Social Enterprise

CTSI can provide advice and support to social enterprises who want to start up or develop further. We also provide support with Community Asset Transfer and the distribution of community benefits; helping your organisation to build meaningful relationships within the local public and private sectors.

Social Enterprise

Unlike a traditional business which focuses on making profits for its shareholders, a social enterprise uses business practices to achieve socially positive goals; most often the enterprise still makes a profit, but would responsibly reinvest it back into the company’s social aims. They can be both community interest companies, have charitable status or be a community benefit society or credit union. 

Alloa Community Enterprises and Clackmannanshire Credit Union are some of our best known social enterprises  – they trade fully and the profits they make are invested back in the local community or their services  A social enterprise could be formed to deliver youth activities, run a community hall, or achieve other goals within a community. 

Clackmannanshire Social Enterprise Map

What We Do

CTSI supports your social enterprise creation or development by helping you to: 

  • Understand the basic principles
  • Examine whether your group could operate as a social enterprise
  • Decide on the best structure, get set up and start operating
  • Make plans which underpin best practice, sustainability and getting results
  • Work with our TSI partners, SVE and CVS Falkirk to administer and facilitate the Forth Valley Social Enterprise Network (FVSEN).
  • Provide Local Authorities, NHS procurement & Community Benefits support 
  • Coordinate and develop local Social Enterprise Strategy for Clackmannanshire – this can be viewed here.
  • Actively promotes the local social enterprises using the #BuytheGoodStuff logo and through the Social Enterprise Map. View here

Wider supports for Social Enterprise

CTSI draws on a lot of help from other local and national delivery partners for Social Enterprise support – these include for example:

Business Gateway – start up and growth help is available for any local company – this includes social enterprises. CTSI works closely with Business Gateway Clackmannanshire, which is operated by a leading local social enterprise, Ceteris in Clackmannanshire. They offer support and training on a wide range of areas. For more details go here: Business Support & Local Business Training & Events

Firstport – provides start-up and build-it funding for social entrepreneurs. CTSI will help guide you in applying for funding. For more details please go here: Firstport – Business support and funding to help you start a social enterprise in Scotland

Just Enterprise – provides further in-depth training in particular areas for social enterprise development. For further information please visit justenterprise.org

For more information on Community Asset Transfer please go to Organisational Support section here.

For further information contact anthea.coulter@ctsi.org.uk or phone 01259 213840 or 07977 142605. To register on our Forth Valley Social Enterprise Directory and become a member of CTSI, please complete this online form.

Community Benefit Information

CTSI is currently working on helping achieve community benefit and supply chain initiatives. Community benefits are part of the tendering and procurement process that many local statutory and large businesses include when awarding contracts to suppliers. The benefits which are aimed at Social Enterprises, derives in two forms, (1) financial; by way of direct grants and (2) non-financial; by way of materials and/or equipment, professional support including mentoring, and training opportunities.

Please view our current Community Benefits Wish List here. We are working to update the List regularly with the support of Samtaler, an expert consultant in the field. 

Forth Valley TSIs are working together with NHS to test new community benefit procedures with community organisations and social enterprises. 

Register with Public Contracts Scotland

Social enterprises are also encouraged to be registered on Public Contract Scotland for possible contracted work where tenders are required e.g. councils, colleges, etc. Once registered, social enterprises can be offered ‘Quick Quotes’ and are open to other procurement opportunities. For more information, please view the presentation here provided by Supplier Development Scotland who support businesses and third sector organisations to be registered.

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