Alexandra House

This years theme is: Co-operatives and the 'Big Society' are we in...or are we out?

Organised by Co-operative Futures

Download attachment for the Programme

Whether you’re into fashion or film, advertising or animation, co-operatives can help you share ideas, costs and contacts.

Designed for freelancers, graduates, practitioners and advisors, this workshop will help you find out about co-operatives, meet potential collaborators, talk to people who’ve been there and done it and get the advice and contacts to get started.

What is the way forward for the co-operative sector? Commissioned by Co-operatives UK, Robin Murray – a co-operative innovator and key thinker behind Fairtrade, Twin Trading and much more besides – has produced a radical vision of the how the co-operative sector can expand in the 21st Century.

Somerset Co-operative Services is delighted to confirm the appointment of Jodi Hibbard as our Fundraising and Social Investment Manager. Jodi was a Funding Officer for Somerset Voluntary Sector Network, she successfully instigated and managed the Tatworth pre school expansion including securing funding, planning and legal agreements. Jodi has been approached by a number of charities to raise funds and provide advice on effective fundraising management.

Somerset Co-operative Services is sponsoring and helping to organise Grassroots, the first Social Enterprise Conference to be held in Glastonbury. We hope that this event will be the first of many, providing networking, trading and learning opportunities for existing social enterprises in Somerset, and a source of information and inspiration for anyone thinking about setting one up.

What’s happening?

Somerset Co-operative Services CIC celebrated Co-operative Fortnight with business breakfasts in Crewkerne and Taunton. Demonstrating the power of Co-operative Principle No.6 “Co-operation between co-operatives” guests at the breakfasts shared information and experience to help and support each other survive and thrive.

Sc * (Ci + Mt) = Co

where

Shared commitment x Common interests + Mutual trust = Co-operation!

http://www.thereisanalternative.coop/node/7625

During the second week of Co-operatives Fortnight, Somerset Co-operative Services is organising 2 Co-operative Business Breakfasts to facilitate networking between local co-operatives, sharing information and ideas, exploring how we can help and support each other and celebrating Co-operatives Fortnight!

The Business Breakfasts will be held in Crewkerne 1st July 9am to 10am at Somerfield,  Falkland Square, Crewkerne TA187JS, and Taunton on 2nd July 9.30 to 10.30am at Makers Craft Co-operative, 6 Bath Place, Taunton, TA1 4ER. A big co-operative Thank You to Makers and The Co-operative for hosting what we hope will be beginning of a continuing programme of co-operative networking events in Somerset.

SCS sprang into action in January with a campaign to make contact with all the Transition Towns in Somerset. We believe that the co-operative model is the ideal vehicle for people who want to work together in sustainable projects and enterprises which do not exploit people or the planet's limited resources. We attended the Taunton Transition Cafe to talk about social enterprises, and hope that the contacts we made there will result in mutual benefit.

DECEMBER 09
Somerset Model Rules Seminar at the RISE Business Advisors Network meeting on 8th December was a great success. The seminar aimed to help participants:

• * explain the benefits of the Rules and say when they are appropriate
• * understand where other model rules are available and when they should be used instead
• * be able to make some common, simple changes to model rules

Feedback from seminar participants was very positive: