Voscur are pleased to share some updates from Social Economy West – a West of England Mayoral Combined Authority initiative, designed to support and grow the social economy in the region. 

The Social Enterprise Leadership Programme is a 5-month leadership development opportunity. It is designed to increase the knowledge, understanding, capability and confidence of Bristol’s VCSE sector social enterprise leaders through a programme of interactive, challenging, supported learning. The programme is hosted by Voscur as part of our work within the Bristol Local Access Programme and will be delivered by Clore Social Leadership.

The Social Enterprise Leadership Programme outcomes are:

Homelessness charity Emmaus Bristol has been criticised on social media for its decision to list two housing pods on AirBnB.

The primary accusation levied at Emmaus is that AirBnB contributes to homelessness by removing stock from the housing market. The eco-pods, however, do not meet the minimum legal space requirements for living.

The pods, which will fund the support Emmaus provides to those experiencing homelessness, represent an innovative approach to the social enterprise model against a challenging national and local financial backdrop.

Shopiago, a company that allows people to donate to charity online, reported a 151% rise in sales between February and July this year. 

After years of hard work Lawrence Weston’s community-owned wind turbine is on its way, and future climate action enterprises could be easier to develop through increased support, nationally and locally, for green business.

Bristol's Local Access Partnership (LAP) has an exciting opportunity to innovate in the sub-£50k social finance market, to make loans more equitable for social enterprises coming from communities experiencing inequality in Bristol. Bristol LAP is looking for an outstanding and innovative partner to deliver our sub £50k loan project.

Further information can be found in the tender documentation: