A community event, there are balloons tied to chairs, and people are looking at something off camera. People are smiling and looking really happy.

Community Shares are a way to raise money by offering community investors the opportunity to buy shares in your organisation.

It means the investment comes from the very community which an enterprise intends to benefit.

Offering community shares can be a great way to engage your local community, to test your idea and secure support for its ongoing development. You set the price and any limits on shareholdings, and shareholders become members of the business – often becoming loyal customers and participating in the running of the organisation and being able to elect people to the Board.

Community Shares are often used to raise finance to purchase community assets such as pubs, green spaces, community centres and to develop community energy schemes. In the last five years, there have been over 300 share offers in the U.K. that have raised over £82m from more than 100,000 supporters.

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