A guide to third sector trading - WCVA

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It’s an idea, but is it business? A guide to third sector trading 1: Getting started 2: First steps 3: Business planning 4: Legal and governance 5: Funding and resourcing 6: Financial controls 7: Managing growth 8: Management and governance 9: Social enterprise 10: Sources of support Succession policies: • The need for succession planning: Research has shown that social enterprises are complex and vulnerable organisations which can experience severe difficulties when long-standing and apparently indispensable leaders (both staff and board chairs) leave. This is because: • A ‘Successful Succession’ work pack with guidance materials is available from Community Projects Centre, Sunlea Crescent, Pontypool, NP4 8AD, email mel@communityprojectscentre.org.uk − innovative initiatives are often led by charismatic or energetic individuals who are difficult to replicate − the pressure of social enterprise can lead to rapid burn out and the sudden disappearance of key drivers − dependency on key individuals and strategies for replacing them are often taboo subjects for boards of directors – there is often no discussion until a crisis has arisen. • Evaluating vulnerabilities: Open debate is often a first step to breaking the taboo. Organisations also need to: − carry out reviews to identify any weaknesses caused by succession issues − put in place measures including the appointment and training of deputies. 226
It’s an idea, but is it business? A guide to third sector trading 1: Getting started 2: First steps 3: Business planning 4: Legal and governance 5: Funding and resourcing 6: Financial controls 7: Managing growth 8: Management and governance 9: Social enterprise 10: Sources of support 8.5 ‘Community ownership’ Not all enterprises in the third sector are community based. But those that are often taken their initial impetus, objectives, drive and support from disadvantaged communities where they are based. This gives them a particular need to try to turn the much abused term ‘community ownership’ into some kind of reality. And there can be many advantages to doing so. Company membership and community participation: • The need for engagement: − Membership: Many community-based companies such as development trusts have membership arrangements designed to involve people who live and work in the areas where they operate. Membership – and therefore the theoretical control of the company – is sometimes open exclusively to these residents. But there is rarely time or energy to sustain and develop this engagement. − Support: Evidence of local support can be a critical factor in persuading backers to provide grant or loan funding. − Validation: Enterprises need to ensure that their development proposals chime with their users or with local opinions and needs, and to take suggestions into account. − Customers: Enterprises providing local services – such as crèches, after school clubs, luncheon clubs, community cafes etc – may need to appeal to potential new customers on a regular basis. − Community cohesion: Bringing people together can in itself be good for communities, and social enterprise trading can provide the catalyst which goes well beyond the business activity itself. • Options: There are many opportunities to meet the public, though some take more effort and resources than others to organise. Some of the activities on the following list can often be combined, particularly to make the Annual General Meeting into a more substantial and worthwhile event. Options include: − annual general meetings 227
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A guide to third sector trading - WCVA

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