fromsuccesses but I’m not an advocate ofputting our faith in “replication” per se,because it ultimately comes down to theperson doing the work, not the model heor she is attempting to install.

Vision and Mission Vision –How do we want the world to change?

Mission –What will we do to change it?

as “a voluntary sector leader who paysincreasing attention to market forceswithout losing sight of the organisation’sunderlying mission”. Interestingly, hedefines an “entrepreneurial VSO” as “aVSO that seeks to match its corecompetencies with marketplace ➜ page 6



Nigel gave an overview of thefindings of three studies he hasbeen involved with in the Region.

These are Enterprising Partnerships(looking at the help regeneration andrenewal partnerships need to developlong term sustainability), Voluntrade(exploring the extent to which voluntaryand community organisations alreadytrade, the potential for growth and thesupport needed) and the AdventureCapital Fund (a pilot scheme to providecommunity organisations with support indeveloping ideas for communityenterprise). Following is a summary of hispresentation.Enterprising Partnerships

Key issues that arose for regenerationand renewal partnerships were aroundthe areas of capacity, strategy andproject/ programme delivery.

The picture that emerged regarding thebalance of funding vis a vis tradingincome was:• 60% are likely to lose a major source of

grant funding in the next 3 years• Many want to continue and envisage

raising income from trading anddeveloping skills in fundraising- butfew have plans in place and there arecapacity issues –time, skills, money

• There was limited use of a range ofexisting support services but generallypositive experiences

• There is a need for a range of support-including close, continuing andtailored help to develop and deliverrobust forward strategies.

VoluntradeInterim findings from the research

show:• Awareness and understanding of the

term ‘social enterprise’ is limited • Around a third of those surveyed trade

already – this is primarily seen as

Enterprise and the Voluntary and Community Sector

From a Presentation by Nigel Boldero

‘supplementing grant’• There is a wide range of trading

activities and income generation• There is interest in finding out more

about trading- but many organisationsare not interested

• Many organisations are focused on theshort-term and do not take a strategicapproachThe two main barriers to voluntary and

community organisations developingtrading activity appear to be:• Capacity issues – staff, skills, money,

premises• Cultural and structural issues –

attitudes to risk, language, ethical orperceived legal constraints on charitiestrading.

Support ServicesThose participating in the surveys

reported:• Limited use of existing support

services- mixed experiences, somebusiness support services are perceivedas ‘inappropriate’ or costly

• Support needs are varied andchanging- there is somemisunderstanding of the roles ofbusiness and voluntary andcommunity sector support agencies

• There is a need to help organisationsbecome ‘business ready’- help withbusiness ideas, structures andmarketing

• There is scope for the voluntary andcommunity sector to develop incomegenerating support services for thesector; e.g. community accountancy

Adventure Capital FundThe findings from the first round of the

Adventure Capital Fund highlight fourmain considerations:• The value of small development grants• The value of flexibility on use of these

grants

• The value of a ‘supporter’ workingalongside the organisation

• A tailored approach to majorinvestment —a hybrid of grants andloans, varied expectations on financialreturn, including an explicit trade off offinancial, social, environmentalimpacts.

Conclusion• Trading for social purpose has

considerable potential in the Voluntaryand Community Sector (VCS), but it’snot for everyone, and in most cases it ispart of wider sustainability planning

• Increased investment in supportservices is vital, i.e. more intensive,practical support, especially in the earlystages of projects.

• Some support through businesssupport agencies is appropriate, andsome strengthening of support fromvoluntary and community sectorbodies and specialists is alsoimportant.

• Coordination of support services andinvestment across the social economyis an ongoing need at local and regionallevels

• There need to be changes in the waysfunding bodies deal with beneficiaryorganisations so that more flexiblefunding and ongoing help is available,as piloted in the Adventure CapitalFund.

• How is it structured? Is it emerging,mature or declining?

• Is it highly concentrated orfragmented?

• Can you help shape it? Can you controlprices, dictate costs, gather or shareresources, open or control distributionchannels?

• How much of it can you capture?When?

2. Business rules of thumb• Identify your risks• Stay focused

• Stay lean• Concentrate on cash flow• Be patient• Grow organically• Even a good business will have

problems• Have fun• Remember to care• Be profitable.To know more …

Delegates were certainly given much tothink about. For more insights from JerrBoschee, see the interview in this issue.

• Market size and direction• The break-even and profitability

potential of your product or service.Throughout the seminar Jerr

encouraged would-be socialentrepreneurs to do their homework andnot make assumptions.

Two of the key areas he encourageddelegates to ask hard questions aboutwere:1. The market• How big is it? Can you name the

customers?

➜ page 5

Nigel Boldero runs a freelance consultancycalled ‘Community Renewal’. He is theDevelopment Trust’s Regional Developmentmanager and is a Skills and KnowledgeAdvisor in Neighbourhood Renewal for theGovernment Office. he can be contacted on01603 754250 or [email protected]



The Sustainable Funding Project is afirst-stop shop helping voluntaryorganisations explore a full range of

funding options to develop a sustainablefunding mix. This article explores thesame theme as Nick’s well-receivedpresentation on 12th November.Moving beyond short-term funding

We all know how funding insecuritiesdrain our organisations and constrain thework they do. So how can voluntaryorganisations move beyond the short-term to a more durable and dependablefunding future?

Promoting thorough organisationalplanning, grant diversification andincome generation as three key andinterlocking means of buildingsustainability, NCVO’s SustainableFunding Project is particularly interestedin the third of these inter-related strands:how can the voluntary and communitysector earn independent income? Webelieve that self-financing (trading goodsand services) can be one alternative tothe limitations of the current fundingenvironment, in which organisationscompete for a slice of the limited pie ofexisting charitable resources and subsiston a staple of short-term, project-basedgrants. We’re not ‘anti-grants’ — but weare interested in ‘earning it’ as well.What do you mean by‘sustainability’?

