What is Social Enterprise?

A social enterprise is a profit-seeking organisation with a defined social and/or environmental mission. There are many definitions, for example:

Social Enterprises are business models set up to tackle social, economic, or environmental issues. While they are driven primarily by social and/or environmental motives, they engage in trading or commercial activities to pursue these objectives and produce social and community gain.

What does that mean?

These are organisations that sell products or services for a profit. With this profit, they can have some social impact.

Give an example...

Let’s take an organisation that makes coffee. It sells that coffee for a profit, and, with that profit, they can help people who are homeless. The more they sell, the more profit they have, the more money they have available to help tackle the homeless crisis. They make a social impact that way.

Social enterprises also, more likely than not, employ people who are socially excluded or marginalised or who perhaps might not have had a job otherwise.

What is Social Impact?

Social impact is the sum of individual outcomes made by an organisation or service. This should:

Social enterprises also, more likely than not, employ people who are socially excluded or marginalised or who perhaps might not have had a job otherwise.

• Inspire staff and volunteers
• Tangibly improve the lives of the groups you aim to assist
• show to your value to potential funders and anyone who may assist.
• show to your value to become your rallying call for messaging and PR

What is Social Enterprise and what is not?

A Social Enterprise does

• Make money from goods & services.
• Cover its own costs in the long term.
• Reinvest profits back into the organisation.
• Pay reasonable salaries to its staff.

A Social Enterprise does NOT

• Exist to make profits for shareholders.
• Exist to make owners very wealthy.
• Rely ONLY on volunteering, grants or donations to be sustainable. Oakfield Trust Social Enterprise Funding



More Information on Social Enterprise

For extensive information on all aspects of Social Enterprise, check out the Social Enterprise Toolkit