Social Enterprise Development Initiative

Programme Name

Social Enterprise Supports

Programme Description

OLDC supports voluntary groups/individuals all across Offaly who are already running, or who are thinking of setting up a social enterprise. A social enterprise is a business run by a group of volunteers who charge for a product or service, where all traded income is reinvested in sustaining and developing the business, and where the product or service provided is a response to a local relevant social need. These supports come in many formats from individual staff or board member mentoring and guidance to the provision of facilitated relevant training, information or networking opportunities that will enhance the skills of those involved in the project.

Programme Priorities

Community Development.
Youth.
Enterprise.

What is a Social Enterprise?

A social enterprise is an enterprise: - that trades for a social/ societal purpose; where at least part of its income is earned from its trading activity; is separate from government; and where the surplus is primarily re-invested in the social objective.

Examples include:

What types of support are available?

OLDC have over the past five years developed an interactive working relationship with over 25 currently trading social enterprises across Offaly. These supports have always aimed to be direct and relevant and take the following form depending on the stage of formation of the enterprise:

Pre-development local community planning work supporting groups to identify and action social enterprise opportunities
Provision of governance guidance to boards and staff members through mentoring or organised training
Provision and support in accessing local and national financial supports (grant applications etc..)
Provision of specific relevant training to board and staff members (to date OLDC have supported continuous training for those involved in running social enterprises with the support of Redz, RDP, DRCD training and mentoring programme and have just been awarded funding to continue the provision of training through the Covid 19 regeneration fund for social enterprises). This training covers many aspects of running a social enterprise with emphasis for next phase training under the headings of Capacity Building, Digital Innovation, Strategic planning and Governance).
Mentoring advice and guidance for day to day issues
Facilitated networking sessions to encourage shared learning and collaborative development.

What supports are within the programme?