Financial stability. ‘Sustainability’ is aword used so much that it’s meaning hasbecome muddled. When we talk about‘sustainability’, we’re referring to thedevelopment of a more stable, reliableincome base.

We’re not implying a problem-freefunding utopia just waiting to be found.And we’re certainly not suggesting wehave magic solutions freeing us foreverfrom funding conundrums. Many factorsmake an organisation sustainable andeach organisation is unique: there are noready-made, off-the-peg answers.Expanding on the three key themes

One way of breaking a big challenge

down into manageable chunks is toseparate the task into 3 broad themes —organisational planning, grantdiversification and income generation: ormore simply – planning, fundraising,earning.

Different organisations may beinterested in all or different combinationsof these themes.Planning

Sustainability starts at home. For some,the first move towards a more sustainablefuture might be improving theirorganisational planning processes – allthe way from big-picture visioningthrough strategic planning to medium-term objective setting, budgets andongoing financial management. TheSustainable Funding Project encouragesorganisations to look closely at the wholeplanning cycle and provides introductoryand signposting guides on planningrelated matters.Fundraising

Diversity of funding streams is key. Formany, increased sustainability will mean,at least in the first instance, identifyingfresh sources of grant income, movingaway from dependence on just one ortwo revenue streams. We are not acomprehensive funding informationservice: (that would re-invent a wheelalready turned very successfully by arange of existing organisations.) But ifyou want to take a strategic overview ofgrant opportunities available, we can getyou started.

The Sustainable Funding Projectprovides background information on afull range of grant funding opportunitiesand shows you how to pinpoint detailedinformation and support directly relevantto your organisation.Earning

How can voluntary organisations moveaway from total grant dependency,generating independent income bytrading goods and services? We hear anincreasing amount about socialenterprise, social entrepreneurship,

By Nick Wilkie

social investment, social capital. Butwhat can it mean for the voluntarysector? Here is our principle focus. TheSustainable Funding Project encourages(and enables) voluntary and communityorganisations to think hard about way thevariety of ways in which they can startearning it.What’s new?

Since launch in 2000, we have providedintroductory and signpostinginformation on Planning, Fundraisingand Earning. An expanded Project willnow expand the range of servicesprovided to voluntary and communityorganisations including a regional pilotrun in partnership with South WestForum.

In addition we will work with:• Local Development Agencies (such as

Councils for Voluntary Service) — toembed our work and lessons learntnationally in local infrastructure farbeyond our own operational reach.

• Policy Makers — to ensure thatemerging social enterprise policy andrelated support initiatives fully supportvoluntary and communityorganisations developing socialenterprise activity as well asorganisations defined as SocialEnterprises.

• Funding Agencies — to raise awarenessof the Project’s key messages andlearnings; and to identify anddisseminate best practice in grantmaking which helps to build healthyorganisations beyond time-limitedgrants.

What is the Sustainable Funding Project?

Nick WilkieSustainable Funding Project Manager, National Council for Voluntary OrganisationsVisit the NCVO website at: www.ncvo-sfp.org.uk.

Or call the NCVO Helpdesk on freephone0800 2 798 798 to join our mailing list andreceive our free monthly newsletter.

i“Here comes Edward Bear coming down the stairs on hishead bump, bump, bump. This is the only way he knowsto come down stairs. He’s sure there is another way if onlyhe could stop bumping for long enough to think about it.”

‘WINNIE-THE-POOH’ A.A.MILNE

Initiatives


Innovations in the Social Economy –the Portuguese Equal Programme –was the focus of a recent study visit in

December by British and Italian groupsto Braga, Portugal’s third largest city.

The Portuguese ‘IES’ Programme is oneof four in the transnational partnershipthat includes the Eastern Region’sprogramme ‘Supporting the SocialEconomy in the Eastern Region’ (SSEER –reviewed in the last edition of InTouch).

Over four cold and wet days innorthern Portugal, six delegates from theUK had an intensive tour of socialenterprise projects, presentations anddiscussion about support services, accessto finance and training.

Encouraging side-by-side social andcommercial enterprise development andproviding intensive support to fledglingsocial enterprises were features of thefirst visit. An impressive ‘InnovationCentre’, located in low-key offices in aBraga suburb, houses a range of supportservices as well as office accommodationfor a number of social and commercialenterprises. Its operating principles areattractively simple:• Take a good idea;• Engage a good entrepreneur; and • Choose a favourable environment;…and you have the makings of asuccessful new business.

The Innovation Centre provides someof the conditions to help turn this mixinto a sound business proposition.

Portugal visit underlinesthe social in enterpriseby Nigel Boldero

Supporting Social EnterpriseThe Braga Innovation Centre also

provides an outreach service to support anumber of social enterprises in the Cityand its surrounding region. Visits to twoof these illustrated the strength of thesocial firm model in Portugal, where theprimary social objective of the enterpriseis to provide employment and trainingfor people who find it difficult to accessthe normal job market – such as thosewith a disability and the long-termunemployed.Co-op catering for social needs

And other forms of social enterprise arealso alive and well. A co-op based in apsychiatric hospital is another example ofhow enterprising activity has stemmedfrom the concern to meet basic socialneeds – in this case to find a suitable formof employment and training for thoserecovering from and with long-termmental health problems.

The ‘Colorir Co-op’ is an integratedenterprise with ‘field-to-table’production on one site. Like manytraditional long stay hospitals in the UK,the Irmas Hospital has grown its ownfood. But it has moved on to provide anenterprise that is now handlingcommercial catering for functions and isincreasingly developing its sales outsidethe hospital, including food products forthe gift market.

