CIC Association steps up support for 'ugly duckling' sector

Community interest companies (CICs) around the UK will this week be introduced to a new member of their community - and one that aims to represent their interests.

The newly incorporated CIC Association CIC is introducing itself to every CIC around the country via a letter campaign supported by the CIC Regulator.

CIC Association co-founder John Mulkerrin said: 'The reaction from practitioners has been fantastic.

'We have more than 100 members from 11 regions and 67 per cent of the people we have invited to join have joined.'

The CIC Association has set up a website which it hopes will allow community interest companies to learn from each other, share resources and build consortia.

It will also lobby on behalf of CICs.

Mulkerrin said: 'Most pressing is the need to challenge government and existing support structures on their plans to support the CIC legislation.

'With over 3,200 CICs incorporated it's hugely disappointing that no focused support has been given in over four years.

Mulkerrin pointed out that CICs shouldn't be forgotten in the government's attempt to raise awareness of social enterprise overall. He said: 'The current discussions on the controversial triple brand identifier [for social enterprise] make it easy to see why many CICs are concerned that we've become a classic ugly duckling.'

The CIC Association has been a year in the making. Founders Mulkerrin and Tom Barnett first introduced themselves to Social Enterprise readers last September.

www.cicassociation.org.uk