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The Social Enterprise Toolkit |
| Posted by Differentia Office (admin) on Dec 29 2009 |
| News >> Front Page News |
The Clue is in the Name - Social Enterprise. For too long, community and social businesses have been seen as a cheap and low grade alternative to traditional businesses.
They have been seen as a way of providing services at a low price and have relied on people chipping in and helping out for little or no pay.
But things are changing and with the recession there are opportunities for people to start businesses with a new mindset. One that does not rely in capitalist ideals and yet still offer an outlet for entrepreneurship. Two leading social enterprises are tackling the recession head on with expansion plans worth millions of pounds.
Speaking Up, an England-wide social enterprise giving a voice to people with disabilities and mental health problems, is currently finalising plans for a merger with Surrey-based advocacy service Advocacy Partners, an organisation with a £2m turnover.
The move, which would form a new company with a turnover topping £7m, is likely to mean big changes for Speaking Up, including a new company name and branding.
Read more about this here:
www.socialenterpriselive.com/section/news/growth-plans-worth-millions-leading-social-enterprises
So being armed with professional communication tools is increasingly seen as worthwhile and necessary in order to compete in a varied and competitive marketplace. But this comes with a cost and a recognition that this would be money well spent. Traditional Design Agencies base their businesses on making a profit and engaging their clients into a one-way partnership. The Design Company provides all the publicity material all wrapped up and finished.
But there is another way. With digital technology and simple design tools available to anyone it is possible to create a professional image with the Design Company providing a professional brand and literature along with a suite of templates and material that truly enables the Social Enterprise a degree of freedom and autonomy from the Design Company.
Dispensing with costly printed letterheads is the first step in a more efficient way of communicating. We produce a Word template that prints the design along with the letter on a desktop printer.
Leaflets can be produced in the same way allowing for customisation and printing of low runs using desktop of inexpensive digital printing. Newsletters can be produced more regularly and saved in a variety of formats for email, web distribution and digital printing.
Websites using simple content management systems allow all the interactivity the client needs to keep on top of (arguably) the most important tool that a Social Enterprise has at their disposal.
Last changed: Dec 29 2009 at 5:15 PM
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