Again, the provision of intensive,ongoing support through the Portuguese

Case Study: Home-to-school transport for childrenPrompted by a lack of state-provided schooltransport and parental fears about the safety andsecurity of public transport, the scheme covers thewhole city. Using specially adapted vehicles (withsecure seating tailored to a range of children’sages), the enterprise is providing a door-to-doorservice, including ‘after school’ clubs.

Different charges are levied to reflect parentalmeans. The organisers feel that the emphasis onproviding a ‘personal service’ (where parents canbuild up a relationship and confidence in thevehicle attendants) is the key to their success.With experiments in new ways of providing hometo school transport promised in the UK this couldbe a sector where existing community transportand other social enterprises could find a growingmarket.

British and Italian delegates on the study visit to Braga, Portugal’s third largest city. Startingtop row, second from left is Nigel Boldero, then Brian Williams (Anglia Polytechnic University),Elaine MCorriston (SSEER Project Manager), Lisa McDaid (The Guild), Nicky Stevenson (TheGuild) and Andy Brady (APU).

Equal project has helped the enterprise tounderstand and control its cash flow andto develop associated paperwork, itsshort-term plans and budgets as well asbroaden its market appeal.Access to finance

The second theme of the Study visitwas access to finance for socialenterprises and consisted of a day’spresentations and discussion. A splendid,old-fashioned local theatre provided thevenue for what turned into a rigorous testof the linguistic demands of atransnational programme! But it wasclear that many of the issues in Portugalare similar to those in the UK:• A commercial banking sector which is

relatively cautious and not especiallysensitive to the special needs of socialenterprises

Flower and food cultivation at the Colorir Co-op

Initiatives


• Limited availability of initiatives tobroaden the supply of loan and otherfinance, especially to individuals as‘micro credit’ via credit unions (thereappears to be less available as far asother community development financeinitiatives in Portugal are concerned)

• A social economy that is relativelyunfamiliar with loan finance and – formany organisations – lacks the security(through asset ownership for example)as well as attitudes, capacity and skillsto calculate and take risks.The day ended with a presentation of

the Portuguese Equal project’s web siteand a related ‘social observatory’ sitedeveloped by the regional developmentagency. These have some impressivefeatures, not least the wealth ofdemographic and other informationavailable and the development of tradingvia the IES site. Amares Naturaladvertises its food products and orderscan be made online.

See www.ies.multivector.pt andwww.obsocial.adrvc.com.Developing skills and knowledge

Developing the skills and knowledge ofthose involved in social enterprises wasthe final theme of the visit and consistedof presentations from research and case

studies of successful traininginitiatives. ‘AiMinho’ is thenetwork promoting training inthe Portuguese third sector inthe region, and they hostedthe morning session on thethird and final day. Thisrevealed some interestingfindings about the needs oftrustees/directors, managersand operational staff in socialenterprises – many similaritieswith the UK here in the needfor general businessmanagement skills on the partof managers more used toproviding social services, andmany trustees with a culturalaversion to the businessworld.

There were also some goodexamples of how socialenterprises can contribute tothe training and employmentof people with particulardifficulties accessing normaljobs. ‘Integra’ is an impressivejoint venture by localauthorities in the regionsurrounding Porto and Bragaand focuses on a range ofservices to collect, process andrecycle various types of wasteproduct. In doing this it has

developed a number of specialistreprocessing plants and employs a widerange of people at local level in collectinga mix of green, packaging, electrical andother materials. These people wouldotherwise find it difficult to gainemployment.

A visit to the local Development Centrein a district of Porto provided animpressive example of the rich variety ofenterprising activity mixed in withcommercial, voluntary and communityinitiatives. The MINAproject in Vila de Gaiaprovides a centre wherenew enterprises areincubated as well asproviding a range ofsocial care for childrenand elderly people. Acommunity café andassociated day centreprovide a comfortable,welcoming environmentin which we had one ofseveral early Christmaslunches!

The Centre has beenwell supported by localemployer SandemanPort. Its staff have been

made available to work with the centreand its various projects, to strengthenmanagement systems and skills throughcoaching, training and advice. And thestudy group were treated to a tour of theSandeman Port cellars as a fittingconclusion to the day – including freesamples, which helped to sustain us on atiring coach journey back to Braga!Differences and similaritiesbetween the two countries

There are some understandabledifferences in the context and shape ofsocial enterprise in Portugal; for examplethe social firm and ‘intermediate labourmarket’ projects appear to be prominent,perhaps not surprising withunemployment levels higher in Portugalthan in the UK.

The relative roles of the differentsectors in promoting, supporting anddeveloping social enterprises are alsodifferent with a much greater emphasison developments from well establishedchurch and voluntary groups and lessdirect Government involvement than isthe case in the UK.

However, there do seem to be similarexperiences in the fields of support tosocial enterprise, especially the obviousbenefits of intensive, appropriate,tailored services (including provision ofsupportive, start-up premises for some).Likewise, the tensions surroundingcultural differences between the businessand voluntary and community sectors areto be found in both countries as aresimilar needs for training and skillsdevelopment.A chance to return the warmhospitality

How would I sum up this visit? Theweather was cold and wet and we weretoo early for the European FootballChampionships (to some people’s relief!).But our Portuguese hosts gave us a

wonderfully generousand warm welcome andprovided a richprogramme ofexperiences, examplesand ideas.

It is SSEER’s turn tohost a transnational visitin the Spring and this willbe an importantopportunity to return thehospitality, showcasesome regional successstories and share ourown experiences (andstill just before nationalloyalties on the footballpitch interrupt theclimate of co-operation!).

