Impact

Community business: Making a positive difference to people and places.

Since 2015 Power to Change has made significant investments in research, evaluation, and data analysis to better understand how community businesses improve places, and how Power to Change and the wider sector can support them to do so.

Our research shows that community businesses provide high quality employment opportunities for local people, improve wellbeing, address the climate crisis, advance equality, and put communities in charge of their local areas. The robust evidence base we have developed shows why community business is vital to enabling communities across England to thrive, and the support community businesses need.

FEATURE REPORT

COMMUNITY IN ACTION

The impact of community businesses

11,000

There are over 11,000 community businesses in England, with a total income of just under £1bn

48%

of community businesses operate in the most deprived areas

86%

of employees in community businesses live locally. These provide opportunities for local people totaling almost 42,000 paid staff across England

16,500

people who were previously unemployed have gained employment through community businesses

126,000

people across England volunteer with community businesses, with 92% living locally

56%

of community businesses own or manage a fixed physical asset in their local community, trading to bring local people together

£220m

Community owned
spaces contribute £220m to
the economy

56p/£

For every £1 spent in a local community business asset, 56p stays in the local community

POWER TO CHANGE

Our impact on community business

£105m in grants

We have awarded over £105m in grants and funded over 5,000 days of support

 

+17% revenue

Following disbursement of our flagship Community Business Fund, community business’s income rose by an average of 17%

 

97% positive impact

97% of our grantees say that our funding has a positive impact on their development

 

63%

In 2022, 63% of our funding went to the most economically deprived areas (IMD1-3) of the country

 

The community business market in 2022

Our latest Community Business Market Report reveals how a resilient community business sector is contributing to the economic, social, and environmental wellbeing of communities.