Social enterprise is an umbrella term for a collection of socially orientated economic structures.

Social enterprise is defined by the Department of Trade and Industry, as:

“…a business with primarily social objectives whose surpluses are principally reinvested for that purpose in the business or in the community, rather than being driven by the need to maximise profit for shareholders"

In essence, social enterprises are businesses which are driven by a social, environmental and / or cultural aim. They trade products and services in order to generate a surplus. The surplus is then put back into the business, or is used to support the aim within a community.

The distinction from private enterprise is clear – the primary purpose of a social enterprise is to create social or environmental benefit; as opposed to the private sector which operates primarily to generate profit.

Social Enterprises are distinct from voluntary and community sector organisations in that they are “entrepreneurial”, that is , that they sell products and services to achieve their aims, and so are self financing, rather than rely exclusively on grants and donations as income. In reality, the boundaries here are blurred as voluntary organisations are increasingly trading to reduce their reliance on grant income. Meanwhile, many social enterprises continue to rely on grants as a portion of their income to support their activity.

Social enterprises take on a range of different company legal structures, including Community Interest Company, Industrial & Provident Society, a Limited Company, a Trust, and Co-operatives. Social enterprises operate over many different industry sectors, including health and social care, arts and design, childcare, sport and leisure, finance and transport.