About the awards
Click here to read about the Awards in Welsh.
Click on the frequently asked questions below for more information.
| Who runs the Social Enterprise Awards? What is a social enterprise? Who can enter? How does the competition work? What are the judges looking for? What are the prizes? |
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Who runs the Social Enterprise Awards?
The Social Enterprise Awards are run by the Social
Enterprise Coalition - the UK's national body for the social enterprise
movement - in partnership with The Office of the Third Sector; Department for
Children, Schools and Families; and the Department for Communities and Local
Government.
The Awards are sponsored by Partnerships UK, Unity
Trust Bank and the Wates Family Enterprise Trust.
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What is a
social enterprise?
Social enterprises are businesses trading for social and
environmental purposes.
They are distinctive because their social and/or environmental purpose is absolutely central to what they do - their profits are reinvested to sustain and further their mission for positive change.
Well-known examples include: Divine Chocolate,
The Big Issue, and Cafédirect, but there are thousands of other successful social
enterprises working up and down the country in areas ranging from health and
social care to recycling and community transport.
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Who can enter?
All businesses are welcome to enter the Awards regardless
of their size or legal structure as long as the majority of their income comes
through trading and the majority of their profits are used to further social or
environmental goals.
There is also a "Social Enterprise in Schools"
competition that the Coalition is running in parallel to the main Awards. This award is for the best school based social enterprise project that engages everyone from the pupils to the parents.
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How
does the competition work?
The Social Enterprise Awards consist of two stages.
Firstly, the four national social enterprise networks in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales will run regional heats to award prizes in three categories:
- Best Social Enterprise - operating for over three years, turnover of £1million plus
- Best Social Enterprise - operating for over three years, turnover of less than £1million
- Best New Social Enterprise - operating for less than three years with at least one year of accounts
The winners will be selected by a panel of judges overseen by the regional
network.
Each of the four nations will announce their three winners on Social Enterprise Day,19 November 2009.
The second stage of the Awards will see these twelve social enterprises compete to win the UK prize in their category.
The eight winners of the Established Social Enterprise categories will also be put forward to win the overall grand prize of Social Enterprise of the Year.
The second stage winners will be decided by online voting between 20 - 30 November and announced at a gala event in London on 3 December.
To help the public choose their winners, the website will feature short publicity videos explaining what each social enterprise does, and how they do it.
Also to be presented at the gala event in December is a further
prize for the Best Social Enterprise in Schools. This award will be managed by
the Social Enterprise Coalition and will operate on a different time frame to
the other Awards. It will reward the best social enterprise operating in a
school during the school year 08/09.
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What are the
judges looking for?
All applicants will be judged on the following
criteria:
- Proof of impact on society and/or environment - evidence to be provided in the application
- Evidence of innovation in approaches to addressing social and/or environmental needs
- Quality of business - analysis of accounts, company objectives and future business plans
Cash prizes of up to £5,000 are on offer for all winners as well as in kind business support services from local organisations.
Each winning social enterprise will receive a Flip camera which they can use to create their own promotional video and will be theirs to keep after the competition.
Winners will have their expenses covered to allow them to attend the gala event in London which will be a great networking opportunity as well as a showcase event to celebrate the vibrancy of the social enterprise movement.
The UK wide scope of the awards makes them a great vehicle for boosting the national profile of your social enterprise.
The Overall UK award winners can win up to £5000.00 and will be featured in
special supplement produced by our media partner, The Daily Telegraph.
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