G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 1/52 - CULTIVATING DIVERSITY

CULTIVATING DIVERSITY

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 2/52 - First published: July 2018

First published: July 2018

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 3/52 - ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 4/52 - Foreword

Foreword

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 5/52 - Tony Armstrong

Tony Armstrong

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 6/52 - Kate Stewart

Kate Stewart

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 7/52 - CONTENTS

CONTENTS

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 8/52 - INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 9/52 - What is Community Business?

What is Community Business?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 10/52 - How do BME-led Community Businesses comp…

How do BME-led Community Businesses compare?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 11/52 - What does our toolkit aim to do?

What does our toolkit aim to do?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 12/52 - How is this toolkit structured?

How is this toolkit structured?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 13/52 - SECTION 1 The Business Model

SECTION 1 The Business Model

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 14/52 - Business Units

Business Units

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 15/52 - The Growing Green Food Collective The co…

The Growing Green Food Collective The committee members of ACA get together and discuss the type of Community Business activities they wish to undertake. They decide to explore the feasibility of: - Growing and then selling low-cost fresh fruit and vegetables to the local community (including the sale of organic preserves, pickles and sauces) - Using the grown produce to supply a caf� based on site -Undertaking therapeutic activities for people with mental health issues -Providing horticultural training qualifications -Providing allotments for local people ACA successfully applies for a small grant and commissions some outline feasibility work to be undertaken by a reputable consultant, including developing outline financial models. The group play an active role in this process, including engaging with existing Community Businesses providing similar activities, consulting with the Local Authority about what they would consider as acceptable uses for the site, and engaging with local people and local organisations to understand their views on the activities proposed. The group also visit other Community Businesses carrying out similar activities particularly those working in similar urban environments. They take time to understand the business models of those organisations, particularly the finances. The group decides not to pursue providing allotments for local people as the income to be generated is very limited and the benefit derived would be limited to those individuals. Based upon consultation with local groups they also decide to broaden access to the project for the community by making community space available at reasonable costs to a range of local groups. The group, working alongside the consultant, decide to focus upon five distinct business activities.

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 16/52 - Who are the customers?

Who are the customers?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 17/52 - The Growing Green Food Collective Based …

The Growing Green Food Collective Based upon the business activities identified above ACA undertakes further research in the local area � market research designed to identify the customer base for their activities and what those customers will be willing to pay. They support younger adults in the area to undertake this work as community researchers. This includes: - Looking at the offers and price ranges of other local shops and cafes (including caterers) - Engaging with the local Clinical Commissioning Group (health authority) and determining that they are interested in commissioning organisations to provide therapeutic support to people with mental health issues (including anxiety and depression) and exploring the using of Personal Budgets to enable individuals to purchase that support directly -Exploring partnership opportunities with a local college to provide City & Guilds NVQ Level 1 and 2 Certificate in Work-based Horticulture (courses to be affiliated with the college but provided by the organisation). The offer to the college would be to significantly boost BME involvement in a sector where they currently lack representation -Engaging with a wide range of local groups to explore their interest in hiring rooms within the community centre for meetings and activities with local people and mapping other community premises in proximity and identifying what they currently charge.

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 18/52 - What does our financial model look like?

What does our financial model look like?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 19/52 - 1. Typical monthly expenditure - Imagine…

1. Typical monthly expenditure - Imagine your community business is created and has been up and running for 12 months - Think about all the types of costs (or expenditure) that your organisation would incur and write these as a list (e.g. staffing costs, utility costs, premises costs, cost of supplies) - Based on the research that you have done, identify what the typical costs of your organisation are for a typical month - so putting a monthly cost against that list of costs - Do not include any one-off start-up costs (e.g. building refurbishment).

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 20/52 - The Growing Green Food Collective The co…

The Growing Green Food Collective The committee of ACA meets, bringing with them the research that they have undertaken on the range of activities they wish to provide, alongside other research (including findings from visits to other similar organisations and an exploration of their business models). They begin with a basic cash flow template and use a screen and projector so that the whole committee can work on it all together, have chance to influence its creation, and develop a detailed understanding of it. Members of the committee who are not that familiar or comfortable with finance are paired with those who are more confident. Ayo, who has some experience with managing finance in her job as a manager of a local pre-school sits with and supports Paul, a retired construction worker who has lived in the area all his life and is keen on the food growing aspect of the project. The committee work together, following the process outlined above. They identify different types of costs and income and forecast amounts for each. They then make adjustments based upon developing an understanding of when money needs to be spent (e.g. seasonal variations when seeds/plants need to be bought and planted) and when income will be received (e.g. contract income often quarterly in arrears). This results in the cash flow below which represents a typical trading year for The Growing Green Food Collective Community Business:

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 21/52 - What money do we need to start?

What money do we need to start?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 22/52 - Start Up and Working Capital

Start Up and Working Capital

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 23/52 - 23

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 24/52 - FINANCIAL MODEL CASE STUDY: 198 Contempo…

FINANCIAL MODEL CASE STUDY: 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning (198 CAL)

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 25/52 - How do we develop a Business Plan?

