Jigsaw Environmental (Gisburn)Client:
Jigsaw Environmental (Gisburn) – 1 of 3 DEFRA funded contracts. Jigsaw Environmental supports the long term development of people with disabilities and those disadvantaged through economic or social exclusion. The project aims to establish a new community enterprise centred on organic horticulture and the production of certified organic food crop.
Brief:
We were asked to advise on and facilitate the first steps for the development of the organisation from an informal project to a social enterprise. Our role was to research new opportunities for increasing trading activity, review strategic relations with public sector funders and advise on a future management structure and how to make the journey.
Outcomes;
We provided a range of resources to help Jigsaw move forward: an options appraisal about the models for a new enterprise that increases income earning work whilst protecting the social/charitable objectives: we negotiated and drew up a mentoring & trading agreement for the manager with a local organic produce buyer; we devised a simple toolkit to help simplify and improve the robustness of the Business Plan; an Action Plan to address the priorities for the next 12 months and through consultation we identified 8 potential sources of private and Trust funding for Jigsaw’s activities – including a significant offer of support from an ERDF source.
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