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Other support and advice

In the Birmingham & Solihull sub-region there are also agencies offering specialist social enterprise support and where they have funding to do so one or more of these organisations may be able to help you:

Business in the Community
Contacts: Rina Guddu, rina.guddu@bitc.org.uk
Jennnifer Leech, jennifer.leech@bitc.org.uk
0121 451 2227

Business in the Community is a unique movement in the UK of over 800 member companies committed to improving their impact on society in four impact areas: community, environment, marketplace and workplace. BITC has two programmes that can benefit social and community enterprises: ‘Leadership and Management Partners’ and ‘Prohelp’.

Leadership and Management Partners

This is an opportunity for a leader of a community enterprise to be partnered with a senior manager from a commercial business to share knowledge and experience. A commitment of 6 meetings over 12 months is required. This partnership provides a learning opportunity to meet with a partner with parallel but independent experience of leadership and management for mutual benefit. As well as broadening experience, the partnership also helps develop knowledge and skills and the ability to generate solutions to unfamiliar problems. There is no charge to the social entrepreneur.

ProHelp

ProHelp is a national network of over 1,000 professional firms each of which has offered to provide professional advice and strategic support free of charge to community groups and voluntary organisations in their local area, including social enterprise. In the West Midlands, there is a Birmingham ProHelp Group.

This group is particularly keen to support initiatives that can make a real, long-term contribution in local communities. For example, a group of Parents who want to set-up a ‘not for profit’ nursery in order to provide affordable childcare for lone parents who want to return to work to improve their family’s financial position.

The ProHelp Group also offers a range of workshop-style programmes on topics such as business planning and project management. Participants are normally expected to bring along real examples to work through in order to maximise benefit. Each ProHelp firm also offers one-to-one advice, where appropriate.

The Digbeth Trust
Contact: Kate Hazlewood
0121 753 0706
info@digbethtrust.org.uk

The Digbeth Trust offers an initial telephone assessment of the client group’s needs and results in either information supplied and enquiry satisfied, referral to the Trust’s own consultancy service (provided through a register of quality-assured consultants) or referral to alternative sources of support.

Initial assessment, advice and signposting and the matching of client groups with an appropriate consultancy provider are free. The actual costs of the consultancy support must be met either by the client or by access to funding from a third party provider (the Trust can often advise on potential sources of funding). As recent examples, until the end-December 2007 the Trust administered a consultancy grants fund on behalf of Birmingham City Council's Enterprising Communities regeneration area and some clients eligible for support under this programme were assisted with financial support; in 2009 and 2010, under a Capacitybuilders funded Improving Reach programme, some BAMER clients eligible for support under this programme will be assisted with financial support.

Enterprising Communities
Social Economy Development & Growth Programme
0121 675 7581

Enterprising Communities is a regeneration scheme covering the following parts of South East Birmingham: Washwood Heath, Nechells, Bordesley Green, Sparkbrook, Springfield and parts of Hodge Hill, South Yardley and Kings Heath. Under its Social Economy Development & Growth Programme Enterprising Communities can assist voluntary and community groups and social enterprises financially.

Applicants must have a demonstrable ‘not-for-personal-profit’ business structure, social aims clearly stated in their Memorandum & Articles, planned service delivery that takes place within the Enterprising Communities area, evidence of local community partnership and ‘match funding’ (the programme is funded through the European Union and can contribute up to 45% of eligible costs). The financial contribution of the programme can be used to help meet the cost of business development activities and other specialist expertise.

West Midlands Planning Aid Service (WMPAS)
Tel. 0121 766 8044
wmco@planningaid.rtpi.org.uk
http://www.planningaid.rtpi.org.uk/

WMPAS is a not-for-profit, independent charity that provides free and independent advice and support to social enterprises and third sector organisations to help them understand the planning system and ensure that their needs are reflected in planning policy. WMPAS can help with training workshops and professional guidance on how to use the planning system and influence planning decisions in favour of social enterprise.

Planning Aid can also assist individual social enterprises with specific planning issues.