Growing social enterprises have a huge impact on communities across this region

06/11/2009

The Big Issue, the Eden Project and Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant chain are all examples of successful social enterprises - businesses with social objectives whose profits are reinvested in the business or in the community.

There are more than 2000 social enterprises across Yorkshire and Humber. They range from small specialist organisations like Doncaster based M25 Create, a professional catering service which employs homeless and disadvantaged people; to large development trusts delivering a wide range of community services like Leeds based Camberwell which undertakes property development and high growth business consultancy in disadvantaged areas.

Last month we supported the eighth annual Footsey trade fair which took place in the region. This is the largest social enterprise trade fair in the UK. Over 700 delegates booked their place in advance of Footsey 2009, which was held at Doncaster Racecourse, and a further 200 turned up on the day to visit the 100 stands.

The event allows new and existing social enterprises to promote themselves and their products and services to each other and those looking to buy into a different way of doing things.

As well as visiting the stands, delegates could also attend presentations and workshops, have one to one mentoring sessions with Business Link Yorkshire advisors and network, as the event is all about doing business.

We have supported this event since its inception eight years ago. We took the decision to be the first funder and take on the potential risks which come with doing this type of event for the first time. We did this because we could see a need - a gap in the market for a trade fair for the third sector - and its potential to provide long term benefits, both social and economical.

Over the last eight years we’ve seen social enterprise support enter the mainstream with Business Link Yorkshire offering a range of support packages and Charity Bank supporting social enterprise by providing affordable loans which commercial lenders generally can’t or won’t assist.

Two years ago Yorkshire Forward invested £10 million in the Yorkshire and Humber office of Charity Bank. Supporting social enterprises is high on our agenda and in doing so, we were the first Regional Development Agency to make such an investment.

We have been working with Business Link Yorkshire to develop a targeted support package specific for social enterprises, to help them develop and grow. Experienced Business Link advisers are based throughout the region, helping to implement agreed plans and provide support; in winning contracts, producing social accounts and mentoring individual companies.

Prior to Footsey 2009, Social Enterprise Yorkshire and Humber (SEYH), the voice for this sector in the region, which has over 300 members, held an award ceremony to showcase the best social enterprises in the region. In fact John Bird, founder of The Big Issue was our keynote speaker.

Among the 20 finalists was Bradford based Deafinitions Ltd which makes health information films for the deaf community; a North Yorkshire social enterprise called Kick4change which re-invests 50% of its profits to support schools and grass roots sports clubs; Sheffield based Viewpoint Research which is made up almost entirely of people with disabilities who have struggled to find work in the usual labour markets; and Shores Homecare which offers a lifeline to vulnerable people in East Yorkshire. The scope is vast but the one thing they all have in common is the massive impact they have on peoples’ lives and our region’s communities.

In a time when public spending is under pressure, there are opportunities opening up for social enterprises to deliver public services which are cost-effective, efficient and high quality.  We know that businesses with a public commitment to ethics perform better, achieve higher profits, improved reputation and customer loyalty. The business benefits are clear.

I believe social enterprises have a bright future in our region and with our help this region is becoming known as home to the best and most innovative social enterprises in the UK and even Europe.

By Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Forward