Northants social enterprises are 'stronger together' not-for-profit businesses told

The North Northants Social Enterprise (NNSE) network was set up in late 2020
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Stronger together – that is the message given to members of the North Northants Social Enterprise (NNSE) network at an event for local not-for-profit businesses held at Wicksteed Park.

NNSE network, set up in late 2020 to connect, support and promote local not-for-profit businesses, launched its Growth for Good project – with social enterprises from across the north of the county gathering to find out how they could benefit from support.

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The Growth for Good project, made possible thanks to funding from Northamptonshire Community Foundation, provides digital and marketing support to social enterprises in North Northamptonshire.

Social enterprises represented at the event included: Teamwork Trust, Youth Works Northamptonshire, Accommodation Concern, Love Corby CIC, Corby Radio, The Core at Corby Cube, Wings and Radicles, CommMiniBus, Picture the Difference, Retail Crime Initiative, Brightwayz, Brand My Thingy and Wicksteed Park.Social enterprises represented at the event included: Teamwork Trust, Youth Works Northamptonshire, Accommodation Concern, Love Corby CIC, Corby Radio, The Core at Corby Cube, Wings and Radicles, CommMiniBus, Picture the Difference, Retail Crime Initiative, Brightwayz, Brand My Thingy and Wicksteed Park.
Social enterprises represented at the event included: Teamwork Trust, Youth Works Northamptonshire, Accommodation Concern, Love Corby CIC, Corby Radio, The Core at Corby Cube, Wings and Radicles, CommMiniBus, Picture the Difference, Retail Crime Initiative, Brightwayz, Brand My Thingy and Wicksteed Park.

Alison Holland, founder of Geddington-based social enterprise Brightwayz that promotes safe, active, sustainable travel, heads up the network and organised the event to help fellow social enterprises thrive.

She said: “I am enormously proud to run a social enterprise. Social enterprises are truly unique in that we exist to fulfil a social or environmental purpose and all our profits are ploughed back into achieving that. Our NNSE network means we can collaborate, share ideas, discuss challenges and together create a stronger, more positive and thriving local social enterprise community.

“We have so many amazing, unique and varied social enterprises across the county, all of whom deserve recognition and support. Some are well known such as Adrenaline Alley and Wicksteed Park while others are less well-known and smaller but reach across many sectors such as education, transport, media and even beekeeping. Many lack the budgets, expertise or marketing resources to sing their own praises so we want to help them do that for everyone’s benefit. Quite simply, we are stronger together.”

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Social enterprises are businesses whose profits are all invested back into the business to meet social or environmental purposes.

Two new Social Enterprise Ambassadors, Dylan Officer and Julia Holland, have been helping to run and promote the Growth for Good project. Dylan’s role is funded by the University of Northampton’s Changemaker programme.

The project also includes digital marketing support from Pilkington Communications, whose new Turtle Academy for not-for-profit organisations was launched earlier this year.

Founder Jessica Pilkington said: “It’s such a privilege to be able to support these social enterprises who have been telling us what they most want - support with everything from social media, press releases and their websites to e-newsletters and how to promote the products and services they offer. The training – and fun – now begins.”

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Jo Moore, CEO of Accommodation Concern, added: “We are particularly proud to be part of this network, as it aims to bring together like-minded social enterprises to support each other at a time where funding is difficult to obtain. We are keen to learn from others and share good practice so that our locality becomes a better place for us all.”

Teamwork has centres in Wellingborough, Kettering and Corby and has operated a social enterprise for 40 years.

Victoria Bell, head of programmes, health and social care at Teamwork Trust, said: “Now more than ever we, as local social enterprises, need to support each other. By collaborating and supporting each other NNSE will be fundamental to the growth of our new unitary authority.”

Find out more at www.nnse.org.uk.