Case study: Community café

‘Amares Natural’ is a community café and cateringservice in a village close to Braga. The InnovationCentre has helped this enterprise to develop itsmarketing and promotional activities, introducedcost and price management and developed ‘maps’of financial flows to help the company identifyand better manage its costs. The enterprise is oneof several initiated by the Portuguese Red Cross. Avisit to a nearby healthcare and day centre forolder people also run by the Red Crossdemonstrated another key feature of thePortuguese social economy – the strength of well-established voluntary and communityorganisations and the Church in taking the lead insocial enterprise development. The Centre is oneelement of a range of social services in which thestate has a limited, mainly financial support role.

Sampling the products at Amares Natural

Benedita Chaves of theproject ‘Integra’

Initiatives


Wising up to waste opportunities for local socialenterprises

Lewis Herbert explains theWasteWISE approach

Across Eastern England, some 40 social enterprises andcommunity recycling projects are wise to the fact that‘someone else’s trash is their treasure’. Over half of them

are listed on Anglia TV’s website, and all 40 have their ownspecial take on the ‘triple bottom line’ of social, environmentaland economic benefits.

There is plenty for current and new projects to build on. First,we are a wasteful country, offering local social enterprises manydiversification opportunities from household or commercialthrowaways. Second, just released data shows that the East wasthe best region in Britain at recycling in 2002/3. That reflectslocal public and council commitment and provides a stronglocal base for social enterprises to thrive.

The one year long WasteWISE project was created by AngliaPolytechnic University’s to help enterprises exploit thatwastefulness in Essex, Cambridgeshire and the wider region.Part of the wider Working in Social Enterprise (WISE) learningprogramme (opposite), we build the capacity of local reuseenterprises and partnerships and our aim is to help projectscreate at least 50 new full/part time jobs by 2005, at least half forpeople with a disadvantage, a neglected need.WasteWISE has four core strands.

First, sustainability and self-reliance is made easier by linkingsimilar neighbouring enterprises to draw together differentmanagement skills and personalities, and blend business, reuseand training expertise. Tiny individual territories and resourcebases stunt development. For instance, two furniture reuseprojects have operated until now in a south Essex town withouttalking to each other. Joint action will now save heaps moresofas and tables from the tip.

We are also developing ‘area reuse partnerships’ includinglinks to councils and other local waste sources. In Essex thereare six such groupings, assisted by supportive council recyclingofficers, capturing benefits like• joined up business planning and better ‘business engines’• access to shared premises and transport • joint funding/training bids • wholly new ventures, following the excellent examples of FRC,

Create, Remploy, Renew and the Furniture Re-use Network(FRN) regional ‘Sort-It’ centres.Second, targeted county and regional networking is being

developed including wider links to social enterprise networks,developing at county and regional level, and links to other

sectors e.g. business networks. Locally, WasteWISE’scontribution has been to assist effective community-led reuseand recycling networks in both Essex and Cambridgeshire,linked then with other county and national networks, like theFRN and Community Recycling Network. The Eastern regionnow has five such county networks, and is hoped to include thesixth by extending the Suffolk network to include Norfolk, apowerful combination.

Third, wider partnerships and contracts with councils arebeing expanded. Councils in East Anglia, want to helpcommunity schemes expand, and most pay ‘recycling credits’ toenterprises who ‘recycle’ household waste e.g. £25 or £35 forevery tonne, the money councils save in reduced landfill. Wealso anticipate England following the sensible Welsh example ofincluding reuse in overall recycling. This should result later inall counties following Norfolk’s excellent example of adding‘reuse credit’ payments, a major potential boost for localprojects.

Council bulky collection contracts are being delivered byquality social enterprises elsewhere in Britain, separating outthe 40% which is reusable furniture and electrical appliancesthat would otherwise be dumped. Its a big further growthopportunity, assisted by Government recycling funding recentlywon by Essex and Cambridgeshire County Councils to expandthis and support networking to 2006.

Fourth and finally, WasteWISE’s has researched localopportunities. Dr Andrew Stevens has identified majoropportunities in timber, tyres/rubber, biodiesel and is nowworking on WEEE (waste electrical and electronic equipment),ahead of a 19th March seminar in Chelmsford.

Developing successful enterprises takes leadership, creativity,determination and more. But there is real treasure out there,and we don’t have to delve very deep into our rubbish moundsto find the resources needed for sustainable social businesses.

WasteWISE, Anglia Polytechnic University Lewis Herbert, 0774 853 6153 [email protected]

If you want to find out more visit two websites:

- Example of a county network: Cambridgeshire Community Reuse & Recycling Network (CCORRN) www.ccorrn.org.uk

- ‘Action pack’ listing over 20 local furniture reuse projectswww.angliatv.co.uk/angliaaction/actionpacks.shtml

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Initiatives


We all know what a socialenterprise looks like, don’t we?There is a clear vision, healthy

trade income balancing a well-definedsocial purpose, a committed team ofs t a f f / v o l u n t e e r s / c o - o pmembers/trainees/trustees/directors,and at the centre, the manager, a socialentrepreneur with ideas coming so fastshe can’t possibly use them all,leadership skills to die for, and all theother attributes needed to help theenterprise survive and grow in a businessenvironment.

Such social enterprises do exist, led bysuch managers, or on a co-operativebasis, and there are many examples ofeach in the East of England. But whenAPU began working with the sector inEssex in 2000, we found that there weremany “wannabe” social enterprises outthere, which didn’t have a vision, astructure, or a steady income from trade.Their managers had often come intoenterprise not because they were naturalentrepreneurs; many in fact had begunworking in the voluntary or statutorysectors as care professionals, only toembrace enterprise as a solution tobudget restrictions, or a way of makingvocational training more sustainable andrelevant.

