A community or social enterprise is a business which has social or
environmental objectives. Instead of going to the owners or shareholders,
profits are reinvested in the community.
Successful
social enterprises in London include The Big Issue, Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen
restaurant and Coin Street Community Builders.
Another
community enterprise, Hackney Community Transport, operates a number of key
bus routes in Islington.
Increasingly, voluntary
organisations are developing community enterprises to deliver services for
local people and in some cases taking over from the statutory sector.
An advantage is that they are often closer to the communities that they serve
and also tend to employ local people.
The profile of social
enterprises is growing and the council’s regeneration service is helping the
sector locally through a programme of training and small start-up grants
financed by the London Development Agency.
If you're
interested in starting a community enterprise, or just want to find out more
about the work underway, you’ll find the contact below.
You can also get more information about successful community and social
enterprises and tap into support including advice, loans, training, and
networking from the useful websites links to the right.
Sarah Sander-Jackson
Islington Council
Environment and
Regeneration
Tel: 020 7527 3486
Email
Sarah Sander-Jackson
Page Last Updated: 31 October 2008