FROM BSSEC CIC, with love
14th February 2024
February 14th – a day that some embrace with whole hearted joy, and others feel its approach with trepidation.
Regardless of any individual scenario, one thing that we love is how the social enterprise and VCFSE sectors embrace everyone. It often roots from the driver that, for many who are leading, working and volunteering in the sector, setting up a social enterprise or community group, comes from a place of ‘lived experience’. It makes running your organisation very real, and shows just how passionate and committed entrepreneurs are…. that, and resilient!
Being an enterprise leader can be an especially lonely place. Often leaders will talk about feeling on their own – perhaps within their organisations, ‘I’m the leader so everyone is looking to me to get it right’ or as a business ‘Am I the only one who cares about this problem and wants to provide better, more sustainable solutions to this deep-rooted social or environmental issue?’.
If that resonates, today as every day, we want to say we appreciate you – we value all those of you across the sector doing amazing things to help make your community of benefit feel loved and noticed.
The Birmingham and wider West Midlands is a thriving hub of voluntary, community, social and environmental activity with more than 46% of social enterprises focusing their services on improving mental health and wellbeing. What that says to us is that there are many people within our communities who are perhaps not feeling loved, possibly unsure about what their next step might be when there’s an overwhelming sense of social isolation, hopelessness or being judged.
For those of you supporting vulnerable members of our communities, we appreciate you – what you’re doing changes lives and restores peoples capacity to move forward more positively on their own life-journey.
As social enterprises, we trade our goods and services, so we need people (businesses and/or the public) to love our products. Without producing or selling what businesses or people want, at a market price that competitive, we’re not going to be getting a Valentines card drop through our metaphorical door! (Sorry about that.) However, West Midlands social enterprises show time and time again, that they’re resilient, creative and tenacious, talk from a place of authenticity, and commitment to making society a fairer place for all.
To all those organisations striving to put your growth plans in place, we appreciate you – you’re with 78% of West Midlands SEs who are targeting new products and services so definitely not on your own!
What does this all mean on this ‘special day’?
It shows that our region is ambitious and connected around the push for a social economy eco-system that shows itself to be a best exemplar for the UK. 11,000 VCSE organisations in the West Midlands are achieving £3.5 billion contribution to the social economy – and we want more. There is a clear framework for social economy growth, and there are a lot of passionate individuals and organisations who are stepping up to ensure the West Midlands celebrates its diversity, is fully inclusive and shares the love for a fairer society that values the uniqueness that we each bring to the party.
So, our ‘love letter’ to the sector – we have lots to celebrate, and not just on 14th February!
West Midlands social economy sector – YOU ARE EPIC!
Image: West Midlands top 5 trading social enterprise sectors 2022 | Source: State of Social Enterprise West Midlands 2022, SEUK