Trico Charitable Foundation is currently accepting applications for their 2013 Social EnterPrize awards to recognize and celebrate leadership and excellence in social entrepreneurship across Canada.

Past winners include Potluck Café & Catering (Vancouver, BC), Mission Possible (Vancouver, BC), and Caroline Arcand of Groupe Convex Prescott-Russell (Hawksbury, ON).

“We were so delighted to be awarded the Best Emerging Social EnterPrize award by the Trico Foundation. The greatest effect was that we had our name out there, people started looking at us, and respecting the work that we did” said Brian Postlewait of Mission Possible of their 2011 award.

This year, the awards will highlight both social enterprise and social purpose business by identifying Canadian organizations that demonstrate best practices, impact, and innovation through their activities and programs.

The awards will be divided into two categories relating to the size of the social enterprise or social purpose business (Revenue & Assets Under $1M and over $1M categories,) with prizes totalling over $80,000. The awards will be presented at the 2013 Social Enterprise World Forum in Calgary October 2-4, 2013.

Completed applications are due by 4 pm May 10, 2013.

For details on these awards please visit http://tricofoundation.ca/social_enter_award.php

Trico Charitable Foundation, established in 2008, seeks to provoke innovation and build capacity in social entrepreneurship. Its programs, initiatives and partnerships are dedicated to growing a community of sustainable, entrepreneurial organizations. For more information please visit tricofoundation.ca.

Contact: Brittni Kerluke
Manager, Programs & Grants
Trico Charitable Foundation
403-228-6756
brittni.kerluke@tricofoundation.ca
www.tricofoundation.ca

In a historic collaboration, seven regional non-profit organizations have come together to launch Enterprising Non-Profits Canada / enp-Canada. In the past, local enp sites have offered business planning and technical assistance to non-profit organizations wishing to develop, launch and grow social enterprises.  enp-Canada will now provide a platform for synthesizing those efforts, collecting insights and promoting further partnerships in the advancement of social enterprise in Canada. Social enterprises are businesses operated by non-profit organizations for the blended purpose of creating social value and generating income from sales. 

The first day I started Trico Charitable Foundation I looked around the office and thought, where’s the phone?

Two short weeks later, on Valentine’s Day, the Foundation officially kicked off its commitment to advance social entrepreneurship. The strategy for our first year included support for non-profit social enterprises through the launch of Enterprising Non-Profits Alberta (enp Alberta) and the Social EnterPrize, support for for-profit social business through a partnership with the Canadian Youth Business Foundation, and the production of the Enterprising Spirit conference….and finding a phone.

Today is Valentine’s Day, and it’s amazing to me that the Foundation is already heading into its third year.

Through an investment by the federal government, Trico Charitable Foundation will launch a project to help not-for-profit organizations increase the impact of their social enterprises. The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development, made the announcement today.

The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development

“Our Government is committed to exploring new ways to achieve better results for Canadians, which means working with local organizations to develop solutions that meet the individual needs of communities,” said Minister Finley. “We are proud to partner with organizations such as Trico Charitable Foundation to help address complex social issues and we are excited to see the results of this project.”

Olds College’s new Centennial Coffee is packaged and available for purchase.

The College is currently importing green coffee beans from the Ramirez Coffee Company located at Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. The coffee beans are shade-grown at an elevation of 2,500 feet (800 meters) which helps preserve the environment, control erosion, and create biodiversity. The green beans are roasted monthly in Alberta by Coffee Concept in small batches of about 1,000 pounds to ensure the best quality and taste.

Ninety per cent of the profits from the coffee sales go to a Dominican Republic Scholarship Fund. This unique fund encourages children to remain in school and supports technical farmer training to enhance both coffee quality and farm revenue.