The Common Cause Foundation
The Common Cause Foundation works for social justice in employment and enterprise
We invest in the development of enterprise that involves employees and other local stakeholders in ownership and control, that creates employment and extends participation in enterprise to disabled and disadvantaged people, and that helps end exploitation and injustice in enterprise and trade generally.
We work internationally, but do not believe in 'foreign aid' – we build partnerships and make investments in the potential of all people, however disadvantaged, to create future common wealth.
Current Common Cause projects include:
- working with Oxfam on a new model for fair trade
- assisting the miEnterprise supported self-employment initiative
- assisting the Betterworld initiative in Cameroon
- working with The Social Policy & Development Centre on social firm development in south eastern Europe and the Caucassus
- research and development of a new model social enterprise hotel (including a new social enterprise hotel in Armenia) - this is a partnership project with Professor Harold Goodwin of The International Centre for Responsible Tourism at Leeds Met University
- assisting the development of school-based social enterprise
- research into securing employee entitlements and employee buyout opportunities in insolvency situations in the UK and Australia - you can download this report here (Note however this is a large document so only attempt downloading over a high speed link. For a paper copy send a £5 cheque to cover post and package to The Common Cause Foundation, Greystone Mill, Titlington Mount, Northumberland, NE66 2EA)
Common Cause also currently hosts The Open Social Enterprise Organisational Structures Bank and The Open Social Enterprise Training Materials Bank.
The Common Cause Trustees are:
There is no formal application procedure, but for further information - or to find out about assisting our work - please contact Geof Cox:
