A guide to third sector trading - WCVA

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
• Building assets for long-term security: Owning building
assets such as managed workspaces is now recognised by the
UK government and the Development Trusts Association as
a major tool in creating sustainable community regeneration
organisations. See section 7.3. Any building asset brings risks
(in the form of maintenance and affordability). But they can also
bring multiple benefits which contribute to the sustainability
and freedom of their owners which most charities and
community groups find difficult to imagine:
− regular rental income from tenants, some of which can be
used to support social and charitable activities
− flexibility and space to accommodate new business and social
projects as they are developed
− a sense of independence from the control exercised by public
bodies and grant funders
− a capital asset against which money for future capital
developments can be borrowed
− (sometimes) a saleable asset which could be disposed of to
realise significant income.
Trading by communities of interest: The inherently co-operative
nature of the third sector ethos lends itself to business enterprises
which involve people with a common interest, rather than a
common geographical community. Examples include publishing,
drama and entertainment, craft marketing co-operatives,
environmental initiatives, horticulture, and even (for a brief period
in a unique Scottish example) amateur weather forecasters. The
commercial ventures which collaboration produces are remarkably
diverse. The broader social benefit is often obvious even when it is
not the main motivation, for instance:
• co-operatives of publishers and actors foster local cultural or
community understanding or involvement
• farmers group together to sell their products for personal
profit, but by doing so help to preserve the viability of rural
communities.
Some examples of third sector trading
Services not provided by the public sector: These include:
• Facilities for elderly people: Some care homes are run by
charities, and other innovative projects have emerged to provide
day care facilities for the elderly (eg Caia Park Partnership’s Deva
House project in Wrexham). Income comes variously from private
fees and charges, contracts with local authorities.
23