As of last years report there are 37,081 CIC’s in the UK! 🌍
But what is a CIC? We all know the third sector loves an acronym, CIC stands for community interest company, this is a limited company which operate to provide a benefit to the community they serve 👫
Be it boxing classes for men, woman and kids to improve mental health and a boxing club with Blast Boxing CIC, an arts space serving underprivileged communities and people new to Scotland with arts, yoga and so many other services like Art and Spirituality CIC, an organisation that works with schools, parents, kids and communities to make sure they can work together, engage and actively get the best out of the kids that they’re all trying to help like &Parents, CIC’s can take a multitude of forms.
The purpose of a CIC is primarily one of community benefit rather than private profit. For a few examples we included some of our newest CIC members Queer Yoga Edinburgh, TidyScot and Edinburgh Library of Things 🛒If you want to find out more about these exciting new enterprises, click on the image to go to their websites.
Thank you to Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Companies for the statistics from their latest report ✍🏻 click here to read it in full.
Social Enterprise is not yet a legally defined term in Scotland and the UK so an appropriate legal structure often appears to be a stumbling block for new businesses. The legal structure should always be driven and formed around what the business intends to do and how it intends to operate. Ideally all businesses should be incorporated through Companies House to provide protection to the directors and clients or customers and may also look towards registering with OSCR for charitable status in some cases.
A variety of resources and links are listed below to assist however we are always available to discuss, explain and guide you towards appropriate models and additional support.
Want an overview of social enterprises and what they are? Check out this video with our CEO Steve Lawrence and Member Engagement officer Becca running you through it.