Marketing, financial management,entrepreneurship, workforcedevelopment, and legal issues wereamong the gaps in knowledge highlightedby the managers we had worked with, butthere also seemed a need for a focus onsocial enterprise – the concept, possiblestructure, case studies.Working in Social Enterprise

WISE started, with ESF funding, in2002, and was designed to help meet theskills gap outlined above, by taking thelearning out to 50 SE managers in Essexand Cambridgeshire. Key features of thelearning programme were:• A new module, Working in Social

Enterprise, to lead in to the programme• 5 modules covering specific business

skills like marketing orfinance

• One-to-one delivery at theworkplace and support froma designated tutor

• Work on practical issueswith a benefit to thebusiness as well as thelearner

• Developing an approach tomanagement based onreflection and action

• Accreditation through APU’sDiploma in Small BusinessManagement.Other aspects of the programme were

the linked WasteWISE activity (see articleby Lewis Herbert opposite), research intolearning needs, and work with partnerssuch as the two Business Links to deliverworkshops and support for the SocialEnterprise sector.Older, WISER, but not sadder

There are exciting times ahead fortraining providers in Social Enterprise.WISE has been at the forefront ofdeveloping materials and deliveringwhere it mattered, which has shown usthe breadth of the sector in our twocounties.

Reports and events are planned todisseminate what we’ve learned, and

APU will continue to contribute in areassuch as: piloting the national standardsand training programme being developedby the Social Enterprise PartnershipEQUAL project; supporting the SEEEpartnership and Social Firms EasternRegion as they develop; and working withother providers to ensure that training isrelevant, up-to-date, and of real use inincreasing the capacity of enterprises todeliver on both the financial and socialbottom lines.

The WISE programme at Anglia Polytechnic University

Mind the Skills Gap

Andy Brady, Programme Manager WISE01245 493131 x [email protected]

Projects Unit, APU, Bishop Hall Lane, Chelmsford. CM1 4ED

i

by Andy Brady

Millrace IT is an Essex social firm that refurbishes computers

The Millrace IT team and Lewis Herbert (right)

Focus on: Norfolk


Articles by Sarah Charters

Set up in September 1997 by Farmers Link (afarmer lead developmental organisation) EastAnglian Food Link (EAFL) is the brainchild of

Clive Peckham. A developmental organisationthemselves with particular emphasis on health,working with schools and ensuring food is sourcedlocally, the purpose of the enterprise is to createsustainable food systems through its three pillars ofenvironment, economy and society. It has 50members and has an turnover of £100,000.

Co-ordinator and co-director Tully Wakeman, whotook over from Clive in April 2003, operates the day -to-day running of the business with project-workerNick Saltmarsh. East Anglian Food Link tradesmainly as a consultancy, developing projects tocreate a sustainable food economy. Projects tend tobe initiated by Nick and Tully and financed mainlythrough grants.

An example of an EAFL project is Eostre OrganicsLtd. EAFL helped set up the business by bringingtogether growers, recruiting permanent staff and

Generating asustainable foodeconomy

establishing the kind oforganisation they wanted it tobe. Liaising with Defra, EAFLobtained a grant for EostreOrganics and ran thecompany as interimmanagers for three months.

EAFL is currently involved in a feasibility study forthe Schools Food Scheme funded by regionaldevelopment agencies. As the issue of school mealsis currently a hot topic, the government have set outan official policy on the subject. As a result EAFLexpects to be involved in regional seminars togetherwith the Government Office for the Eastern Region.

The enterprise has recently published Good Foodon the Public Plate, a manual for sustainable publicsector procurement of food.

Intended to explain the whole process to bothpurchasers and producers, itis available directly fromEAFL.

East Anglian Food Link01953 889200 or 0845 3303965 www.eafl.org.uk [email protected]

Earlham Youth LtdJanine Gill 01603 753396i

Earlham Youth Ltd empowers youngpeople from the deprived areas ofNorwich with a sense of purpose

and self worth. Noticing that too manyyouths were getting involved in drugs andalcohol, founders Lindsay Maher (ProjectManager) and Julie Powell (Director)believed they could provide positivealternatives. What started as aninteresting idea has, within four years,become a business with a staff of 23.

Based in the The Guerny Centre in thecentre of the North Earlham, Larham andMarlpit communities, the companyprovides a wide range of activities for the8 to 24 age group. Many of the youth who

attend the centre live in the area (withtheir families) or are in social care andfoster homes. Activities include dancing,graffiti, film-making and creating music,and skating and bowling trips.

Designed to grab their imagination andinterest, two mobile units have also beencreated, focusing on music and catering.The Music Box is fully kitted out with ahigh-spec recording studio andtechnology including a karaoke machine,drum-kit, keyboard and mixing-deskwhere they can MC and mix their ownmusic. The catering unit is also fullyequipped with a complete fitted kitchenwhere they can learn how to cook.

Although principally funded throughNew Deal – with other projects funded ona project by project basis – EarlhamYouth generates additional funds throughtrading. It hires out the mobile units forfestivals and events, and has some high-spec lighting equipment which it alsohires out. In addition to the equipmentand facilities, singers, musicians and aclown are all available for commercialand individual hire for parties and events.

The Backstreet Energy Project hostsdance workshops at Earlham Youth Ltd.Run by Beverley Bennett (daughter andniece of the two founders), the now semi-professional dance group has not onlyinspired self confidence but pride in theyoung people who take part. Theyperform at festivals and events and arealso available for hire.

