Although there are many definitions, the bottom line is…A social enterprise is an enterprise [or business] whose objective is to achieve a social, societal or environmental impact, rather that maximising profits for its owners or stakeholders.
Social enterprises in Clare work in many sectors: Improving the environment, strengthening community supports, supporting employment opportunities locally and regionally and working for the overall betterment of society.
CLDC, over the past 30 years, has supported the establishment and development of Social Enterprises across a range of sectors including tourism, community services, childcare organisations, and climate action.
In January 2023, CLDC launched the Clare Social Enterprise Network. The primary aim of the network is to give Social Enterprises in Clare a platform to interact with other like-minded people, to ask questions, share ideas, experiences & learnings, and to identify opportunities for working together and for wider collaboration.
We had a range of events throughout 2023 to offer networking opportunities and soft support in the common issues facing Social Enterprises, including:
- Fundraising / revenue generation.
- Business planning
- Strategy Planning and Sustainability
- Communication and Marketing
- Legal & HR – recruitment & management
Social Enterprise Training Programme
Right now, in our Social Enterprise Network, we are really excited to have Evelyn Cormican delivering a bespoke training programme to assist Social Enterprises with day-to-day operations and future planning. The training is being delivered through a combination of in person and online training and small group mentoring sessions. The overall aim of the training is to provide support and direction to social enterprises to take their business to the next level.
On completion of the training programme participants will be given an opportunity to take part in a showcase event (Spring 2024) with local businesses and corporates. This event is an opportunity for social enterprises to pitch their businesses to companies that have a corporate social responsibility policy.
If you are a social enterprise or thinking of becoming a social enterprise and you are not on our database, we would love to hear from you!
Please email Aisling [adeklerk@cldc.ie] for further information and to be part of our dynamic network.
Irish Local Development Network (ILDN) Social Enterprise Impact Award
ILDN have launched their Social Enterprise IMPACT award, which is a competition focused on impact and impact measurement. The Awards will have three categories – medium/large social enterprise, small social enterprise, and ‘young’ social enterprise – with winners in each category receiving an award of €10,000, and runners up receiving €5,000. The prize money can be used towards any costs associated with running the social enterprise. For further information and a copy of the application form click here.
Closing date Sunday 10th December 2023.