Social Enterprises definition
There are six defining characteristics fundamental to social enterprise (Source: "Social Enterprise in Anytown" by John Pearce):
- having a social purpose or purposes
- achieving the social purposes by, at least in part, engaging in trade in the marketplace
- not distributing profits to individuals
- holding assets and wealth in trust for community benefit
- democratically involving members of its constituency in the governance of the organisation
- being independent organisations accountable to a defined constituency and to the wider community.
The following detail might also be said to be crucial:
- social enterprises seek to be viable trading concerns making an operating surplus (Source: Introducing social enterprise (Social Enterprise London 2001))
- they are entrepreneurial in attitude.
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