Deprived youngstersgaining self-worth

The Backstreet Energy Project is based at EarlhamYouth Ltd and inspires self confidence and pride inthe youths who take part. They perform at festivalsand events and are available for hire.

Focus on: Norfolk


East Anglia goes organicACo-operative made up of four

directors, 12 full member-growersand several associate members (who maytake up full membership in the future),Eostre Organics has been trading sinceApril 2003.

Set up with a Defra Grant from theRural Enterprise Scheme, new membersare taken on every year during October inpreparation for the following year’sharvest. With income generated entirelythrough trade, Dot Bane, EO’s ProjectDevelopment Manager anticipates a firstyear turnover of £450,000.

Growers have a permanent market stallat Norwich Market six days a week(Monday to Saturday), along with a pitchat Spitalfields Market in London once aweek. Additionally, members from allover East Anglia attend farmers’ marketsthroughout Norfolk, Suffolk andCambridgeshire. For a comprehensivelisting of the markets attended, pleasevisit the website.

Whilst the main aim of the business is

Eostre Organics T. 01953 789639 F. 01953 789000 [email protected] www.eostreorganics.co.uk

i

Eostre Organics have thier ownpermanant stall at Norwich Market

to produce and sell organic food,educational farm walks are also availablethroughout the year on request. So farparties making the most of this additionalservice include food groups and schools.

Anglia Giving, based on the NorthNorfolk Coast, is a family runbusiness supplying Charity Gift

Tokens. A relatively new venture, tradingfor 18 months, this social enterprise isentirely self-financing, sustaining itselfthrough trade and voluntary donations.

After David Black’s mother wassuccessfully treated for cancer, she askedthat donations be made to cancerresearch instead of presents for herwedding anniversary. Believing thatpeople all over the country could bemaking similar requests, David conceivedof Charity Gift Tokens.

Rather than giving cold blank chequesand having to do all the legwork, peoplecan donate by purchasing attractivelypackaged gift tokens, which the recipientmay donate to the chartity of their choice.Token values start at £10 and areaccompanied by greeting cards suited tothe occasion. The buyer pays anadditional £1.50 per token to coverprinting and processing costs.

David explains, “Charity Gift Tokensare perfect gifts for people who have allthey want and simply don’t want anymore possessions. As a result they are

proving particularly popular with olderpeople.”

As a not-for-profit organisation, AngliaGiving plans to become established as aCommunity Interest Company (CIC).While there is usually approval andacceptance of what it does from bothcustomers and charities, Anglia Givinghas faced a lack of credibility resulting inan unquantifiable number of lost sales.Being a new and small enterprise, it haslittle evidence of its community-interestpurpose, so becoming a CIC will help thebusiness become more established, andhelp it to raise more money for charities.

Anglia Giving is a member of theNational Council for VoluntaryOrganisations (NCVO) and an EqualOpportunities employer.

Simple idea fora worthy gift

East Anglian Brewers is a co-operativebusiness that evolved from an

association of brewers set up five yearsago, and has been trading sinceNovember 2002. Turnover in its first yearreached £33,000, of which 30% camedirectly through trade.

Brendon Moore, owner of IceniBrewery, and his fellow brewers wouldregularly meet at beer festivals and makegroup purchases in order to keep costsdown. However as the market began todiminish Brendon realised a more formalstructure was needed so they could sellone another’s products and share profit.With the advice of Norfolk Business Linkand The Guild, East Anglian Brewers wasset up as a co-operative, with Brendon asChairman.

Members sell through farmers’ marketsand community shops as well aspromoting their beer at food events andChristmas Fairs. A recently developedconcept will provide the buyer withtraceability by selling beer from farmshops located on the farms where thebarley grows. A number of associatemembers have taken on the idea and thefirst shop will open its doors at Brant HillFarm, Wells-Next-to-Sea at Easter.Members are also considering thepotential of exporting, with discussionstaking place in the coming months.

Associated with Taste of Anglia andEast Anglia Food Link, East AnglianBrewers currently has 25 small brewerymembers located within the EasternRegion. Brendon manages the co-operative from his Brewery in Ickburghwith the aid of an administrator andseven board members.

Farm shopsfor brewers

T. 01842 878922 F. 01842 [email protected] www.eastanglianbrewers.com

01328 [email protected] i

i

Opening soon, the shop at Brant HillFarm, Wells-Next-to-Sea will sell beer

brewed from barley grown on the farm

Token values start from £10 and can bebought by phone or online to be given asgifts. Recipients can donate the full value

to the registered chartity of their choice

Forming a regionalnetworking structure

The InTouch production team invites every reader to participate increating a regional networking structure that actually works.

Please get in touch with any interesting snippets, upcoming events, newappointments, news about your own project, etc. We can disseminate thesestories, but not without your help.

Networks unlimited


Free managementconsultancy anyone?

The Cranfield Trustprovides free managementconsultancy for organisationsinvolved in addressingpoverty, disability anddisadvantage. They have aregister of 500 volunteers fromthe commercial sector, al ofwhom hold professionalqualifications. They areparticularly interested inhelping projects which needadvice in the fields of businessplanning, marketing, finance,IT and human resources.

For further information,phone 01794 830338, [email protected] visit the website onwww.cranfieldtrust.org.uk[click on “summary ofservices”].

Free Greener LivingGuide

Your guide to greener livingis now available, free, onwww.greenchoices.org

Environmentally friendlymeeting and eatingfacility

The Norwich Green House’s new website,www.greenhousetrust.co.uk,is much admired by manypeople in the six counties andbeyond.

This is a superb cateringand meeting house resource,committed to anenvironmental approach.

