Resources on Social Enterprise - follow up to event of March 2/06
Untying the Strings: Controlling the Financial Future of Your Organization

Social Enterprise Alliance. Nonprofit organizations across North America are awakening to the possibility of a different future. Traditionally dependent on grants and public subsidies, these organizations are increasingly aware of the role earned income can play in diversifying revenue sources and improving sustainability. http://www.se-alliance.org/

The Social Enterprise Reporter. SER provides North American social entrepreneurs and nonprofit enterprise directors with practical news and information, business tools, and inspiration that will improve the profitability and social impact of their social purpose ventures, without sacrificing their tax-exempt missions. SER serves ventures including those pursuing earned-income strategies for new or existing programs, profit-making enterprises, and those developing Partnerships with for profit businesses. http://www.sereporter.com/index.php

The Nonprofit Enterprise Forum: Where nonprofits discuss earned income http://www.npenterprise.net/

Centre for Community Enterprise. Whether you're new to social enterprise, or an experienced practitioner, this page will put you in touch with a full range of useful resources. http://www.cedworks.com/socialenterprise_01.html

The Canadian Centre for Social Entrepreneurship (CCSE) is unique in Canada in its mission to work with all three sectors - voluntary, government and business - to build the foundations necessary to encourage entrepreneurial approaches to social innovation. Leaders in the new philanthropy agree that solutions to critical social issues lie in dissolving the boundaries between the sectors to share insight, knowledge and commitment for the development of our communities.
http://www.bus.ualberta.ca/ccse/Publications/

The Potluck Café Society (http://www.potluckcatering.com/) is a social enterprise, relying on catering revenues and fundraising to help subsidize its programs. The organization was born out of a "youth-at-risk" employment initiative in 2000 and has as its mission "to help to transform the lives of individuals and of Vancouver's Downtown Eastside community." The revenues generated by Potluck Café's business activities are directed towards specified programming to aid the community in East Vancouver.

The Roasted Cherry Coffee House is a youth entrepreneurial program of New Beginnings for Youth a local charity serving the needs of youth and supporting learning outside of traditional classrooms since 1986. Once Ottawa’s landmark hobby house for youth, the building is once again a focus for young people. The Roasted Cherry is a coffee house with a difference…run and managed by youth it provides a training ground for youth to develop and enhance their entrepreneurial skills. It is a space where youth can transfer learned knowledge into real world settings, learn and accept responsibility, accountability and develop a sense of working as a team. http://www.roastedcherry.com/

The Ottawa Community Loan Fund provides short-term loans of up to $15,000 to small business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs, talented individuals with international training and community groups. OCLF is a unique financing option in the Ottawa, Canada area for people with the dream to make a difference in their own lives; the lives of their family and in their community. The definition of social enterprise is an earned income business undertaken by an incorporated, not-for-profit, organization or cooperative for the purpose of generating revenue in support of the organization's social mission. OCLF makes loans to these organizations to help them finance their business activities. In providing loans, the Ottawa Community Loan Fund operates under the philosophy that credit histories and tangible assets are just part of a formula for granting financing. We take the traditional formula further and make it more inclusive by also considering the character, talent and ability of the applicants. http://www.oclf.org/

Atira Property Management (APM) APM’s social mission is to support its parent organization, the Atira Women’s Resource Society in its mission to help women, and their children, who are experiencing the impact of violence. The property management company supports the Resource Society by donating its profits and by providing quality job opportunities for women who are trying to re-enter the workforce. http://www.atira.ca/

The Food and Service Resource Group a social enterprise and partnership with Fast Track Employment (http://www.dtes.ca/fte). The goal is to create jobs and build skills for the long term unemployed and youth at risk. FSRG has been nominated for the Canadian Business for Social Responsibility - Ethics in Action Award (2002) for its corporate efforts in revitalizing the community. The focus of the company since its inception has been professional food service training programs and consulting work. www.foodandservice.net

Inner City Renovations Inc. (ICR) is a professional renovations company based in Winnipeg, Manitoba that is committed to revitalizing the inner city and creating quality employment for low-income residents. ICR has renovated dozens of houses and commercial buildings throughout the inner city of Winnipeg and provides quality jobs for 15-20 local residents. http://www.mts.net/~icri/

Renaissance is a charitable organization whose mission involves the professional and social reintegration of people having difficulties joining the labour market. It accomplishes this mission, in part, by operating a Montreal-based chain of second hand stores called Fripe-Prix. The stores provide affordable clothing and household items to the community while creating employment opportunities for individuals with significant employment barriers. http://www.renaissancequebec.ca/

TurnAround is a Toronto-based bicycle courier business that opened for business in October 2002. TurnAround exclusively recruits youth-at-risk from shelters and agencies to be both the bicycle couriers and the back office staff. The goal is to create a successful courier company while at the same time enabling youth-at-risk to gain the experience, confidence and financial means necessary to maintain stable housing and eventually enter the job market. http://www.turnaroundcouriers.com/

Pivotal Services specializes in contract packaging, contract assembly, mailing services and clean room processing and is the largest packaging/assembly company in South Western Ontario. At the same time, Pivotal provides employment opportunities for individuals with employment barriers who are eager to re-enter the workforce. On average Pivotal employs 50 people from various disadvantaged backgrounds on a full-time basis and up to 70 during peak production times. http://www.pivotal.on.ca/

Social Capital Partners invests in social enterprises that employ populations outside the economic mainstream in Canada. The goal of these social enterprises is to acquire scale, to exist without external subsidy, and to create improved social outcomes and financial self-sufficiency for the populations they employ. http://www.socialcapitalpartners.ca/. Refer to the Archive Section Relevant Resources for a further list of resources.

