Launch of Activ People in the community

With 20 years of experience in developing businesses and in particular the creation of employment businesses means that we are developing the duplication concept of enabling organisations and individuals to generate income through the work they already do.

As many organisations have employment outputs to achieve this opportunity supports the achievement of those outcomes by proactively sourcing employment from targeted employers for job ready clients or providing work experience for those that aren't in some cases.

Employers are now very used to the need to use an employment agency for both permanent and contract recruitment. Managed correctly contract recruitment with support through caching and mentoring can lead to a permanent position as we found at the Turning Corners project developed for the Marsh Farm Community Development Trust. All community organisations and charities are doing is moving into this market as a social enterprise with the support of a back office support organisation.

The team at activ people have experience of setting up new location offices, careers guidance, project management, the further and higher education sector enabling them to give a comprehensive package of support all for a small monthly fee. For more information contact Richard at marketing@activ-people.co.uk for more information.

Do you need more money as a Charity, Voluntary organisation or Social Enterprise

Well if you are looking at ways to increase your revenue, to achieve your outputs or to be successful in bidding then Micro Coaches may be able to help. In fact I shall be one of many coaches that will soon be available through this new and exciting peer to peer support programme.

Unlocking the skills and expertise within small organisations with the aim of working towards sustainable communities. The aim of the Micro Coaches is to share the specific expertise, skills or knowledge they have about business with other small organisations, including social enterprises.

Why am I getting involved? Because I believe passionately in supporting the community and enabling organisations to generate additional surplus income, especially through creating enterprises that produce income for their social aims.

Think about it if you were able to get the general public or businesses to pay you for providing a service or product. Then taking that money and using it to support your target beneficiaries rather than always waiting months to work out if you have won the lottery of bid writing.

There is still a place for state funding, grants and lottery funding but using a mixture of funding options allows you to try and be more flexible in your service delivery. Well hopefully you will be asking for a Micro Coach in the East of England soon.

Building Communities Fund for Social Enterprises

The meeting that I talked about initially in my first post for activ people was to launch the Building Communities Fund which is to support the development of social enterprises in the eastern region. Photo: Michelle Rigby - CEO SEEE (left) , Andrew Robinson - Quirk Review (right)

It enables third sector organisations to develop a feasibility study on the viability of acquiring an asset that is currently held in private or public hands for the good of the local communities that they wish to serve.

But more importantly it enables those organisations the opportunity to utilise that asset to create a surplus or profit which will support their social aims. Whether that is to help with the care of individuals, education, business incubation. The list recipients is endless as well as the enterprises used to create the surplus.

The point is for those organisations to make a profit rather than having to rely always on Grant funding. For more information visit http://www.buildingcommunitiesfund.org/ or the SEEE website http://www.socialenterprise-east.org.uk/