Cambridge Citysustainable newsletter

For an on-line edition ofCambridge City Council’s

sustainable newsletter visithttp://www.cambridge.gov.uk/sustainablecity/newsletters/sus.city_news_25.pdf or phoneSue Woodsford on 01223457046. Their last editioncontains news of a free lightbulb offer, news about corefunding grants and lots moreinformation on localenvironmental action.

Reuse and recycle inCambridgeshire

T h eCambridgeshireCommunity Reuseand RecyclingN e t w o r k(CCORRN) hasjust published a leaflet intendedto promote and develop acommunity-ledNetwork ofreuse andr e c y c l i n gschemes acrossC a m b r i d g e -shire andPeterborough.

CCORRN isa partnershipbetween thecommunity,public andp r i v a t esector that was started in early2003 with financial supportfrom the DEFRA RecyclingChallenge Fund andEnventure with initial co-ordination by AngliaPolytechnic University’sWasteWISE project.

By creating localCommunity Reuse andRecycling Networks it hopesto transform the local

environment by increasingthe amount of materialcurrently reused and recycled,thus preventing it from goingto landfill.

For your copy, contact KayBarnes, Network Organiser on01954 260909 or [email protected]

Community financenewsletter

The autumn newsletterfrom the CDFA – the UK trade

association forcommunitydevelopmentf i n a n c einstitutions –includes newsections onC D F A ,m e m b e r snews and thelatest jobvacancies inthe sector, as well as othernews, researchand infor-mation andfunding. If youwould like toreceive thenewsletter, signup on the CDFAw e b s i t ewww.cdfa.org.uk

Tackling HealthInequalities Compendium

This publication has beenproduced by the HealthDepartment Agency forpeople working in health,local government, communityand voluntary sectors andeveryone working to tacklehealth inequalities in England.

It features local and

community health projectsthat have submitted examplesof their work in response tonine regional consultativeevents organised by theDepartment of Health ontackling health inequalities.

The compendiumdemonstrates that tacklinghealth inequalities is not justan issue for the health sectorbut also involves education,housing and transport. TheIn Touch editorial team wouldbe especially interested tohear from social enterpriseswithin the region who areworking together, as well aswith local and healthauthorities. Try www.hda-o n l i n e . o r g . u k /documents/hda_compendium.pdf (PDF file) or telephone0870 121 4194 or [email protected]

Luton community groupreduces car thefts

A Marsh Farm Estatecommunity group hasreceived recognition for itssuccess in reducing car theftsby 75 per cent. The WauludsAssociations of Tenants andResidents won an award inthe Participation in Practicecompetition, which is fundedby the Home Office. They willreceive a £1,000 prize todevelop their communityactivities. There are plenty ofother embryonic socialenterprises on this New Dealsponsored estate.

More details from:www.homeoffice.gov.uk.

ARVAC and phonerecycling for communitygroups

ARVAC is an excellentjournal about research andthe voluntary sector. Here weread that Britain’s first nation-wide mobile phone recyclingscheme, designed to raisefunds for small communitygroups, has been launched bythe high street store The Link.For each mobile that can bere-used community groupscan receive £4 in cash or £5 invouchers.

You can recycle your oldmobile phone at the Lordshill

Networks unlimited


Sainsbury’s recycling site orby returning them directly toany retail outlet (O2, Orange,T-Mobile, Vodaphone).Alternatively, you can collect afreepost envelope in store(Virgin Mobile, V.shop, VirginMegastores, Currys, Dixons,The Link and PC World) andsend your handset andaccessories to the Fonebankrecycling centre.

Seeing inside successfulsocial enterprises throughIUKE

Inside Uk Enterprise (IUKE)have just published theirsecond edition of day-visitopportunities. for a mere £50plus VAT you can visit andlearn from any one of twentysocial enterprises who havemade significant progress indelivering social value withina business context.

For example, BootstrapEnter-prises has pioneeredneighbourhood renewal formore than two decades. Anexample other co-operativegroups can learn from is theOxford, Swindon andGloucester Co-operativeSociety, which funds itselfthrough the ‘co-operativedividend’, where a percentageof the profits goes towards thecreation, promotion andsupport of other co-operativeenterprises. More detailsfrom, www.iuke.co.uk, tel.0870 458 4155.

Affiliate links with TheBig Issue anyone?

This website, launched lastAutumn, offers usefulinformation and advice onmore than 100 areas – fromthrowing a party to arranginga funeral (no connection, we

hope!). It also covers thoseboring but important thingslike insurance, employmentand legal matters. The listcosts £1 to £3.

You can link up yourorganisation as an affiliateand get 25% of any revenuegenerated.

A further 50% goes directlyto the The Big Issue’s workwith homeless people.www.bigissuelists.co.uk

Happy to oblige, CreativeCluster News!

“Creative Clusters is aninternational conference andnetwork for peopledeveloping the creativeindustries”, writes SimonEvans, Director. “We areinterested in regeneration anddevelopment projects, fromall parts of the world, that canshow results in both culturaland economic terms. Pleasehelp spread the word bycopying this message to yourcolleagues and networks.”www.creativeclusters.co.uk

Investing in CommunitiesSRB (Single Regeneration

Budget) has been replaced ineach region with a ‘single pot’of money to be controlled bythe Regional DevelopmentAgency. The East of EnglandDevelopment Agency hasbecome the first to launch itsreplacement programme,which they have called‘Investing in Communities’.See lead article in this issue ofInTouch.

Today East of England,tomorrow the world

We realise you may still bechallenged by the idea ofnetworking across just one

part of the UK, but for themore globally-minded, onevisionary organisation has thewhole world in their sights.

