Community Enterprises
Community enterprises are businesses that put social objectives at the centre of their operation. They operate with more than one 'bottom line'. As a business they aim to:
-make and sell products in markets
-cover costs including wages for participating members - generate profits that can be used to provide social or environmental benefit.
Community enterprises involve a number of people and are usually larger than micro- enterprise or self-employment. They have the capacity to make returns to the community as well as to the individuals directly employed.
In many parts of the world community based enterprises are making a major input into local economic development that produces well-being directly.
What are Community Based Enterprises?
Community based enterprises use business to improve the life of a community. They are different from private enterprise because their business activity is undertaken as a means of achieving community benefit, not private gain. Key characteristics of community enterprises are that they aim to be
- community owned-assets belong to the community and cannot be sold off for private financial gain
- community-led--people who are local stakeholders in the area of benefit play a leading role in the enterprise
- community controlled-the local community is represented on the Board of Directors and makes sure that the enterprise is accountable to the community
- able to generate profits or a surplus that can be re-invested or distributed for community benefit
- socially and environmentally responsible--the tackle social and environmental problems in their area
- financially self-sustaining--or on the way to being so