Curious about social enterprise?
In Europe there are many examples that relate to the successes and challenges of starting and operating a social business.
In this best practise section we include a few of those business that have been proven to be sustainable and effective. However as with any business it is up to the entrepreneurs and their co-workers to decide what works best for them.
Zukunftsbau
Disadvantaged youth in Berlin and the amount of rotten houses plus the need to find housing for these young people.
Urkraft
A will and need to meet the challenges in society regarding the employment of people with disabilities.
Starters4Communities
The world is facing many serious social and ecological challenges. At the same time we see a large amount of socially driven starting professionals facing youth unemployment. They want to bring about positive change but do not know how to do this and where to start. They lose themselves in job applications and hopelessness in a labour market that is […]
SOLIDRINKS
Solidrinks was started to a) solve immediate social problems and to b) abstain from the distribution of profit among the founders or partners (it is ‘non-profit-making’). Instead, all profit goes to a third party – the projects we support. Nevertheless, there will first be a profit once we’ve managed to sell enough bottles to cover all our expanses and adequately […]
SocialFare® | Centre for Social Innovation
Our mission is to catalyse, generate and innovate solutions for the social good, in order to promote change and generate new social entrepreneurship and social impact. Anthropological and ethnographic research, services and products design and testing are at the basis of our actions with communities and networks.
Social Label
Social label cocreates design products as a key for new perspectives of vulnerable groups. The project kicked off in 2011. Motivated by social changes and the quest for alternative ways to live and work together as part of a cultural festival in September 2011.
RTAS
A will and need to meet the challenges in society regarding the employment of people with disabilities.
Plymouth Energy Community
Plymouth Energy Community (PEC) was the result of a political commitment to address fuel poverty by the Co-operative (Labour) City Council administration.
Memory Matters South West CIC
Memory Matters grew out of the shared experience of two nurses working in dementia care who saw that it could be much better. Kate and Laura are sisters-in-law who had both taken breaks from their careers to have children, and when the time came to go back to work wanted to do something that would make a real difference to […]
Macken
Macken takes advantage of resources that people no longer want or society do not really need. Macken is a cooperative. Through its programs and products the activities of Macken shows that you can combine sustainability and integration with Entrepreneurship.
Huiskamer Bij Katrien
Their main purpose is to offer a place where all inhabitants can meet, young and old, disabled, poor etc. Not only to meet and do leisure activities, but also to give chances for unemployed, apprenticeship places and give possibilities for starting entrepreneurs. Inhabitants can use the place, without paying rent, but the only question is: ”What can you do for […]
Fotonow CIC
The founders, Matt and Jon, studied together on a Masters programme in photography. Fotonow emerged after they successfully delivered an ‘Entry to Employment’ scheme with young people in Liskeard. They say: The social enterprise was formed from a shared ambition to increase opportunities for innovative photographic practice and autonomous education through visual culture with a broad audience of individuals and […]
EuropaBeratung
The tax authority in Berlin criticized that the consulting of SE in a classical sense is not enough for the German ”Gemeinnützigkeit” (non-profit status) even if the company does not make any profit! Therfore the EuropaBeratung is a spin-off from a non-profit organization.