Santropol Roulant is a volunteer organization established and run by motivated and dynamic young people in the community. We bring people and groups together across cultures and generations through our innovative meals-on-wheels service and intergenerational programs. We are based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. http://www.santropolroulant.org/

Krackers Katering is an agency-sponsored entrepreneurial business that operates under the auspices of Causeway Work Centre. It began in 1999 as a community economic development initiative, its primary purpose is to employ persons with severe and persistent mental illness to develop the skills and confidence necessary to break the cycle of isolation, poverty and unemployment and build independent, self-supporting futures. Krackers provides training opportunities, as well as full-time, part-time, and casual paid employment. It demonstrates that people with mental illness can be productive, contributing members of the community. http://www.causewayworkcentre.org/krackers.htm

The Centretown Laundry Co-operative (CLC) is a facility that permits low-income and street-cultured residents to do laundry at low cost. Its environment involves member-centred mentoring built on member assets. Members are becoming progressively more involved in operations and eventual management of the organization. http://www.centretownlaundrycoop.ca/

Housing Works a self-sustaining, healing community based on aggressive advocacy, mutual aid, and collective empowerment. This has included the development of entrepreneurial ventures which consist of a chain of upscale thrift shops, a used book café, a food service business, a property management company, a consulting and lobbying firm, a management services company, and a health maintenance organization. Housing Works’ operational budget this year is $41 million, one third of which is revenue from the organization’s entrepreneurial ventures, and 80 percent of which is earned income. http://www.housingworks.org/home_f.html

Website for the upcoming Social enterprise conference in Vancouver – December 2006 http://socialenterprise.ca/

Community Economic Development in Ottawa is a not-for-profit initiative designed to foster community economic development within the Ottawa, Ontario area. The Ottawa CED Network is a community of more than 60 organizations and individuals involved in Community Economic Development (CED). http://www.ced-dec-ott.net/

Canadian website for Social Entrepreneurs – general information with Canadian content. http://www.csen.ca/

Institute for Social Entrepreneurs – American based sight with leadership and other resources http://www.socialent.org/index.htm

The Harvard Business School website for social enterprise http://www.hbs.edu/socialenterprise/

American Centre for Nonprofit Enterprise engages an extensive network of academic researchers, business leaders, consultants and nonprofit practitioners to support NCNE's comprehensive program of educational activities and services that address the critical economic and business decision-making issues facing the nonprofit sector. http://www.nationalcne.org/

The Skoll Foundation invests in social entrepreneurs through three award programs: the Skoll Awards for Social Entrepreneurship, which support the work of established social entrepreneurs around the world; the Skoll Awards for Innovation in Silicon Valley, which fund innovative, entrepreneurial nonprofit organizations working in and for California’s Silicon Valley; and the Skoll Social Sector Program, which helps strengthen infrastructure for the social sector. http://www.skollfoundation.org/

Vancouver Social Enterprise Forum Discussions (blog) on the state of social enterprise in British Columbia. http://vancouver-social-enterprise-forum.blogspot.com/

Social Economy Program for Ontario: The Federal government promised support for Social Enterprise in the 2004 throne speech. Funds are to flow through the provinces. This website provides information on the funding and when it might become available. http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/infednor-fednor.nsf/en/h_fn02343e.html

British Forum on Social Enterprise SEC is the UKs national body for social enterprise. The voice for the sector, we support and represent the work of our members, influence national policy and promote best practice. http://www.socialenterprise.org.uk/default.aspx

The Centre for Social Economy, University of Toronto researching social economy in the voluntary sector. http://www.steppingup.utoronto.ca/bin/001815.asp

The Centre for Social Innovation catalyzes, informs, inspires and supports social innovators and social mission initiatives. Through collaboration, social enterprise and capacity-building programming, the Centre for Social Innovation provides a community hub for social innovators working towards solutions to our shared problems. http://www.socialinnovation.ca/

New Path is a virtual consultancy based in Toronto comprised of a geographically disperse network of highly qualified information and knowledge consultants, managers & specialists that work together on I.T. related projects of all sizes in a variety of industries. The outward focus and marketing efforts are directed toward the not-for-profit and Social Enterprise sectors. http://www.newpathnetwork.org/

The Muttart Foundation have published a workbook entitled "Social Enterprise: Philosophy, Processes, and Practicalities" by Shelley Williams. It was published as part of a Fellowship program, whereby they award a sabbatical year to a senior manager of social service charity in the funding area. It is available for purchase from the Resource Centre for Voluntary Organizations (RCVO) at MacEwan College Edmonton. Their website is www.rcvo.org and you can look in the tab called 'Bookstore' for the title. It is available for $15.00

Book: Instructions to the Cook (ISBN 0-517-70377-7)
Vernard Glassman and Rick Fields