Community businesses

We back community business from the ground up.

Community businesses are helping communities across England to build stronger local economies and better places to live. 

With the right conditions, community businesses can thrive. But they face the same challenges as other businesses, with growing demand and less funding support.  

We’re here to back community business from the ground up.  

How we’re backing your community business

Working in partnership

We’re bringing partners together to fund and develop projects that demonstrate what works for community business. 

Demonstrating what works

Help us test and learn what works for community business. Get involved in our current and upcoming opportunities for community businesses. 

Resources for you

Through our evidence and our work with partners, you can access a variety of resources to help your community business.

Shaping the conditions that affect your business

We use our experience to bring partners together to do, test and learn what works. We use this activity to inform the policy, practice and behaviour of those that have an impact on community business – policymakers at all levels, funders, social investors and mainstream financial institutions. 

We invest in research and evidence and share it openly so that all communities can learn what works (and what didn’t).  

Get inspired

There’s a growing network of 11,000 inspirational and energetic community businesses up and down the country.  

No matter your size, function or location, there’ll be other community businesses who have faced the same challenges. 

Read their stories and learn more about community businesses.

News and views

Unlocking community-led regeneration by fixing the finance gap

Unlocking community-led regeneration by fixing the finance gap

From restoring historic buildings to delivering ambitious mixed-use developments, community businesses are proving what’s possible on the high street. Yet behind these successes lies a constant struggle to piece together funding and navigate complex systems.
Welcome to the Civic High Street Collective

Welcome to the Civic High Street Collective

Across the country community, public and commercial actors are already demonstrating a successful civic model for high streets and town centres. The challenge is no longer proving that the model works, but pulling together to realise the vision.
The missing pieces of Burnham’s place-first politics

The missing pieces of Burnham’s place-first politics

The first test of Burnham’s first 100 days in office will be whether his devolution agenda reaches beyond strategic authorities to give communities the rights, capital, and capacity to create good growth in every postcode.
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