What is a Community Interest Company?

All About Soul is a community interest company (CIC), a form of company governance that’s halfway between a charity and a business. All About Soul is limited by shares and as such funded largely by local residents. Unlike a crowdfunder, there are strict guidelines that CICs must adhere to to continue to operate. First and foremost, their purpose is to provide community benefit rather than shareholder profit.

 

How does All About Soul provide community benefit?

We want All About Soul to be a community space where people can meet, relax and be inspired. To achieve this, we focus on three key areas:

 

• Establishing the café as a centrally located, welcoming coffee shop and venue for private hire

• Promoting culture through art performances and community-building events

• Fostering creativity and learning with the art gallery, workshops and training courses

We have lots of plans and are working closely with local social enterprises and businesses to make an impact. If you would like to find out more, please do speak to us next time you visit!

 

Why is All About Soul a CIC?

To answer this question properly, we have to go back a few years.
 

All About Soul opened its doors towards the end of 2024, but its origins reach far back. It follows in the footsteps of the well-loved Art and Soul, which was a café, gallery and creative hub in the center of St Neots. Despite being a growing and popular business, rising costs forced owners Caroline and Tim to close Art and Soul in the Summer of 2024. It left a hole in the community who had come to love it as a special place of connection, creativity and imagination.
 

The idea was born to reopen Art and Soul as a CIC. Unfortunately, whilst the work to set up the CIC was in full swing, the old premises had been taken over to host the Priory Centre Café while their facilities were under renovation.
 

Luckily, Caroline and Tim were able to find a new spot, working and sharing a space with the St Neots Citizen Hub. This is where you find All About Soul today. More compact in size than its predecessor, but full to the brim with passion, creativity and warmth.

 

And great coffee.