Plunkett UK

📻Tune in! Harriet English, our Head of Engagement, was featured on BBC Radio South ‘Erika North’ show last Sunday afternoon, sharing our participation in B4’s festive fundraiser, Raise’24! 🎄 🗣️She explains our involvement in the festive fundraising extravaganza, with 75 teams who will go head to head at Keble College, Oxford, on 13 December to raise the most donations for Plunkett UK and 10 other amazing charities!  ➡️To find out more, go to https://lnkd.in/dmFRn4WA and scroll to 2hr 40mins.

Grace Enterprises run diverse businesses which focus on employing people with barriers to work, paying the Real Living Wage and providing the holistic support needed to set employees up for success.  Income is generated through multiple trading subsidiaries and each business delivers a quality service or product for their customers, but the real impact comes through the life-changing employment opportunities provided to those who need it most. Discover how they used #SocialInvestment to grow their #SocialImpact via Good Finance UK…>

Thank you to Voneus for kindly sponsoring the Connecting the Community Award at this year's #rcbawards! 🏆 Their support enables us to celebrate community businesses that go the extra mile to create safe and welcoming spaces. 🙌 The diverse and impactful nominations we've recieved for this category have been inspiring, showcasing the positive influence community businesses have on their local areas.  👀Keep an eye out! Finalists will be announced on 30 September!

#DTAS24 is busy this morning! Met some lovely people from all over Scotland already 😀 if you're here, come see us on the Plunkett UK stand! Sarah Benn

Plunkett is delighted to invite you to an online networking event for Scottish community pub groups! 🍺 This FREE get together is open to all community groups involved in community-owned pub/hotel projects in rural Scotland, whether you're at the ideas stage or you are already open and trading!  🤝Network with peers  🗣️Share ideas, experiences, and ask questions while offering each other support 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿Hear about the latest phase of Plunkett's partnership with the Scottish Government including grant funding opportunities ⏰18:30-19:30 via Zoom  This informal and friendly event is run in partnership with the Scottish Government, secure your ticket here 👇https://lnkd.in/exuNXC35 To find out more about this network or to access free advice for your community pub in Scotland, call our friendly Community Business Team on 01993 630 022 or email [email protected]

Happy Bank Holiday Weekend everyone! 😍 The #bankholiday is a great opportunity to go out and support your local community-owned business! 🙌 Looking to find your nearest #combiz? 🤔 Check out our community business map ➡️

A BIG THANK YOU to our amazing supporters, Jenny and Penny, who are taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge for Plunkett UK! 🌄 They are raising funds to help us to continue providing essential support to over 800 community-owned business across the UK! 📈 📽️Hear from Penny, as she shares how her son, who has Fragile X, secured paid employment at a community-owned pub. This opportunity has not only provided him with valuable experience and confidence but has also paved his way to college.  These inspiring stories emphasise our commitment to empowering rural communities, enabling them to create jobs, address isolation, loneliness, and well-being issues by uniting to support their local #combiz! Interested in fundraising for Plunkett UK?  👉Visit our fundraising page here: https://lnkd.in/eJEU96dn

As part of our vision for resilient, thriving and inclusive rural communities across the UK, we encourage community-owned businesses to be impactful by creating access to more employment, training and volunteering opportunities. The community business movement is one with a network of dedicated people at its heart.🙌 Read about Tilly from The Auctioneer Arms, Caverswall, who started in the backroom and kitchen-based roles, before progressing to front of house where she serves with distinction! A great example of how a young person’s confidence can grow, with the right support and an opportunity to work in an inclusive business environment. 🌟 And Chopwell Regeneration Group, a grassroots, community-led charity in Chopwell, Gateshead, North East England, whose dedication to broader learning and activity initiatives creates numerous prospects for local residents and transforms lives within the community. 🤩 👉To find out more about this impact area check out our new blog:

In the face of Covid lockdowns and the cost-of-living crisis of recent times, the community business sector has continued to flourish! 🤩 Against the odds, the five-year survival rate for community businesses remains an outstanding 99% - more than double the data for small and medium-sized enterprises, which is 44% over the same period (source: ONS) Over 20+ years, survival rates also remain phenomenally high at 92%. In reality, very few businesses close once they are community owned!  Would your community benefit from Plunkett's support? 🤔 Get in touch with us ➡️

Our partnership with the Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority is here to help you!🤝 The aim of the project is to support groups in the region save their community assets by taking ownership and operation of assets that are vacant or at risk of closure. An example of this is the Ickleton Lion who are on a mission to save their last remaining pub in their village.  The group are striving to make it a welcoming space for all, with support from Plunkett and the Combined Authority they are making great progress, by obtaining more shareholders they will be able to secure the community building before the share offer ends.  Thanks to the Combined Authority we are able to support groups by providing development grants of up to £7,500 and capital grants of up to £45,000. 🙌 Are you a community group that could qualify for the support from this partnership? 🤔 👉For any enquiries, contact our dedicated front line support team on 01993 630022 or email: [email protected]