Ethos Public Relations Manchester

Sign up now for Masterclass in Community Shares

by Ethos public relations

As a result of increasing interest in Community Shares, as a way of saving important community assets, Co-operatives^UK is hosting a training seminar in Manchester at the end of the month.

The Community Shares programme was launched due to a huge surge of interest in community investment. There have been a total of 40 new cases in the last twelve months alone. The registration of new Industrial and Provident Societies (IPSs) more than doubled in the last quarter of 2009 and recent initiatives have raised more than £42m from over 30,000 community investors across the UK.

Now, Co-operatives^UK, the national trade body for all forms of co-operative business, is to host a one day seminar, in partnership with the Development Trusts Association (DTA) and funded by Communities and Local Government (CLG), to show how community shares can be used to build businesses and empower communities.

The Masterclass in Community Shares, led by Jim Brown, lead consultant of the Community Shares Programme, will take place on the 25 March at the Mechanics Institute in Manchester, and is aimed towards Co-operative Development Bodies (CDBs), development trusts, national third sector agencies and other social enterprise development agencies.

Ed Mayo, Secretary General of Co-operatives^UK, said: “Community investment is about community engagement and financing new initiatives and this is at the core of the co-operative way of business.

“Over the past year or so we have seen increasing interest in community shares as a sustainable way to finance new community businesses and these seminars will give business development professionals a greater understanding of this form of business structure.”

Hugh Rolo, Head of Assets and Investment at the DTA, said: “Community enterprises are a vital focal point for local people and are well placed to identify local needs, finding innovative solutions and delivering valuable services while reinvesting surplus back into their communities.”

The Masterclass programme will include a good share offer, strengthening the business model, community building and membership, IPS legislation and the alternatives, emergent voluntary codes of good practice, future training and accreditation for community share advisers, creating a quality self-regulatory framework, sharing market intelligence and future government support and policy context.

Places are limited to a maximum of 25 per seminar. To find out more, click here.

Or to book your place, please visit this website.

Posted at 3^rd March 2010