About Us

Wessex Community Assets (WCA) offers support and advice to organisations wishing to obtain community investment, avoiding reliance on grant funding.

A community benefit society can raise money from a community by issuing shares. WCA has registered 'model rules' with the FSA and can advise on this. 30 organisations have used our model rules to date.

A share offer can finance the purchase of an asset (with an asset lock) for a community and can offer a social and small financial return to investors. This avoids expensive bank loans and demonstrates community engagement to funders.

Within the Wessex group there is extensive knowledge of financing not-for-profit organisations and Wessex Community Assets is currently running a programme of support for community investment in the South West. This programme includes intensive support for four organisations through the community investment process, and the sharing of learning about community investment through events and a web based forum.

We are also advising on the formation of community land trusts in the Somerset, Devon and Dorset area in order to address the chronic shortage of housing in rural communities. This project is funded by Carnegie UK (in Somerset and Dorset) and Devon County Council (in Devon).