Trading to create new income streams
Community Sector Trading is a free course that offers practical learning based on real experience of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of running a business in the community. It is delivered through a mix of face-to-face and live online sessions that aim to help participants understand how voluntary and community organisations can develop their trading activities.
Listen to a recorded online learning session
Course Overview
Strategic planning and the balanced scorecard
Investment readiness
Pitching new ventures
Interrogating the business model
Organisational development
Managing finance
Social return
Delivery and Learning Style
Understanding enterprise is like art or sport – we believe that people learn best from exploring real examples and practicing their own probing and problem-solving skills. The learning programme consists of a two day residential followed by four live online learning sessions over the following couple of weeks. Each of these sessions are facilitated by community enterprise leaders and will explore real examples of community organisations as well as giving participants the opportunity to practice developing their own ideas.
Who should participate?
Participants can come from voluntary and community organisations who want to consider trading, or their advisers who want to improve the support they offer. Both groups will become more confident and skilled in assessing the viability and sustainability of earned income options.
The course will be of value to:
Lead managers of social enterprises and community groups
Trustees of small community organisations
National, regional and local VCS infrastructure organisations
CVSs and local Change Up partnerships
Business Link franchise holders
Regional social enterprise agencies
SKiLD (Skills & Knowledge in Local Development)
Non-finance specialist managers and generic workers
Winter 2010 course
If you would like to take part in the course, please register through the online Expression of Interest form. We expect course places to be oversubcsribed and places will be offered competitively on the basis of the information you submit on registration.
Workshops
Two day residential session – Food and accommodation provided
St Katherine’s Conference Centre, London
Monday 18th October (1.30pm start) and Tuesday 19th October (3pm finish)
CST Review and case study visit
All Saints Action Network, Wolverhampton
Monday 13th December 11:00 – 15:30
Online Sessions
Practice session – Thursday 28th October 14:00 – 14:30
Session one – Friday 5th November 10:00 – 12:30
Session two – Wednesday 17th November 10:00 – 12:30
Session three – Wednesday 24th November 10:00 – 12:30
Session four – Friday 3rd December 10:00 – 12:30
Costs
While the course will be free, a deposit of £100 will be payable from all participants upon confirmation of your participation in the course. This deposit will be refunded if no more than one of the sessions is missed. Food and accomodation will be provided for during the two day residential in London. Participants will have to pay for their own travel expenses they may incur from getting to the workshops.
