Plunkett UK faced up The Clare Foundation’s Angel’s Den and took home £5,000 to turbo-charge community ownership in Buckinghamshire
Angel’s Den – a charitable spin-off of the BBC’s popular TV show ‘Dragon’s Den’ – designed to bring some of the UK’s most influential entrepreneurs to support charities across Buckinghamshire. We were delighted to attend this event, competing against nine other charities: The Theatre Shed, Youth Concern, Brighter Futures Together, Been There App, Chiltern’s Neuro Centre, Lindengate, Animal Antiks, Age UK Buckinghamshire and Marlow Opportunity Playgroup, for a total of £100,000.
Each charity presented their mission, visions and plans to five ‘Angels’ – leading entrepreneurs: Dragons Den’s Peter Jones, alongside Sarah Leslie, George Anson, Mike Clare and Matt Storey, who each invested £10,000 and were tasked with the difficult decision of dividing the money to each charity.
Presenting our pitch to the Angels: ‘How Plunkett can boost community ownership in Buckinghamshire’
Our Chief Executive, James Alcock, and Engagement Manager, Gemma Sills, delivered Plunkett’s proposal to the Angels, aiming to accelerate the community ownership movement in Buckinghamshire and its impact on local residents.
The pitch began with explaining that rural areas face closures of essential businesses and services, and how Plunkett UK strives to address issues such as loneliness by empowering rural communities to establish and manage community-owned businesses.
With a proven track record of supporting over 800 community businesses in the last 25 years and boasting a five-year survival rate of 99%, these enterprises not only provide goods and services but also function as crucial community hubs, offering employment and volunteer roles for various groups, including individuals with disabilities, educational needs, mental health challenges, and older individuals seeking engagement.
Both James and Gemma shared the impactful story of Joe, who has fragile X, and how his life was transformed through his work at a local community-owned pub, showcasing the significant role of community businesses in promoting inclusivity, equality and diversity.
By presenting this impactful story to the Angels, Plunkett sought funding to invest in ventures in Buckinghamshire, further enhancing the growth and impact of the community business sector in the region.
Gemma and James were cheered on by Plunkett’s Community Business Officer, Lucia Jesus and Trainee Communications and Marketing Officer, Michael Wolverson
James said:
“We were very pleased to have had the opportunity to present at Angel’s Den, and raise awareness of the work Plunkett UK does to support rural communities setting up and running a wide range of businesses in community ownership – such as village shops and pubs. It is not always easy to describe the impact our work has in an application form, but the Angel’s Den experience enabled us the opportunity to illustrate how community-owned businesses transform the lives of individual people, particulary those who may experience loneliness, or for those struggling to access mainstream employment.”
He added:
“We are proud to already represent a number of fantastic community businesses in Buckinghamshire, such as Westbury Community Shop, which not only creates a vibrant community hub at the centre of the village, but also hosts work experience placements in partnership with a local Special Educational Needs (SEN) school. Funding from Angels will help us to further our reach in Buckinghamshire, and to grow this successful business model for the benefit of even more local communitites.”
It was a pleasure to share our work with the Angels and a packed theatre audience alongside other remarkable charities. Thank you to The Clare Foundation for organising such a meaningful event.
Are you a community business in Buckinghamshire that requires support?
Plunkett UK answers enquiries every day from people across the country who are exploring the idea of setting up a community business, as well as existing businesses that require additional support.
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