Social Enterprise Northern Ireland

First Look! 👇 Catch up on our hugely successful 2025 Annual Social Value Conference! Colin Jess Amanda Johnston John McMullan Roy Bell David Hunter Dave Linton Chara Clarke Jenny Irvine nibusinessinfo.co.uk Belfast City Council Business in the Community Northern Ireland Social Enterprise UK Social Enterprise Republic of Ireland Department for Communities Stewart Dickson MLA Caoimhe Archibald Go Succeed NI Women in Business NI GLL

🌿 Green Support Scheme NOW OPEN! 🌿 📢 Exciting news! Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council is offering a fantastic opportunity for Social Enterprises and VAT-registered businesses to apply for technical support and a competitive grant through our pilot Green Support Scheme. 💰♻️ Don’t miss out—apply today and take a step towards a greener future! 🌍✨ #GreenBusiness #Sustainability #SupportLocal #GrantFunding 💡💼 Find out more at: https://lnkd.in/eUzTFnK2

🐷🎉 Social Enterprise of the Month: Fermanagh Fun Farm! 🎉🐮 We’re celebrating Fermanagh Fun Farm as our March Social Enterprise of the Month! 🌱💚 Since 2019, this incredible organisation has been providing a safe home for rescued animals, offering hands-on educational experiences, and creating valuable opportunities for adults with disabilities. 🐾✨ 📊 Key impacts: ✅ 15,000+ visitors per year ✅ 20 jobs & volunteer roles created ✅ £100k+ invested in community projects ✅ Bringing animals to care homes, school fetes & fun days Looking ahead, they’re planning a community garden and expanding learning opportunities for local young people. 🌿📚 Read the full case study here: https://lnkd.in/e43G7fAS #SocialEnterprise #BuySocial #FermanaghFunFarm #CommunityImpact #SocialValue Alan Potters Department for the Economy NI Fermanagh Enterprise Ltd Fermanagh Lakeland Tourism Fermanagh & Omagh District Council

The theme this year for 'World Down Syndrome Day 2025' is #Improveoursupportsystems. Equal opportunities and success rely heavily on accessible, inclusive support so we need our government, and governments around the world to strengthen our support systems, to ensure education, employment, healthcare, and social services are easily available, to empower individuals with Down syndrome to thrive. Let's work together to build a more inclusive, supportive world for all! #inclusionmatters #worlddownsyndromeday2025

Pre-Market Engagement: CAT-25-006 - Fresh Poultry Products The Education Authority (EA) is exploring supply options for the provision of Fresh Poultry Products which is a key staple ingredient/food item used by EA Catering Service to provide meals to children and young people across NI. Interested participants should complete the questionnaire and return by 3pm on 25 March 2025. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/ebpbVKag #SocialEnterpriseNI | Social Enterprise Northern Ireland

✨ Celebrating World Down Syndrome Day! ✨ Today, we want to recognise #WorldDownSyndromeDay and give a huge shoutout to the incredible organisations across Northern Ireland that work tirelessly to create opportunities for people with Down Syndrome to flourish. 💙💛 From providing employment to fostering inclusivity, organisations like Mencap incredABLE Orchardville Orchardville Works Usel (Ulster Supported Employment Limited) Access Employment Limited and Stepping Stones NI (in no particular order!) who make a real impact every day! 🙌 🧦 Colin, Our CEO is proudly marking the occasion by wearing odd socks 🧦 and, of course, they match our branding! 😉 Why not pop into one of these amazing cafes for a cuppa and some craic! -Superstars -Boscos -Harry's Place -IncredAble Cafe -Ability Cafe -Loaf Cafe -Camphill Do you know any more amazing cafes who will be celebrating their fantastic staff today? Tell us below!! But on a sadder note, this week we say goodbye to Audrey Keogan, who is moving on to exciting new ventures. 🚀 Audrey has been such a valuable part of our organisation, and we will truly miss her. Wishing her every success in her next role, we know she’ll be amazing! 💐✨ We also recently bid farewell to Chloe-Jayne McConville. Losing two fantastic team members leaves a big gap, but we keep moving forward! 💪 Today, we hosted the latest Social Value Policy Group meeting at the historic Templemore Baths—home of GLL Better🏛️ It was fantastic to see so many people from different sectors connecting, networking, and exploring partnership opportunities. A special thanks to Leigh Carey F.R.S.A. of The Hummingbird Project NI for her insightful and thought-provoking presentation! 🎤🧠 📢 If you attended our conference last week, please take a moment to complete the survey! Your feedback is invaluable in shaping future events. 📋✅ https://lnkd.in/e9CbmSWg Wishing everyone a fantastic weekend! ☀️🎉 Amanda Johnston Catherine Burns Rachel Creagh Roy Bell John McMullan David Hunter Dave Linton Chara Clarke Jenny Irvine Belfast City Council Ulster Bank Version 1 Lorna McAdoo Lewis Murray Claire Ferris Cara Cash-Marley Cara Marks CIPD Jo McGinley Clara Burns

