Growing Community Enterprises CIC

Background Growing Community Enterprises is a Community Interest Company which operates in Charnwood. Its aims are: To support people with disabilities to earn money whilst they learn work skills To help people to think about starting their own small businesses and with the process of doing this 2Growing Community Enterprises Nov 2012

Background contd. Growing Community Enterprises Nov The Community Interest Company has been running for about a year and is still developing It was set up to work alongside WHM Work Connections which is a company which supports people with disabilities to learn skills and to undertake work based activities The idea is that this will be a stepping stone to paid work

Background contd. We found that at the same time as learning skills such as horticulture, animal care, catering etc. people could produce things and provide services that other people would want to buy. Growing Community Enterprises therefore processes the money that people earn and is able to pay its members either an hourly rate or on a profit share type basis working within the benefits rules. Growing Community Enterprises Nov 20124

How it works The Community Interest Company has Trustees who provide support and administration voluntarily. Each person that undertakes any work is a member of the company and has a share in the money it makes and a say in what happens Growing Community Enterprises Nov 20125

How it works We have now started to develop individual enterprises under the umbrella of the CIC including: a free range egg project; car washing; and a community gardening business. Growing Community Enterprises Nov 20126

The Gardening Team Growing Community Enterprises Nov The gardening team is a group of 7 people who work in groups of 4 on three days a week doing paid gardening work for people in the community The team has a dedicated support worker and its own accounts book.

The Gardening Team The team makes decisions together about what work to take and what to charge The money they make belongs to the members and they decide what to do with it i.e. whether to pay themselves or to buy equipment etc. Growing Community Enterprises Nov 20128

The Gardening Team Since the team started 4 months ago we have earned over £900. We have bought a Lawn Mower and a Strimmer and have now got 7 different regular customers Growing Community Enterprises Nov 20129

The Gardening Team 10Growing Community Enterprises Nov 2012 The other thing we have decided to do as a team is to volunteer on the Mountsorrel Railway which is a conservation project We do this one day a week which gives something back to the community and gives us a chance to meet other people and to learn new skills

Thank you for listening Growing Community Enterprises Nov