'Clearly there is a growing band of engaged citizens who are buying community shares.’
- Hugh Rolo, head of assets and investment at the Development Trusts Association
Investors in community share schemes are more excited by the feeling of ownership of a social project than the monetary returns they may earn, says new research to be previewed tomorrow.
Research conducted by Wessex Community Assets has found that ‘investor’ was not an appropriate term for many of the 240 community shareholders they surveyed, since 93 per cent have no plans to withdraw their shares.
Yet these people also did not consider their shares a donation, describing how the shares gave them ‘influence, information and a sense of belonging’ not achieved through donations.
The research found that 82 per cent of community shareholders were either very satisfied or satisfied with their investment.
It also revealed something about the characteristics of community shareholders – 62 per cent of them, for example, read either the Guardian or Observer newspapers, and 52 per cent are members of the National Trust.
Some 18 per cent are Big Issue readers and 17 per cent read the New Scientist.
The findings come at a time when people are investing more in community shares than ever before. Government backed research conducted by the DTA and released in March found that there were 28 new community share issues in 2009, more than double the number issued in 2008, and a huge increase from the first half of the decade when community share issues were occurring at an average rate of four each year.
Hugh Rolo, head of assets and investment at the DTA, said: ‘Whether it is disenchantment with the incomprehensibility of conventional markets, a growing awareness of the social and environmental impacts of individual investment decisions, or enlightened self interest to save the last shop or pub in the neighbourhood, clearly there is a growing band of engaged citizens who are buying community shares.’
The research will be previewed at an event in London tomorrow titled Taking Ownership Local. The seminar will also see two new guides for commmunity shares released: Community Shares: a practitioners guide to Governance and Offer documents and An Investors Guide to community shares
...as Susan Boyle might have sung. On SocialEnterpriselive.com this week:
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