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Community Shares Workshop

2.5 hours
7 modules

Imagine if one of the UK’s leading community shares practitioners could attend a meeting with your core team and explain the ins and outs of how share issues work.

How valuable would it be if they then facilitated an active discussion about whether a share issue might work for you, helping you work through any knotty issues to reach a decision?

This two-hour remote workshop has been developed to provide you with exactly that service, completely free.

What you’ll learn

  • Whether you have a project suitable for raising investment capital
  • How many people you need in your network to succeed
  • How much money you actually need to raise and how many people need to invest
  • If community ownership is right for you

Helping you get answers…

Perhaps a share issue has been on your radar for a while but you’ve never had time to really explore how practical it would be. Or maybe you’ve heard about community shares but don’t really understand how they work or whether they’re something you could do.

Without all the facts, it can be hard to come to a firm decision one or way or the other. That’s why we’ve developed this workshop, so you can get some real clarity without a major investment of time or money.

The workshop takes around two hours and can be done at one of your scheduled team or board meetings. All you need is a computer, an internet connection and someone willing to act as the workshop facilitator. We’ve provided an extra video for the facilitator so they know what they need to do beforehand, and a facilitator’s guide with tips on how to make sure the workshop runs smoothly.

At the end of the workshop you’ll know if a share issue is something you could do and want to do – or not – and if it is, what to do next.

What’s in the course?

  • Welcome for Facilitators

    An introduction to the contents and running order so your facilitator is well prepared, including downloads to print out beforehand and guidelines to make sure everything goes smoothly on the day.
    1 hour

  • Welcome to participants

    Kick off your workshop and set the scene for a productive and potentially transformative couple of hours.
    10 minutes

  • What's so great about Community Shares?

    Start to understand exactly what community shares are and why they can be such a great option for community businesses, charities and social enterprises.
    7 minutes

  • Do you have the right kind of project?

    Dig deep into whether the reason you need to raise money is a good fit with doing a community share issue. Work through a series of exercises to understand whether you can adapt your project to hit more of the right buttons.
    60 minutes

  • Could you raise the money?

    Time to look at the hard facts - do you have enough people behind you to raise the sums of money you need? We walk you through the process of assessing your crowd and figuring out if there are more supporters you can connect with.
    30 minutes

  • Is community ownership right for you?

    Community ownership can light a fire under an organisation and bring all kinds of benefits beyond raising capital, but it's not for everyone. We help you unknot the issues and understand whether everyone is on board.
    30 minutes

  • Where do we go from here?

    Finally, some time to reflect on what you've learned and signposting to more help.
    15 minutes

Dave Boyle

Course Creator

Dave has helped organisations across the UK raise over £10million through community shares, from pubs to piers, sports teams and shops, breweries, museums and more. He works with groups at all stages, from pre-start up to existing community businesses and was advisor to the UK's first two charities to raise equity finance.

He's a Community Shares Unit licensed practitioner, an accredited social enterprise advisor and the founder of The Community Shares Company. As well as working with groups to raise finance, Dave has collaborated on projects with organisations such as The Plunkett Foundation, The Carnegie UK Foundation, Social Enterprise UK, Co-operatives UK, Brighton & Hove City Council, Cornwall Council, The High Pay Centre, Hacked Off, Liverpool Football Club and The Guardian.

He is author of The Big Lottery Village SOS: How to Run a Rural Community Enterprise.