How do we develop a Business Plan?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 26/52 - Contents

Contents

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 27/52 - Contents

Contents

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 28/52 - SECTION 2 Governance

SECTION 2 Governance

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 29/52 - The form of the board

The form of the board

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 30/52 - What constitutes good governance?

What constitutes good governance?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 31/52 - How are we accountable to our community?

How are we accountable to our community?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 32/52 - The Growing Green Food Collective The gr…

The Growing Green Food Collective The group decide that they want to be a membership organisation, feeling that this will provide a strong foundation from which to develop a broader strategy to achieve real community involvement and accountability. A member of the group is tasked with designing a simple membership register and membership form - recording name, address, contact details and contact preferences (i.e. how they are willing to be contacted). A high level of importance is placed upon obtaining mobile phone numbers and email addresses to enable the issuing of regular news bulletins (members news), to encourage followers of the organisations Facebook Page, Twitter, Instagram, as well as receiving text message updates. The group feels that this will provide an opportunity to promote community events and training opportunities, alongside other practical ways of encouraging their involvement. They will also use these details to undertake regular consultation exercises such as snap shot e-surveys to gauge member opinion on different issues to inform board decisions. Having this strategy at the very beginning will allow them to embed true community ownership of the Community Business as well as building a strong base of volunteers (e.g. involving them in the physical design of the growing site and the building refurbishment). They feel that this approach will lead to far greater attendance at the Annual General Meeting and that ongoing engagement will enable them to work intensively with individuals to build confidence to become future board members as part of a wider succession strategy.

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 33/52 - There is no right or wrong way of realis…

There is no right or wrong way of realising community involvement and accountability, and Community Businesses employ a range of mechanisms to connect with their beneficiaries. However, the "Community Accountability in Community Business" report identifies four "critical success factors for community accountability" alongside several questions which Community Businesses can use to test their performance in this important area:

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 34/52 - What are the common legal structures for…

What are the common legal structures for Community Business?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 35/52 - Community Benefit Society

Community Benefit Society

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 36/52 - Legal Structures for Community Businesse…

Legal Structures for Community Businesses

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 37/52 - SECTION 3 Social Impact

SECTION 3 Social Impact

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 38/52 - How do we identify community need?

How do we identify community need?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 39/52 - Sources

Sources

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 40/52 - Previous activity delivery

Previous activity delivery

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 41/52 - IDENTIFYING COMMUNITY NEED CASE STUDY: W…

IDENTIFYING COMMUNITY NEED CASE STUDY: Wolves Lane Horticultural Centre (WLHC), Haringey

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 42/52 - What is a Theory of Change?

What is a Theory of Change?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 43/52 - What is a social impact measurement syst…

What is a social impact measurement system?

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 44/52 - An often-neglected area for consideratio…

An often-neglected area for consideration is the capacity of the staff or volunteers to maintain their social impact measurement system once they have established it. Many are designed without due consideration of the resources that the Community Business has at its disposal. At the stage when the organisation is designing its Theory of Change, the organisation should consider in detail what system it has the capacity to maintain. Therefore, a Theory of Change may identify longer term social impacts such as reduced levels of unemployment, increased economic activity or better health for the community, but the organisation may not have the capacity to objectively measure this.

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 45/52 - GLOSSARY OF TERMS

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 46/52 - Cash Flow Forecast - A cash flow forecas…

Cash Flow Forecast - A cash flow forecast is a plan that shows how much money a business expects to receive in, and pay out, over a given period. Community Businesses often use this process to understand at what stages that levels of cash in the bank may not be adequate to cover shortfalls of income against expenditure (and therefore what "working capital" they may require)

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 47/52 - Equity � The values of the shares held b…

Equity � The values of the shares held by an individual or organisation in the Community Business

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 48/52 - Market Share � This relates to the propo…

Market Share � This relates to the proportion of the potential customer base that the Community Business is serving with their products and/or services. As Community Businesses mature or expand they aim to capture a higher market share of the potential customer base than their competitors

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 49/52 - Theory of Change - A theory of change is…

Theory of Change - A theory of change is a way of explaining how your Community Business works and the impact it has. It is often the starting point for any organisation wanting to develop a coherent and organised approach to social impact measurement. It demonstrates how your activities result in levels of outputs, outcomes and broader impact, which then connects back to the community needs you are seeking to address. It helps you to identify and understand your unique approach to the work you are doing and to demonstrate your impact to your stakeholders, including funders and commissioners Unique Value Proposition - This is a clear statement that describes the distinct benefit that your Community Business creates. This could be how you address your customers needs and what distinguishes you from the competition. Some UVPs involve an element of "word play". An example for a horticulture enterprise could be "Helping the Community to Grow" Working Capital - The capital of a business which is used in its day-to-day trading operations, calculated as the current assets minus the current liabilities. It essential that Community Businesses have the working capital required to ensure that they can continue to operate and have sufficient funds to satisfy both debt repayments and operational expenditure

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 50/52 - NOTES

NOTES

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 51/52 - THE UBELE INITIATIVE 639 HIGH ROAD, LON…

THE UBELE INITIATIVE 639 HIGH ROAD, LONDON N17 8AA UNITED KINGDOM EMAIL: INFO@UBELE.ORG WWW.UBELE.ORG

G-2018-07-Cultivating diversity.pdf - page 52/52