Co-operative Social Enterprises

What are they?

Co-operative social enterprises are businesses with social or environmental aims which are set up to provide a service to a local community.  Sometimes known as community co-operatives, community enterprises or community businesses, they use co-operative principles to guide their structure and activities. Any profit generated by the Co-operative Social Enterprise is reinvested to further their social or environmental aims.

Some examples

• A nursery for a housing estate where many single parent families live, so that parents can find work
• A village shop and post office for a rural community several miles from the nearest commercial store
• A community centre offering different services such as youth clubs, meeting rooms and a cafe

We have also helped set up food co-operatives, community transport schemes, environmental projects, social firms, community land trusts, development trusts and many other community co-operatives.

How can we help?

The Wales Co-operative Centre’s Development Officers can help groups through all stages of setting up a social enterprise. We can also help existing social enterprises grow and develop. The package of support might include:

• Advice on funding and sustainability
• Assessing what the community needs
• Designing a service to meet those needs
• Establishing how popular the service will be
• Sorting out a legal structure and registering the co-operative as a company limited by guarantee, industrial and provident society or community interest company
• Working out what resources will be needed to provide the service
• Planning how many people will be needed to run the service and providing training for the social enterprise
• Help with writing a business plan
• Help with writing a marketing plan

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