Social Enterprise UK defines "social enterprises" as businesses that:
Have a clear social and/or environmental mission set out in their governing documents
Generate the majority of their income through trade
Reinvest the majority of their profits
Are autonomous of the state
Are majority controlled in the interests of the social mission
Are accountable and transparent
Many charities and businesses create positive social impact as a by-product of their operations. But we aspire to be an organisation with a business model that is based on solving social problems.
In the case of Beam, the positive social impact we are creating is to support a growing number of disadvantaged people including homeless people and refugees to gain new skills and attain and sustain employment and housing.