What we do

Our projects

We set up and partner on projects and pilots that demonstrate how to build stronger communities, and use the learning to advocate to change.

The growth and flourishing of community businesses has always been our goal, both in our early years as a funder, and now as we shape the conditions for community business to thrive.  

To do this, we need to know what works. We do, test and learn what works to make community businesses thrive. We work alongside community businesses to test innovative models, and we continue to support community businesses to grow and be sustainable through our partnership courses.

We test different ways to do things through pilot projects, using the evidence from these to advocate for policies and new ideas that will benefit communities. This benefits not only the community businesses directly involved in the pilots, but the wider movement too.

Current projects

A woman in a red checkered cape and hat hugs another women in a clothing area at Sparks

Community-led High Street Innovators

We’re collaborating with a small number of community businesses to test and learn how community-led high street regeneration projects can be a model for communities everywhere.

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Community Shares Booster

The Booster Fund supports new and existing community businesses in England that are at all stages of a community share issue.

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Energy Resilience Fund

This finance enables community businesses to retrofit energy-generating or saving technology on community-owned or managed buildings, with a focus on stabilising or reducing energy costs.

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North East Flexible Social Finance fund

The Flexible Social Finance fund for the North East provides community businesses and other socially trading organisations across the region access to the flexible and tailored finance and support they need to thrive.

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Trading for Good

Trading for Good will support you to develop your community business through a specialist programme of support. This includes a Match Trading™ Grant and a learning programme that will support you to develop trading income streams and build a resilient community business.

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Featured reports and case studies

Learn more about our previous projects and pilots.  

A group of people learn to cycle with Cycle for Life.

Community Improvement Districts

Community Improvement Districts (CIDs) provide a new approach for community stakeholders to have more say on strategic direction of the high streets alongside local authorities, businesses and other local stakeholders. Power to Change piloted this model in seven places across England.

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A group of people learn to cycle with Cycle for Life.

Empowering Places

A five-year programme designed by Power to Change to explore ways in which ‘locally rooted’ anchor organisations, operating in areas of high deprivation, could ‘catalyse’ new community businesses. This support helped to create a thriving environment for the local social sector to grow.
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A group of people learn to cycle with Cycle for Life.

Kindred

In 2019, we teamed up with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and local social economy leaders to form Kindred, an independent CIC providing repayable, interest-free money to community business and other socially trading organisations.
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Participants discuss at a community entrepreneurs training.

Leading the Way

Leading the Way offered a tailored learning programme to support the development and the impact of community enterprises in the North East of England or Yorkshire and the Humber.
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Powering Up

Powering Up offered capacity strengthening support over a 12-month period. The programme supported community businesses in England that needed resources and help investing in their future.
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Resilient Communities Fund

Created in response to the cost-of-living crisis, the Resilient Communities Fund was a £1.3m grant funding and capacity support programme. It provided emergency support to community businesses, helping them implement energy resilience projects to become more resilient to both climate change and the economic shocks.

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What is community business?

Community business stories

Latest research and reports