Robin Rowland writes: “Forsome years now I have dreamtof linking social entrepreneursglobally. Global LinksInitiative (GLI) is initiallyconcentrating on linksbetween UK/China/Japan,and, having proved ourselvesthere, we intend to go globalwhere I have many wonderfulsocial entrepreneur friendsjust waiting to join ournetwork. Among the areas ofChinese interest alreadyregistered as wanting to bepart of our network arementally handicappedchildren, rural poverty/communities, teenage andimmigrant education andwomen entrepreneurs. Wehave an office in Tokyo andwork has started on ourwebsite. We appear to havegot our timing just right.”

Anyone interested in beingpart of a network sharingknowledge and experienceopenly with counterpartselsewhere in the world maycontact via e-mail either:[email protected] [email protected].

If China’s too far, Co-opscan go European

Partnerships have many

benefits as the best of UK co-operative partnershipsdemonstrate. Herts BusinessLink’s Euro Info Centre (EIC)point out that there are300,000 co-operatives inEurope employing 2.3 millionpeople. The EU Council hasestablished the European Co-operative Society (ECS)enabling co-operatives tobenefit from the single marketall across Europe as one unit.But other types of businessesand organisation structurescan be similarly helped.Benefits included sharedmarketing, legal costs, R&Dand other overheads. Formore information go to:http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/entrepreneurship/c o o p / s t a t u t e s / s t a t u t e s -coop.htm or contact EIC on01727 813693 for moreinformation.

Oxmoor Big Ideas NightAs we went to press,

Oxmoor OpportunitiesPartnership in Huntingdonheld a Big Ideas Night on 29January to help peoplerunning a community orvoluntary sector project findout from the experts how tomake more money to supporttheir projects.

Contact Diane Lane on01480 371108 or email her [email protected]

Upcoming EventsCelebrating Social Enterprises in Norfolk

From 9th February to 20th February 2004 The Guild will behosting a series of free half-day seminars across Norfolk onthe theme of Celebrating Social Enterprise.

The Guild’s seminars will cover topics such as using the webfor selling, social audits, developing supply chains andclusters, assessing risk and rewards and procurement.

There will also be free training events to follow on anddevelop the seminar themes.

Contact The Guild on 01603 615 200, email [email protected] or visit www.the-guild.co.uk

Cambridgeshire Support for Social EnterprisesBetween January and March, Cambridgeshire Business Link

is continuing its ‘Support for Social Enterprises’ series ofworkshops for social enterprises throughout Cambridgeshire.

Subjects covered include Managing a Social Enterprise,Networking/ICT for Social Enterprise and Social Enterpriseand Waste Initiatives.

Contact Clare Thompson on 01480 846420 or visitwww.cambs.businesslink.co.uk

Social Accounting


Adrian Ashton of CCDA is enthusiastic about theirrecognition: “This goes to show the value of the co-operativesector at local levels in meeting the needs of the wider socialenterprise agenda that the government has set. It is gratifying tosee that the contribution co-operatives are making is beingformally acknowledged by such a prestigious and influencebody.”Social accounting workshop scores high

CCDA is also hitting the right mark with social firms. At arecent regional social firms’ conference it was invited to lead aworkshop on social accounting due to its role in two nationalpilot projects, which seek to develop objective evaluationcriteria and processes to gauge the social impact of social firmsand enterprises.

Feedback from the conference showed 93% of delegatesbelieved CCDA’s workshop was good or excellent, by far thehighest level of satisfaction with any part of the conferenceprogramme.

Adrian Ashton elaborated: “Social accounting is going tobecome increasingly important to all organisations in the future– for social enterprises to prove their ‘added value’ to theirfunding bodies, and for more mainstream enterprises to inspireconfidence in their investors and customers. This has beenrecognised at a national level by the DTI and we are playing akey role in being the only agency to be piloting two separate setsof social accounting processes, to evaluate them for theirrelevance and suitability for social enterprises.”

Other parts of the conference which also scored highly withdelegates were main presentations on the perspective of theGovernment’s Regional Development Agency, EEDA, on socialfirms with 85%, profiling what a social firm is with 83%, and aworkshop looking at the transition of a person on disabilitybenefits into full employment with 74%.

CCDA is currently working with Co-operatives UK and SocialFirms UK to pilot sets of social accounting processes and criteriathat have been developed. The outcomes of these pilots will feedinto a national project beingsupported by the DTI tocreate a ‘standard’ for socialaccounting in socialenterprises.

At the end of 2003 CCDA (Cambridge Co-operativeDevelopment Agency) was recognised for providing keyfinancial support and advice by both the DTI and the

social enterprises it assists.The DTI has recently published A progress report on social

enterprise: a strategy for success, which is a national evaluation ofthe strategies and actions it proposed in 2002 to recognise anddevelop the value and impact of social enterprises.

Within the document, each region of the country is profiled,highlighting key projects and activities taking place in relation tothe overall national strategy.Recognition for development loan fund

In the East of England, CCDA was recognised as a key agencyin delivering the national strategy through its smalldevelopment loans fund aimed at supporting the start-up anddevelopment of local co-operative and social enterprisesthroughout Cambridgeshire.

The fund, established over 20 years ago, has ‘revolved’ (beenlent out and repaid) over four times. CCDA is currently receivingsupport from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) tofurther develop this fund, originally established with the help ofvarious bodies including Cambridge City Council and Delta-T, aworker co-operative.

CCDA cuts the mustard withDTI and social enterprises

Adrian AshtonCambridge CDA01223 360977

[email protected]

i

Adrian Ashton, director CCDA, and Elaine McCorriston, EQUAL project manager,Herts Business Link, answer questions at a recent Social enterprise exhibition

InTouch Issue 2

Documents

social inclusion

social capital

social economy accountsfor

various social enterprises

support forthe social

communities iic

eastern england

theeast of england