Our Mission
A new economic reality.
In 2015 The Grace Network was founded by a group of Christians inspired by Jesus’ promise in Luke 4: ‘God’s spirit is on me; to bring a message of hope to the vulnerable, to set free those who feel trapped, to heal the hurt and wounded, to release those oppressed by injustice, to offer a new life, a new way to live.’ In this vision, we see an ancient articulation of an economy recentred around the needs of the most marginalised.
‘Business as usual’ is broken, on a personal, community and global level, and it cannot be fixed by the many charities addressing the human and environmental fallout. We think Dietrich Bonhoeffer had it right when he said, ‘We are not to simply bandage the wounds of victims beneath the wheels of injustice, we are to drive a spoke into the wheel itself.’ What would it look like if we redesigned business along Luke 4 principles? If we built an entirely new economic model that was self-supporting, provided money and resources to all who needed them, and also nurtured individual, community and environmental wellbeing? Our desire to try was the spark that started The Grace Network.
old concepts, new approaches.
From the ancient past to the present, there have been self-supporting hub communities where people have lived and worked together with the aim of creating sanctuary, distributing supplies, offering hospitality, looking after the vulnerable, and pursuing wisdom. These hubs were called monasteries. They were both economic engines, and places of peace and safety. In historic times of unrest and hardship, monasteries have helped to transform and mend society - and within the past century, modern day monastics like Mother Teresa and Dietrich Bonhoeffer have led communities standing up for justice, peace and care.
Our hubs are not monasteries in the traditional sense - you won’t find any nuns or monks among our employees, and we have secular governance. But the concept and model of the monastery is the best existing fit to what our hubs do, and so we have adopted that model and that language to structure our spaces and describe our work.
OUR spaces.
Many large companies provide recreational facilities to their employees - gyms, games areas, or even holiday homes or golf courses. We provide spaces that support the wellbeing of our employees and communities.
In each of our hubs you’ll find seven key spaces, borrowed from the monastic model: the retreat, the chapel, the library, the chapter house, the refectory, the garden and the cloister. This framework of spaces facilitates welcome, hospitality, rest, productivity, connection, sharing, reflection, and learning.
OUR community.
Whilst The Grace Network has Christianity in its DNA, we are not a church, and there is no religious prerequisite for working with us. Much like an ancient monastery, we are a blended community diverse in background, thought, purpose, faith, and political identity, united in wanting to leave the world a bit better than we found it. Like our sites, our interactions can be messy, complex and challenging, because we are normal humans with flaws and strengths, who struggle to know the best way forward. We are held together by our collective vision, and by our care for humanity and place.
OUR CULTURE.
We strive to create a work environment that upholds the principles of optimism, engagement, joy, accountability, responsibility, respect, acceptance, vision, purpose, humility and service; where team members are valued as whole people, empowered to create and deliver work that builds towards our vision. Through continual organic growth, creation of new businesses, training of new leaders, and organisational evolution, we aim to avoid a permanent hierarchy of leadership, sharing ownership and power as widely and transparently as possible.
OUR OPERATING MODEL.
We take local ideas and turn them into extraordinary possibilities. As a social enterprise hub, we provide business advice, retail space, investment, skill sharing, and leadership training. We grow three ways: by social enterprise entrepreneurs joining our network, by our staff up-skilling and launching their own businesses within the network, and by our central Grace Network team coming up with new social enterprise models they want to test.
We want to prove that anyone can be a part of this new economy, develop themselves and lead the change. Whether you're starting afresh, or after a fresh perspective; whether you have an idea, or are looking for inspiration - you can join us and make it happen.
OUR FUTURE.
Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.
We can’t solve global issues at a local level, but if enough people in a locality are connected economically, emotionally, socially and spiritually, then local networks have the power to change the world.
We start on the ground, where we are, with what we have around us. As challenging as grass roots change is, we believe that through human connection, individual and community empowerment, hard work, and organic development, we can eventually build a network of hundreds of CICs across hundreds of hubs, transforming society, planet and people.
We invite everyone to join in, and share with our work.