The Social Economy contributes to a number of community-based goals and has the potential to create collective, reciprocally interdependent benefits that acrue to SE "producers" and "consumers" through the production of goods and services by SE enterprises. Among the benefits that the SE brings to communities and SE organizations are:

• the stimulation of job creation and skills development
• capacity-building for communities and SE enterprises
• supporting economic, social and politically sustainable and equitable growth
• neighbourhood and community revitalization
• the mobilization of disadvantaged and marginalized groups
• protecting and sustaining the environment
• enhancing the social, economic, political and environmental conditions of communities
• broad-based community development
• provides an analytical framework of analysis that embraces a wide range of community, voluntary and not-for-profit activities

Although there are many benefits of the SE there also currently exists several challenges for the SE as sector that researchers and practitioners must seek to address. These include:

• debates over the definition and inclusivity of the SE as a sector
• separation between the economic and social development departments of government and often mirrored in community organizations
• increasing recognition of the SE as a sector
• relationship to the private (business) and public (government) sectors
• access to capital for SE organizations and initiatives