Frequently Asked Questions

Through Community Share Offers. These are a special way for finance community benefit societies to raise money. Everyone who invests becomes a Member. Each Member has one vote and the Society is democratically controlled. GCE held share offers in 2016 (raised £37k), 2017 (raised £78k) and 2020 (raised £62k.) In 2016 we took out, and repaid within 2 years, a £115k start up loan. The two latest offers received the prestigious Community Shares Standard Mark. This is overseen by Co-operatives UK and is an independent mark of quality. It also unlocks investment from the Co-operatives UK Booster Fund - who are a shareholder in our 2017 and 2020 offers.

Our next community share offer is expected late 2022. We are currently working within the Smarter Energy NEL project identifying the sites which will go into it. Use the CONTACT FORM to join our (very occasional) mailing list and be notified when it's going to open. There are currently no shares available from either 2017 (target 4% interest) or 2020 (target 2.5% interest) offers. This may change - register AS ABOVE for our mailing list where any availability will be announced.

Yes, lots. Community Energy England produce a yearly State of the Sector report https://communityenergyengland.org/files/document/523/1624438045_UKSOTSReport.pdf which shows activity up and down Great Britain. We have our own pin on the map on page 23. Zero Carbon Yorkshire https://www.zerocarbonyorkshire.org/ Co-operatives UK represents the whole sector, which is hugely diverse - from community pubs, to sustainable food, to housing. https://www.uk.coop/case-studies We keep a close eye on BHESCO, Bristol Community Energy, and York Community Energy for inspiration and thank the folks there who have responded to our various queries on "how to..."

A special way community benefit societies can raise money. Expertly explained here: https://www.uk.coop/start-new-co-op/support/community-shares Investors support a project for the common good, which they can get as close to as they want. - even joining the Board. Most are local, and they invest upwards from £100. We have a mix of three, four, and five figure investors. Members get their money (capital) back over time or on request, and also get interest. Interest is at the discretion of the Board, paid if we are doing ok, at the rate given in the share offer document.

We are a small and very busy team, and we get a lot of requests for interviews. Sadly it is not possible to meet many of them. We do a selected few each year - if they happen to arrive in a quiet period. We wish all researchers the best in their studies and projects, and hope that they will find much useful material on our website.

Possibly. Volunteers who can help with social media, writing a guest article for our blog, proof reading documents or looking over spreadsheets would be welcome at this time. Please email us. If you have another idea on something you'd like to volunteer at with us, likewise, please do email with your suggestions and a brief introduction.

Let's talk. We'd love to, but we need to do all the due diligence stuff first. We know you do as well. Do get in touch via the CONTACT FORM

In line with number 6 of the 7 Co-operative Values, which is "co-operation among co-operatives" (phew!) the answer is Yes. Happy to answer your questions and direct you to all the excellent sources of support we have used over the years. Please get in touch via the CONTACT FORM. We hope you will find useful material on our website, and are happy to do blog articles on request as a way to answer questions to a wider audience. PS - check all 7 Co-operative Values https://www.acca.coop/co-op-principles

No. But we do share co-operative values with them. And we totally respect the way they brought Fairtrade goods into the mainstream.

Yes. You can see our registration and our annual returns since 2016 here https://mutuals.fca.org.uk/Search/Society/9077