All Social Enterprises are trading organisations. Some are businesses which generate all of their income from trading, others are organisations which trade but also receive grants and donations.

Social Enterprises either have social aims or democratic ownership and management. Often they have both.

Trading is not just about buying and selling goods, it can include renting property or hiring space, providing services for a fee like therapies or classes, or having a contract with a public authority to provide a service such as residential care.

Social aims might include providing facilities for the community, providing activities for young people, or preserving old buildings.

Democratic ownership and management could mean a social enterprise being owned by the community and run by a management committee or trustees, or being owned and managed by its users, or employees.

A number of different types of organisation can come under the category of social enterprises:

Community Enterprises

These are enterprises which are owned by and operate for the benefit on the commnuity. They can include things like community centres, social clubs and children's nurseries.

Co-operatives

These are organisations owned and controlled by, and run for the benefit of, their members. The members might be employees (in a worker co-operative), businesses or self-employed people (in a marketing co-operative), tenants (in a housing co-operative) or shoppers (in a retail co-operative like the big Co-op stores).

Credit Unions

These are community-based financial institutions which provide savings and loan facilities for their members.

Development Trusts

These are a particular form of community enterprise which aims to develop a community, usually by owning and managing property.

Social firms

These are businesses which aim to integrate people who might otherwise find it difficult in the mainstream job market, such as people with learning disabilities and people with mental health problems.

Community Development Finance Institutions

These are organisations which provide loan finance and other types of investment for other, community-based social enterprises, and sometimes for small businesses.

Trading Arms of Charities

These have been set up by charities to undertake trading activity in order to raise money. They can include charity shops and catalogues and training & consultancy arms of charities.

Fair Trade Organisations

These are businesses set up specifically to undertake fair trade activity with the developing world. They usually import goods from developing countries for which producers have been paid a fair price, and may get involved in supporting development projects among their suppliers.

Other types of organisation may demonstrate the spirit of social enterprise:

• Voluntary and community organisations may undertake certain trading activities to become more sustainable and reduce their dependence on grant funding. This might include consultancy services, hiring out rooms or equipment, or running social events. They may not be fully-fledged social enterprises but thery are certainly showing social enterprise.
• Arms length bodies such as the Coventry Sports Trust, are organisations which were previously in the public sector but have been floated off in order to become more enterprising in the way they work.
• Social landlords such as housing associations are, usually, large organisations which buy, refurbish, rent and sometimes sell property in order to provide affordable housing.
• Employee ownership, through employee share schemes and other devices, gives workers a share and a say in certain businesses.
• Mutual building societies such as Coventry Building Society are owned by their customers and operate in their interests, not for shareholders.