What is Social Enterprise

Social enterprises are businesses that trade in the market with a social purpose. They use business tools and techniques to achieve social aims and include an incredibly wide range of organisations, for example co-operatives, development trusts, community enterprises, housing associations, social firms, and leisure trusts. Most importantlyvoluntary and community groups are increasingly looking to Social Enterprise to fund the services they offer, as other sources of funding become more difficult to access. Charities can be engaged in enterprise (income generation through business activity), but this must be directly related to their charitable objects. If the income generation is substantial and not related to their objects the charity usually has to set up a trading arm which is a limited company. But, apparently, that doesn’t mean that the charity itself has become a social enterprise (in a technical, legal sense anyway).Social enterprises are set up and run as businesses, but all profits must be reinvested for social purposes. A new legal form has been created to govern them, the ‘Community Interest Company’, and there is a regulator. CICs have to prove to the regulator that they have been set up for community benefit rather than private advantage, and the profits must be reinvested.

www.seee.co.uk for more info