Share your #SocEntStory to enter our Making a Mark competition

Over the last few years, we have held an annual ‘Making a Mark’ competition for Social Enterprise Mark/Gold Mark Holders, to help promote and celebrate the social impact they have.

In previous years, this has focused on the social impact evidence that Mark Holders are now required to complete as part of their regular assessment to continue to hold the Mark.

This year, we are taking a slightly different approach, one which we hope will encourage Mark Holders to reflect upon their social impact in a more creative way than they may commonly do so. We are therefore asking Mark Holders to provide their ‘Social Enterprise Story’.

We invite Mark Holders to submit entries, using whatever medium they choose, which help encapsulate who they are and the nature of the social impact they create – i.e. how they are ‘Making a Mark’. This could be:

• a video;
• a news post/press article;
• a photo;
• or even updated versions of the social impact statements you have submitted through a recent annual assessment

Whatever approach you chose (the list above is by no means exhaustive), all we ask is that it clearly illustrates how you are creating a positive impact on society. If using a visual format, please also provide a brief written explanation.

Entries will be judged according to how engaging they are in describing what it means to be a genuine social enterprise, trading to deliver social benefit above that of personal profit. Beyond this brief, there are no strict criteria that must be met, but when judging entries, consideration will be given to such elements as:

• Is the social purpose and the nature of the social need being addressed clearly articulated?
• What is said about the way in which the social enterprise operates (i.e. values, methods, investments)?
• What is the scope and nature of social benefits being delivered? Who are the social beneficiaries?
• How imaginative and creative is the presentation and in what ways does the presentation in itself reflect what the social enterprise has described about itself?

To enter, simply send across your ‘Social Enterprise Story’ to marketing@socialenterprisemark.org.uk by Friday 29^th March.

We will select a shortlist from the entries, which will be showcased on our website and via social media in the run-up to our annual conference in June. The Social Enterprise Mark CIC team and independent Certification Panel will be tasked with judging the final entries, and the winner will be announced at an awards reception at the conference on 19^th June.

If you have any questions or would like any additional guidance, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.