Hey, community businesses! Get up to £10,000 and support to help you grow
Hey, community businesses! Get up to £10,000 and a learning programme to help you grow
London, UK – Community businesses are the organisations that put their local area at the very heart of what they do: the restaurants, energy companies, bakeries, sports clubs and pubs that are run by and for local people (to mention just a few!).
So we’re delighted to announce that applications are open from Thursday 13th July for a new support programme just for them: the Community Business Trade Up Programme, run by School for Social Entrepreneurs, in partnership with Power to Change.
The programme supports the leaders of early-stage community businesses with:
• a fully funded six-month learning programme (consisting of 12 learning days)
• a grant of up to £10,000
The focus of the programme is to grow community business’ impact by increasing their sales and trading income.
The learning programme runs from January to July 2018 and will support 100 community business leaders across England. They will learn in groups of 10 peers.
The programme is delivered by School for Social Entrepreneurs at eight locations: York, Liverpool, Midlands, Ipswich, London, Hampshire, Devon and Cornwall.
Alastair Wilson, CEO of School for Social Entrepreneurs, said: “We’re delighted to partner with Power to Change to support the learning of community business leaders, people who commit themselves to improving their local areas and nurturing local vibrancy. School for Social Entrepreneurs has 20 years’ experience in helping leaders of social change develop the confidence, skills and networks to grow organisations that help people in need and improve communities.”
Mark Gordon, Director of Communications at Power to Change, said: “Community business is all about exploring new ways to help local areas grow and thrive. This is a great opportunity for new entrepreneurs to look at new ways of doing business and doing good.”
The Community Business Trade Up programme is already supporting 30 community business leaders between May and October 2017. It will support 130 leaders in total.
Community businesses from across England can find out more and apply from Thursday 13th July 2017 at: https://www.the-sse.org/community-business
ENDS
** Press contacts
• SSE: Sophie Hobson, communications manager – 0207 089 9120 / sophie.hobson@sse.org.uk
• Power to Change: Russell Hargrave, Press Manager – 07770 729557 / russellh@powertochange.org.uk
** Notes to editors
The Community Business Trade Up Programme
The Community Business Trade Up Programme is a learning programme accompanied by a grant of up to £10,000 for early-stage community businesses that are planning to grow. The programme is run by School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) with support from Power to Change. The programme includes 12 learning days, spread over six months. The programme will support 130 community business leaders in total. The first phase of the programme runs from May to October 2017, supporting 30 community business leaders at SSE London (London) and SSE North West (Liverpool). The second phase of the programme will support a further 100 community business leaders across England via School for Social Entrepreneurs’ eight schools based in England. It will run from January to July 2018. Applications for the second phase open on 13th July 2017 and close on 11th October 2017. You can find out more and register your interest in the programme at:
https://www.the-sse.org/courses/community-business/
About community businesses
A community business is run by and for a local community. Its profits are reinvested for the benefit of that community.
About School for Social Entrepreneurs
School for Social Entrepreneurs (SSE) empowers people to create change in their communities and improve the lives of others. It supports social entrepreneurs: people who tackle social problems by starting, scaling and sustaining organisations. SSE helps more than 1,000 leaders of social change every year through courses, connections and ongoing support. Michael Young founded SSE in 1997 in London. Today, its network of 11 schools impacts communities across the UK, Canada and India. www.the-sse.org.
About Power to Change
Power to Change is an independent trust, whose funding is used to strengthen community businesses across England. At a time when many parts of the UK face cuts, neglect and social problems, we are helping local people come together to take control, and make sure their local areas survive and stay vibrant. http://www.powertochange.org.uk/