How to use a Social Enterprise approach to ensure success

In 1996, a Worcestershire mother had an idea to help families who did not have the financial flexibility to provide a wide range of toys and educational equipment for their children. The Borrowers Toy Library was conceived to meet this need and support families with young children with a toy and equipment lending service.

At first, Borrowers opened for 1 day per fortnight, in a building owned by the council, with a peppercorn rent. In addition, Lottery funding was found to increase the stock of toys and contribute to the running costs.

The idea and service was so good, that more and more families heard about the service, and wanted to access the store of resources for their own children. As members grew, the opening hours and days per week that Borrowers opened were extended. It is now open every Tuesday 9.30 – 4.30, Wednesday 2.30 – 7.30, and Friday 9.30 – 3.00.

Good ideas grew new good ideas, and as well as supporting families, Borrowers supports child minders, baby and toddler groups, playgroups, voluntary groups, full day care nurseries, play schemes and schools with access to the growing store of play and educational resources. There is also an outreach service to ensure that even the more rural areas of Worcestershire can access the resources through a mobile delivery service once per month.

A new service, the Playrangers, was developed in response to need, and was enabled by a good deal of partnership working. This project takes play out to a community, and offers play near to where children live. For two hours, local children of all ages engage in a range of play activities, making dens, looking for bugs and creepy crawlies or mud painting and mud pie making.

Although registered as a charity, Borrowers has realized that a social enterprise approach and mindset is the way forward to ensure that families are supported with this invaluable resource well into the future, and the organisation becomes more sustainable. A new constitution has been drawn up, and a resolution passed to enable the charity to become a charitable incorporated organisation and company limited by guarantee.

Borrowers employs nine staff who are supported by ten volunteers, together they enable over 4,000 children to benefit from the resources provided.

In June 2008, Borrowers entered and won the Chamber of Commerce Community Business of the Year Award in spite of some very stiff and impressive competition.