What is a Community Shop?
By definition a community shop exists primarily for the benefit of the community it serves and offers an opportunity to succeed where commercial ventures might fail.
Whichever model you choose, your shop will reflect the skillset and the needs of the community it serves, as long as you always remember why you are doing it.
There are many models for operating community shops:
- paid staff and some volunteers
- operating lease to paying tenants
- 100% volunteers – as with our shop (CFCS)
However, ALL community shops are driven by a collective desire to make a difference to the future by doing something together today.
With a shared purpose, decisions in the best interests of YOUR community are made along the way.
Mission Statement & Ethos
Set your Mission Statement and ethos at an early stage which will in turn help you in preparing a Business Plan and provide the framework and purpose of the enterprise.
From the outset, CFCS steering group had a Mission Statement and a clear ethos.
Following 3 years of successful operation, the day-to-day running of the shop is carried out with our ethos at the forefront of our minds everyday.
Mission Statement:
Our mission is for Church Fenton Community Shop Ltd to be at the heart of the village, providing services for the benefit of the community in a friendly, inclusive and supportive way.
Ethos:
The community and volunteers come first.
Every time.
Try to answer these questions to help set your mission statement:
- What do we do?
- How do we do it?
- Who do we do it for?
- What value are we bringing to the community?
