Digbeth Social Enterprise Quarter (DSEQ) has received a boost in the form of a £10,000 Big Lottery Awards for All grant, which will support its growth and development. The money will be used to help fund research, networking events, training and employment opportunities and a clean-up campaign, as well as raise awareness of the Quarter and its activities. Read more >
The aim of the activities made possible by the Awards for All grant is to help develop a greater sense of community within the Digbeth area, drawing together the residents, social enterprises and private businesses, social and cultural businesses (pubs, clubs etc), housing associations and homeless hostels, schools and colleges in the area, which currently do not link together in any way.
“We want as many people as possible to get involved and really make a difference in Digbeth,” explains Sarah Crawley, Chief Executive of iSE, who put in the application for funding on behalf of the Quarter. “We want social enterprises to join the Digbeth, Highgate and Cheapside Social Enterprise Network and make the most of opportunities to collaborate; we want businesses in Birmingham to buy from social enterprises as a part of their commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility; we want the public sector to buy from social enterprises and demonstrate the delivery of social value through commissioning; and we want the people of Birmingham, and beyond, to ‘Shop for Change’, by which we mean buy from social enterprises in the knowledge that they are not only ethical in the way that they trade, but dedicated to achieving a wide range of social and environmental benefits.”