Voluntary Sector Sustainability

What do we mean by Voluntary Sector Sustainability?

The Social Economy encompasses organisations existing between the private market and the public sector. It includes social enterprises, voluntary and community sector organisations, foundations, trade unions, religious bodies, housing associations, co-operatives and more. The key features that social economy organisations share are:

Participation in economic activity, whether through trading, employing staff or helping beneficiaries into work.

Clear social objectives which underpin the activities of the organisation.

Social ownership which sees surpluses reinvested in the organisation rather than distributed as dividends to private shareholders.

Help us plan FOOTSEY 2010! Click here to take part.

The Regional Forum works across the region to promote, develop and represent the social economy. We work with the Development Trusts Association, our partners in the Footsey social economy trade fair.

Together with partners the Forum has helped to establish SEYH (Social Enterprise Yorkshire and the Humber) a regional network of support agencies and practitioners with a remit to support social enterprise. SEYH is a member of the Social Enterprise Coalition that works closely with government on policy to support the development of social enterprise.

The Regional Forum's role is to promote the social economy, build links with regional Government and public bodies, highlight market opportunities and lobby for support of the social economy.

The Forum has recently secured support from Capacitybuilders for an initiative we are calling Footsey Plus. This initiative aims to provide practical opportunities to bring together enterprising third sector organisations and public purchasers, to build mutual understanding and relationships in the region.

If you have any queries regarding the social economy, please contact the Regional Forum on 0113 394 2300. Sign up to SEDnet, our email network on the social economy.

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Upcoming Events

22/04/2010: "How the region works" - Regional Forum Information Session
Venue: Regional Forum, Leeds Time: 1.30pm - 4.00pm * Do you understand how governance structures work at the regional level? * Where does the voluntary and community sector fit in? *...

01/07/2010: Creating better futures awards 2010
Venue: Leeds For the last ten years Yorkshire Forward has worked with a wide range of partners to support community-based economic development. During this time we've seen many inspiring projects, ...