INTRODUCTION:
“Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.” – Native American Proverb
Excerpt from the Trico Charitable Foundation’s Introduction to the case studies:
“Storytelling is one of the most powerful forces in humanity. As a private foundation, we have learned that our work is better when we tell stories and when we listen to them. One of the great challenges to advancing social entrepreneurship lies in the way we tell our stories. What is needed are stories that reveal, and perhaps even revel in, the hard-fought journeys and extraordinary impact that are at the heart of being a successful social entrepreneur.
To these ends, we saw an opportunity with the Social EnterPrize recipients to have their story told in a much deeper way than we had ever attempted before. The result is a series of social entrepreneurship case studies that, in terms of the breadth of the organizations studied and the depth of the analysis, is the first of its kind in Canada.”
This is blog highlights the JUMP Math case study, the last of four:
| Subject | Post-Secondary Institution |
| YWCA Metro Vancouver, Hotel/Residence | Okanagan School of Business, Okanagan College |
| TurnAround Couriers | Diversity Institute, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University |
| EMBERS Staffing Solutions | Sauder Centre for Social Innovation & Impact Investing, Sauder School of Business, The University of British Columbia |
| JUMP Math | QSB Centre for Social Impact, Queen’s School of Business |
ABOUT THE JUMP MATH CASE STUDY:
While the four case studies reveal interesting patterns (more on this to follow), each also has its unique aspects. For JUMP Math, it is its efforts to transform a huge system (education) and it’s incredible success (awards, expansion into the U.S. and reaching over 130,000 students).
That said, there are plenty of insights for any social entrepreneur, including:
- Balancing social and financial returns
- An entry point
- Overcoming Challenges
- An emergent strategy: disciplined opportunism
- The value of social enterprise
- Leadership and the value of giving up control
- Internal growth: aligning talent 15
- Building objectives, starting with dialogue
- Outreach and sales
- Going Forward
- Eight practical insights for social enterprises
Click here to read the case study.
See Videos of previous Social EnterPrize recipients.