Social Enterprise Day takes place on Thursday 21 November 2024, and it's the perfect platform to raise awareness and understanding of social enterprise, and showcase and celebrate the amazing social enterprises making a difference across our communities.
We've created this page, packed with information to share with you about the support Action Together offers to Social Economy Organisations, and a wider list of events which are taking place in our region this year for Social Enterprise Day.
Support from Action Together for Social Economy Organisations
Action Together offer a variety of networking events, training packages and resources to help social economy organisations develop their offer and continue to support communities across Oldham, Rochdale and Tameside. Take a look at our Case Studies from some of the organisations we've been working with.
We have a whole section of our website dedicated to the support we offer for Social Economy Organisations, take a look:
Support for Social Economy Organisations across our communities
Support in Oldham
Support in Rochdale
Support in Tameside
Our Business GM
The Our Business Hub is designed to support and empower Greater Manchester’s social economy.
Action Together is proud to be a partner of a new co-operative, Our Business GM, who host Our Business Hub, a community hub for social economy organisations in Greater Manchester.
Case Study | Live Great Adventures CIC
Live Great Adventures CIC, based in Stalybridge, provide support for people through a variety of indoor and outdoor events, groups and courses all focused around mental health, well-being and suicide education and awareness. Their mission is to create a safe haven for anyone in need and they have one goal in mind, to educate the wider community and provide them with the tools required to help those struggling in a mental health crisis.
Jo and Liam met with our Development Worker Jon King in 2023 to connect with the wider support available for their social enterprise. They explored legal structures, and setting up as a Community Interest Company. The group incorporated in October 2023. They received support to set up their DBS process for volunteers and staff, and successfully achieved our Quality in Action Award:
"We're delighted to have received the Quality In Action Award, which we believe truly underscores our unwavering commitment to our community, service excellence, and robust operational framework. This recognition validates our efforts to ensure the safety of our community and volunteers, while also enabling us to foster meaningful collaborations with other organisations.
Live Great Adventures is making a significant difference in our local community, and this award not only strengthens our credibility but also fortifies our organisation's sustainability and lasting impact. Thank you to Jonathan King for all of his support with this too."
More recently, Live Great Adventures has joined our eight-week accelerator programme to empower Social Entrepreneurs leading organisations by enhancing sustainability, diversifying income streams and developing robust business models.
We are looking forward to seeing what Live Great Adventures do next and the difference they will make raising awareness of mental health support across Tameside.
Case Study | Bloom Music Community CIC
Bloom Music Community CIC, based in the Pennines, Rochdale was established with the core value of making music accessible to all!
With opportunities ranging from learning a new instrument, to singing in a choir, or just being able to hear and enjoy live music, Bloom Music Community CIC understand and champion the benefits that music can have on health and wellbeing and as a result, have curated a variety of programmes and activities that offer something for everyone.
Although founder Laura had been running musical organisations for over 14 years, in April 2024 she reached out to Action Together for support and was signposted to our Community Development Worker, Julie to help turn her idea into action! With help from Julie, Laura was able to explore the different legal structures suitable for her business idea, define her social purpose and review the variety of different funding and finance opportunities available for CICs.
In just sox short months Bloom Music Community CIC has gone from a beautiful idea, to a formal Community Interest Company that is regularly delivering impactful activities across the community. Within this time, Laura has been successful with both our £500 Seed Fund and £1,000 Micro Grant. Additionally, Bloom Music Community CIC is also part of our eight-week accelerator programme delivered by Social Enterprise specialists, Mantle.
Laura commented: "Julie’s advice has been invaluable, especially in the early stages of setting up our CIC. It was great to be able to chat things through with Julie and have her support when our application was originally rejected. Her help with grant applications has also been greatly appreciated."
We are looking forward to hearing about Laura’s learnings from the Accelerator Programme and can’t wait to see what Bloom Music Community CIC will do next!
Social Enterprise Day events across Greater Manchester
GMCVO Social Enterprise Summit 2024
(UPDATE: This event is currently full, however you can register to be added to a waiting list. You will be notified if spaces become available)
Date/time: Monday 18 November 2024, 9:30am to 3:30pm
Location: GMCVO, St Thomas Centre, Ardwick Green North, Manchester M12 6FZ
A Brilliant Thing Social Enterprise Party with prizes!
Date/time: Wednesday 20 November 2024, 9:30am to 3:30pm
Location: Online
Oldham National Social Enterprise Day Celebration
Date/time: Thursday 21 November 2024, 12pm to 4pm
Location: The Hive, Upper Mall, Spindles Shopping Centre, Oldham OL1 1LF
Social Enterprise Day Event: Be Inspired, Pitch for £500 and Grow your network from Manchester Social Economy Alliance
Date/time: Thursday 21 November 2024, 4pm to 7pm
Location: Generator Royal Mills, 17 Redhill Street #Unit 12, 13 and 14 Ancoats M4 5BA