Co-op Connections: You've run a community share offer – what's next?

About the event

Nearly 500 organisations have issued community shares (withdrawable shares) totalling over £150m to over 100,000 people in the UK. Many of these organisations have hundreds of members with respective investments in their organisation, which they have to manage via a “register” on an ongoing basis in line with the terms and conditions that they set out in their share offers - from crediting interest to managing withdrawals. 

there has been a lack of dedicated online tools to help societies manage their registry. Groups have been left to use Excel or even pen and paper to manage their share registers, which has led to difficulties in keeping accurate and clear records. 

To address this issue, Co-operatives UK has supported a group of leading community shares practitioners to develop an open tool that can be used by societies of any size. The starting point has been to try and capitalise on the existing cloud-based database systems already being used extensively for similar purposes by SMEs, charities and other non-profits. The team has developed an early-stage, open and free share register tool on the popular cloud platform Airtable and this training session will showcase the new application 'Air Register' and how it can be used by any society with community shares investors. 

Aim of this session

This training will introduce the Air Register tool and provide an overview of how it can be used as a dedicated online share register for societies with community shares investors. The session will cover its main features including: 

• Capturing and maintaining key share register information such as member details, share offer information and share holdings
• Implementing financial processes such as interest payments and withdrawals and recording associated transactions.
• Creating key reports for the purposes of wider governance and financial reporting.
• Providing share capital information to members efficiently and effectively. 
• The session will also allow participants to provide feedback on this beta version and input into future development of the tool.

Format

• Online (two hours).
• Presentation followed by Q&A.
• Time for networking with other groups and more informal discussions.

How much does it cost?

• FREE for members of Co-operatives UK. 
• £10 + VAT for non-members. Co-operatives UK members receive 30% off all paid events – plus LOTS more benefits. Learn about Co-operatives UK membership.

What attendees will gain

• Gain a strong grasp of the Air Register tool and how it can be used by societies to manage their share register.
• Learn how to get started with using the tool for societies own share register.
• Be informed on the legal obligations and best practice considerations for societies in managing their share offer.

Who should attend?

• Key representatives of societies who have undertaken a community share offer and currently manage their register, such as board directors or staff members.
• Key representatives of societies who are about to embark on a community share offer.
• Practitioners and other advisers involved or interested in the provision of community shares support and/or advice.

Who are the trainers

• Dave Boyle, Community Shares Company
• Simon Borkin, Commonly
• Patrick Morello, Third Sector Accountancy
• Jonathan Bown, Dragon Drop

About the Community Shares Unit

Isla McCulloch and Alice Wharton manage the Community Shares Unit at Co-operatives UK. We invest in innovative and diverse community share offers through our Community Shares Booster Programme; promote best practice through the Community Shares Standard Mark; run training and development for practitioners and lead on research and data collection for the community shares market. Isla is also Chair of a community-owned greengrocers in Edinburgh that raised money through community shares back in 2014.