Community Shares Scotland to support groups interested in issuing community shares

The Big Lottery and Carnegie UK are funding a three-year programme to promote and support community shares in Scotland. Community Shares Scotland aims to enable communities to invest...

The Big Lottery and Carnegie UK are funding a three-year programme to promote and support community shares in Scotland.

Community Shares Scotland aims to enable communities to invest in their own futures through community shares. Community share issues have been increasingly used over the past few years to fund renewable energy projects, the taking over of pubs and shops and the rescue of heritage assets.

“The Community Shares Scotland programme offers a one-stop shop to signpost communities, investors and other interested parties to advice and assistance to develop new share offers and support existing ones,” said programme manager Kelly McIntyre.

“It acts as a platform for profiling the community share model, raising awareness of the value of the approach to new entrants and facilitating peer support and networking to those already involved in community shares.

“Finally, it is a central reference point for market intelligence, providing the latest information on community share activities nationwide, as well as producing regularly updated guidance materials.”

The programme will be delivered by Development Trusts Association Scotland in partnership with the Plunkett Foundation, the Community Shares Unit, a joint initiative of Locality and Co-operatives UK, and Rocket Science. They will also be using a small number of specialist advisors with a track record in community shares development.

“Given that the community shares model will be a new form of finance to a lot of community groups in Scotland, it is essential that the Community Shares Scotland team is equipped to impart the value of the approach and the benefits to the new entrants” said Ms McIntyre. “We are therefore working closely with the Community Shares Unit in England to learn from their many successes and adapt their fantastic resources and expertise to the Scottish market.

“Following on from this, it will be crucial for CSS to facilitate the creation of new relationships and networks in Scotland, alongside successful peer-to-peer support.”

Since the launch of the programme, Community Shares Scotland has received more than a dozen enquiries from community groups in Scotland interested in finding out more about community shares. These include renewable energy projects, community buy-outs of local swimming pools and community health initiatives. The majority of these groups have been keen to pursue the community benefit society model, but some have also expressed interest in the co-operative model, particularly those looking to develop community renewable energy projects.

“Our first objective is to raise awareness of the community shares model and stimulate interest from groups and communities across Scotland,” said Ms McIntyre. “This will be done through a series of nine roadshows, three of which will take place in year one. Secondly, we are developing a information and advice service, which will be a central point of contact through which individuals and organisations can register their interest and be signposted to useful guidance documents and appropriate intensive support.”

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