🎉 Congratulations to the Dragons’ Den Winner – PIPS’ Well Bean Café! 🏆 A huge well done to Seamus McCabe from PIPS, who wowed the judges and secured the £1,500 prize at our Dragons’ Den competition, sponsored by Community Finance Ireland! 👏 The funding will support The Well Bean Café—NI’s first lived-experience, co-produced café, providing out-of-hours mental health and wellbeing support to the community during evenings and weekends. 🌿💙 This initiative is a game-changer for mental health support in NI, and we couldn’t be prouder to see it recognised! 🔗 Learn more: https://lnkd.in/ecfujiM5 #DragonsDen #SocialEnterprise #WellBeanCafe #MentalHealthSupport #CommunityImpact #BuySocial Phelim Sharvin Margie McKay Heidi Fisher MBE

🌿 Ravine NI - Empower Young People Through Nature-Based Training 🌿 Currently at Ravine, we have limited spaces offering a transformative training and work experience programme for young people with mental health challenges funded by The National Lottery Community Fund. Ravine, located in South Belfast, is designed to help them build confidence, gain qualifications, and develop new skills - all in a supportive, nature-based environment. 🔹What We Offer: - 2 Accredited Training: Level 1 OCN in Horticulture & Level 1 OCN in Personal Success & Wellbeing. - Hands-On Work Experience placements in our Award-winning Market Garden & Nature Reserve - Personalised Support: Future options planning & employability coaching - Additional Benefits: Uniform, access to a bursary, and a welcoming community 💡 Who Can Refer? We accept self-referrals and referrals from healthcare professionals, agencies, and organisations supporting young people with mental health challenges. 📩 Let’s Work Together! If you know a young person who would benefit, refer them today via our referral form: https://lnkd.in/ei453Pky, email us at info@ravine-ni.com or why not visit our amazing site. Don't miss out - Please share!!! Together, we can help young people thrive in a supportive, nature-based learning environment! 🌱💚 Belfast Health and Social Care Trust Social Enterprise Northern Ireland Cedar Foundation Orchardville Ulster Wildlife Belfast Hills Partnership Usel (Ulster Supported Employment Limited) MACS Supporting Children & Young People The King's Trust Marketing BelfastMet Supporting Communities Community Foundation Northern Ireland MindWise AWARE NI INSPIRE WELLBEING Belfast Telegraph Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council Belfast City Council Lisburn Chamber of Commerce Department for Communities #MentalHealth #YoungPeople #Training #WorkExperience #Horticulture #Employability #SocialImpact #RavineNI #SocialEnterprise

It was a busy week for the ACT team across the island! James McConville presented at the Annual Social Value Conference 2025 in Belfast hosted by Social Enterprise Northern Ireland, where he shared ACT's co-design approach to community-led regeneration. It was a great opportunity to connect with leaders driving real change through social enterprises. A huge thank you to Social Enterprise NI and all the speakers for a fantastic event! #SocialValue #SocialEnterprise #SocialImpact Kevin Loftus took part in the Ireland Brownfield Network Conference in Dublin. The theme, "Climate, Housing and Biodiversity are all in crisis – Can brownfield development provide the solutions?", sparked engaging discussions about how brownfield sites can address these critical challenges. We were honoured to contribute to this important dialogue through presenting our Scotch House Brownfield Town Centre Living Project and our Redbank Hotel project. #ClimateCrisis #HousingCrisis #Biodiversity And to top it off, Kevin also had a productive meeting with the Pathways2Resilience team in Falcarragh, Donegal. This EU-supported program is co-developing pathways towards climate-resilient regions in Europe, empowering communities to tackle the climate crisis head-on. We're excited to be part of this initiative! Learn more about their vital work here: https://lnkd.in/exXDkcFc #ClimateResilience We're proud to be part of these important conversations and look forward to continuing our work in these areas.

Have you seen the photos from our latest Annual Social Value conference? 🎤 📸 Can you spot any familiar faces? Tag them below! ✅ Head over to our website to see the rest! - https://lnkd.in/e_ChaTTr #SocialValue #Conference