Voluntary, community, and social enterprises
According to the National Lottery Fund a voluntary, community, and social enterprises or VCSE means an incorporated voluntary, community or social enterprise organisation which serves communities solely within England and which is either: A charity, Community Interest Company or Community Benefit Society, registered with the relevant registry body; or an unregulated organisation which:
- has a clear social mission which, in the reasonable opinion of the Fund Administrator, is analogous to a recognised charitable purpose;
- distributes less than 50% of post-tax profits and reinvests at least 51% surpluses into pursuing its social mission;
- has a constitutional or contractual lock on its social mission, its dividend and surplus distribution policy and “asset-lock”;
- carries out, or has ambitions to carry out, trading activities in support of and which are causally linked to its social mission;
- offers its products and services for general public benefit without restrictions and barriers, such as affordability;
- is open to undertaking an independent social impact audit;
- has remuneration and benefits policy which it is willing to make publicly accessible, and which is reasonable and proportionate relative to the market practice for VCSEs;
- in the case of a sale of the organisation, the directors make best efforts to preserve the social mission under new ownership;
- can demonstrate that no private benefit will arise from the Grant; and
- no state aid issues have been identified;
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings
- Community engagement in conservation.
- Community liaison officer.
- Consultation.
- Helping communities recover from disasters and protecting them before they occur.
- Localism Act.
- National Planning Policy Framework.
- Neighbourhood planning.
- Non-statutory consultees.
- Social Enterprise Network Scotland SENScot.
- Stakeholder management.
- Stakeholder management: a quality perspective.
- Stakeholder map.
- Stakeholders.
- Statement of community involvement.
- Third sector.
- Transforming Public Procurement Green Paper.
- User panels.
- Social enterprise.
- Working with volunteers to care for heritage.
Featured articles and news
Cyber Security in the Built Environment
Protecting projects, data, and digital assets: A CIOB Academy TIS.
Managing competence in the built environment
ITFG publishes new industry guide on how to meet the ICC principles.
The UK's campaign to reduce noise pollution: Mythbusting, articles and topic guides.
Setting Expectations on Competence Management
Industry Competence Committee.
New Scottish and Welsh governments
CIOB stresses importance of construction after new parliament elections.
The sad story of Derby Hippodrome
An historic building left to decay.
ECA, JIB and JTL back Fabian Society call to invest in skills for a stronger built environment workforce.
Women's Contributions to the Built Environment.
Calls for the delayed Circular Economy Strategy
Over 50 leading businesses, trade associations and professional bodies, including CIAT, and UKGBC sign open letter.
The future workforce: culture change and skill
Under the spotlight at UK Construction Week London.
A landmark moment for postmodern heritage.
A safe energy transition – ECA launches a new Charter
Practical policy actions to speed up low carbon adoption while maintaining installation safety and competency.
Frank Duffy: Researcher and Practitioner
Reflections on achievements and relevance to the wider research and practice communities.
The 2026 Compliance Landscape: Fire doors
Why 'Business as Usual' is a Liability.
Cutting construction carbon footprint by caring for soil
Is construction neglecting one of the planet’s most powerful carbon stores and one of our greatest natural climate allies.




















