Rural Community Business Awards 2024

Plunkett’s annual Rural Community Business Awards returns for another year to celebrate the outstanding achievements of community-owned businesses and the dedicated and inspiring individuals who make them happen.

This year’s celebration promises to be even bigger and better as it joins forces with Plunkett’s National Community Business Conference, offering community businesses even more opportunity to network, be inspired and have an all-round wonderful time.

The 2024 Rural Community Business Awards take place on Wednesday 23 October in London.

Nominate your community business or a local community champion

We invite you to nominate your community business or someone involved in the business, for one of this year’s award categories, which are:

This category celebrates how community businesses go the extra mile to create safe and welcoming spaces. Whether it’s hosting ‘knit and chat’ or walking groups, or perhaps holding homework clubs or intergenerational gatherings, we want to hear what you’re doing to connect your community.

Sponsored by:

This category acknowledges how community businesses are investing in local people through the creation of employment, training and volunteering roles. For many people living in rural areas, accessing mainstream work is difficult, but community businesses are well positioned to provide a range of opportunities that build confidence and skills, and so empower people to expand their career in the future.

Sponsored by:

Climate change is something that affects all of us. If your community business is striving to lessen its impact on the environment, we’d love to hear what you’re doing. Perhaps you’re encouraging your community to ‘go green’ through the introduction of environmentally friendly initiatives such as additional recycling facilities or car charging facilities or refill provisions? Or maybe your community business is looking at its own carbon footprint and seeking alternative energy measures to help reduce emissions?

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This category celebrates how community businesses are  supporting the local economy by utilising local supplies and services. Is your community businesses stocking a wide range of local producers? Are you giving them a platform to help them grow their business through dedicated food markets? Has your business committed to using local trade or craft persons to help maintain the building or perhaps you’re striving to support local food services?

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The ‘More Than’ Award wants to hear from communities who are using their community business to create a place that offers a diverse range of services and amenities for local people. Is your community pub also offering shop facilities, or maybe it hosts a Post Office too? Or perhaps your community shop is not only a place to get a pint of milk, but also somewhere to access homeworking facilities? Or maybe it’s able to support local musical talent through being a live music venue? We want to hear how your business is ‘More Than’ what it says on the tin!

This category celebrates the community groups who don’t yet have an open and trading community business but are the way to creating a thriving and inclusive community space. This is your opportunity to let us know your ambitions for the community business as well as what you’ve achieved so far – tell us why your community business is One to Watch.

This special award celebrates the individual community champions, involved in a local community business, who continually go the extra mile. Maybe they’re a volunteer giving up time to support the day-to-day running of the business? Or maybe they’re always going out of their way to be a support to vulnerable residents in the community? Or perhaps they were instrumental in getting the community business up and running. Share their stories with us and they might win this accolade.

Sponsored by:

This special award recognises and celebrates young people aged 15 to 25 years old who are helping to make a difference through their local community business. If there are young people involved in your community business whose enthusiasm is infectious, or if they’re always willing to step up in times of need, or regularly share their skills to help enhance the business, we’d love to hear their stories.

Sponsored by:

Nominations opened on 19th June 2024 and will close at 5pm on 16th August 2024.

Read our nomination guide and FAQ handbook for further information about making a nomination and details of the Rural Community Business Awards campaign.

Hear more about last year’s Awards from two of our winners:

Watch Megan MacInnes from the Applecross Community Company talk about how they were recognised
by winning the Rural Vision Environment Award at the 2023 Rural Community Business Awards.

Watch Meirion Roberts from the Menter y Glan social enterprise talks about how they were recognised by winning the Community Food and Local Supply Award at the 2023 Rural Community Business Awards, and brings an update on their project.

Thank you to our sponsors of this year’s Rural Community Business Awards

Some photos from last year’s Rural Community Business Awards…

Three people stood in front of a blue screen with white writing on. Two ladies, on the left, are holding a wooden plaque, and a man is stood to the right of them
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