Who will be recognised for their contribution to social enterprise development in 2013?

The Social Enterprise Awards Wales 2013 are open for entries.

• New categories for social enterprises trading less than two years and for organisations that trade with social enterprises.
• Wales wide competition open until Tuesday 6th August.
• Ceremony to be held during the Social Enterprise Wales Conference 2013 in October.

An awards scheme that celebrates the work of Wales’ highly innovative and successful social enterprise movement is now open for nominations. At a time when traditional approaches to businesses are being examined and questioned, social enterprises are working all across Wales, supplying services, training individuals, creating jobs and keeping money in local communities. The Wales Co-operative Centre hosts the Social Enterprise Awards Wales to recognise the impact that social enterprises make in the Welsh economy and in Welsh communities.

Welsh Government defines Social Enterprises as businesses ‘with social objectives. Their left-over profits are reinvested for that purpose in the business or the community, instead of raising profit for shareholders and owners’.

Social enterprises employ more people relative to turnover than mainstream small businesses. Social enterprises are concentrated in our most deprived communities. 39% of all social enterprises work in the 20% of most deprived communities in the UK compared to 13% of standard businesses. Social enterprises are tackling problems and improving their local communities. The proportion of social enterprises reinvesting profits back into the communities where they are earned, to further their social or environmental goals, stands at 82%. Social enterprises are accountable to their communities. 74% of social enterprises actively involve their beneficiaries in decisions about their business – a proportion that rises to nine out of 10 social enterprises in the most deprived communities in the UK (Data taken from ‘Fightback Britain:
A report on the State of Social Enterprise Survey’ published by Social
Enterprise UK 2011. http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/uploads/files/2011/11/fightback_britain1.pdf ) .

The Social Enterprise sector’s flagship awards, now in their fourth year in Wales, are organised by the Wales Co-operative Centre, which is working with partners in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland to reach out to Britain’s estimated 68,000-strong social enterprise movement.

Four £1,000 prizes are up for grabs for category winners, alongside a pair of two day tickets for the Social Enterprise Wales 2013 Conference for each shortlisted organisation. The winners of Wales Social Enterprise 2013, One to Watch and Market Builder will receive £1,000. The winner of Social Enterprise Champion will receive £1,000 which can be donated to the social enterprise or registered charity of their choice.

The winners will be decided by a panel of expert judges including some of Wales’s leading social entrepreneurs and announced at a ceremony to be held this October during the bi-annual Social Enterprise Conference event. Wales’ winners will then go on to compete in the UK awards.

Entries are open until Tuesday 6th August. For more information and to enter, visit http://www.walescooperative.org/social-enterprise-awards-wales-2013 or http://www.walescooperative.org/gwobrau-mentrau-cymdeithasol-cymru-2013

Award Categories

• Category 1: Wales Social Enterprise of the Year (Social enterprises trading longer than 24 months)
• Category 2: One to Watch (Social enterprises trading less than 24 months)
• Category 3: Social Enterprise Market Builder (Social enterprises, investors, corporates, public sector bodies and charities)
• Category 4: Social Enterprise Champion (An outstanding individual or small team within the social enterprise sector)

Derek Walker, Chief Executive of the Wales Co-operative Centre, said:

“This is an exciting time for the Welsh Social Enterprise sector. We are pleased to host these awards to showcase the very best of the sector and to demonstrate its strength and the benefits it offers to our communities. This year, we are pleased to announce an exciting new category. The Social Enterprise Market Builder Award is aimed at social enterprises, public sector or private sector organisations that have made real progress in creating more opportunities to buy from social enterprises. We look forward to receiving a wide range of nominations from all these sectors and demonstrating the value that social enterprises can add across the economy.”

The 2012 Wales winners were:

• Social Enterprise Leader of the Year         Kelly Davies of Vi-ability
• Social Enterprise Start up of the Year       North Wales Credit Union
• Social Enterprise Supporter of the Year   St Illtyd’s Communities First Partnership
• Social Enterprise of the Year                     Crest Co-operative

The Social Enterprise Support Project is tasked with promoting and developing social enterprise in Wales. The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Welsh Government.