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

enp-Canada’s launch coincided with the news that the Federal Government, through Human Resources Skills Development Canada (HRSDC), will provide $1.5 million over three years to support the creation of enp-Canada through matching funds for technical assistance and education for enp affiliates.  This funding adds a welcomed role from the federal government to the current mix of enp funders. The funding will be managed through the Trico Charitable Foundation in Calgary. In addition to the more than 15 local funders, HRSDC will join Capital One as the only other national funder of the project. 

The initial sites participating include British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Toronto, Ottawa, Nova Scotia and Quebec through a partnership with Chantier de L’Economie Sociale. More sites are in planning stages as the program shares resources and creates more local partnerships with non-profit, private sector and government partners. 

With support from HRSDC enp-Canada will expand local learning and technical assistance for non-profits to engage in business planning, expand social impact research and documentation, and launch a Social Enterprise Canada website. 

The Enterprising Non-Profits Program, enp, began 15 years ago Vancouver in response to a small group of non-profit organizations seeking information and training on how to use business models, social enterprise, to improve their program delivery and support their financial sustainability. That initial project became Enterprising Non-Profits Program or enp. enp supports non-profits to learn about, do business planning, launch and grow social enterprises. 

12 years ago Atira Women’s Resources received a $10,000 grant from enp to do a business plan that has grown into a multi-million dollar property management company employing hundreds of inner city residents and supporting the needs of women and children.

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: Michele Fugiel Gartner

Director, Strategic Investments & Operations
Trico Charitable Foundation

403-228-6756

Michele.fugielgartner@tricofoundation.ca

www.tricofoundation.ca

www.enterprisingnonprofits.ca

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.

Like our first Valentine’s Day, last night we invited friends to join us at our offices to celebrate the launch of a new partnership – Enterprising Non-Profits Canada (enp-Canada). Building on the work of enp affiliates across Canada, Trico Foundation is partnering with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada (HRSDC) to help build the infrastructure and support local advancement of social enterprise – nationwide. The $1.5 million partnership over three years will help build communication, research, and local technical assistance to create a network of social enterprise practitioners and supporters across Canada.

The creation of enp-Canada is evidence that it is the time is right for social entrepreneurship in Canada. It is also indicative that all of this work is only do-able through great partnerships and collaborations. For the Foundation, our capacity building and education focus is fueled by the many great connections and networks that have developed over the past two years. Through our enp-Alberta program, we have met over a hundred Alberta-based organizations and have given over $200k in grants to help further the advancement of social enterprise ideas. While granting money is nice, enp-Alberta has taught us that in order to create impactful social change, organizations need increased access to education and capacity building opportunities.

It was this insight that spurred the creation of our Educator-in-Residence program, and in its first year we were thrilled to welcome Alex Bruton from Mount Royal University to the Foundation. As a professor, Alex focuses on the intersection of innovation and social change. With his expertise, we were able to offer our grantees and community more in-depth workshops and one-on-one time to deepen the impact of social enterprise & social business ideas. In addition to the in-person education that Alex provided, we renewed our partnership with the Canadian Youth Business Foundation as they rolled out their new suite of social business education on-line tools. It was with this focus on deepening education and capacity, that we were proud to sponsor the social enterprise category at the SVP Calgary Social Innovation Fast Pitch. Over the course of two months, organizations and coaches met together to help better tell the stories of impact and developed three minute pitches. Over 400 Calgarians joined to watch the finalists share their passion and impact through their pitches. We were pleased to award Calgary Sexual Health Center with the best social enterprise pitch of the evening.

In 2012, these local partnerships allowed us to continue our offerings of events, workshops and afterhours all with a focus on creating better access for education and capacity building around social enterprise. Hearing from our community we continued to refine our offerings from Big Ideas! with Alex Bruton to legal information with David Ross. We also experimented with new models of delivering this education, proudly hosting Mount Royal University students as they conducted a peer-to-peer social entrepreneurship bootcamp in the fall. While we listened to our own community, we also kept an ear to what others were thinking about social entrepreneurship. In 2011, the Foundation partnered with Daniel Lai at University of Calgary to conduct research on the business community’s interest, understanding and attitudes towards social enterprise. In the fall, Dr. Lai presented his research and the outcomes show great opportunity for future collaborations between traditional businesses and social entrepreneurs. These are the types of great partnerships that will continue to build strong education offerings for social entrepreneurs in Calgary and across Canada.

In 2013, in addition to advancing local connections, we look forward to learning from our international colleagues. From October 2-4 2013, Trico Foundation will host the 6th annual Social Enterprise World Forum. As the first time in Canada, the conference provides the opportunity to share Canada’s thriving social entrepreneurship community with the world and to learn the best examples from around the world to make it even better. Trico Foundation will also award our Social EnterPrize during the conference. The award seeks out the best examples of social entrepreneurship across Canada through social enterprises and social businesses. (And applications are open now!)

On the home front, with all of the activities happening in 2012, we outgrew the space we where we lived. In August, the Foundation moved into the building next door (with some very nice renovations) to allow more room for these great collaborations and events to occur. And that, of course, meant finding new telephones. (Although, Brittni found them this time.)

The integral part to all of these great initiatives, events, and connections are the people. Throughout 2012 we had the opportunity to partner with amazing minds and passionate hearts. Our Board of Directors are a well-rounded and talented group who keep us on track, focused on impact, and always asking, “what’s next?”. And our staff, Dan, Brittni, Ann & Kristian, continue to punch above their weight by continually developing partnerships, innovating initiatives, and providing (often, really big) answers to “what’s next?”

As a small and young foundation, we don’t have all the answers, but we’re curious and keen to keep learning. Undoubtedly, by the time Valentine’s Day rolls around next year we’ll have plenty more to celebrate and share.

Cheers,

Michele

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.”

Trico Charitable Foundation is receiving over $1.5 million in federal government funding for its Enterprising Non-Profits Canada project. This project will test the ability of not-for-profit organizations to leverage non-federal government funding to address social challenges. Trico Charitable Foundation will support the development of the social enterprise sector by coordinating and pooling ideas and resources across the country.

“Trico Charitable Foundation is honoured to be partnering with the Government of Canada in the creation of Enterprising Non-Profits Canada,” said Michele Fugiel Gartner, the Trico Charitable Foundation’s General Manager. “This partnership advances the work of regional Enterprising Non-Profits affiliates by creating a national network enabling the growth and development of social enterprises. We are pleased to receive the support of the Government of Canada to advance social enterprise as a way to build strong non-profits and create healthier communities.”

This project is being funded as part of the Government of Canada’s Social Partnerships Strategy. Economic Action Plan 2012 builds on previous commitments to encourage the development of partnerships that cross traditional boundaries between the public, for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. By working closely with communities and relying on local expertise to find local solutions to social issues, the government is exploring new approaches to increase the impact of federal spending.

This news release is available in alternative formats on request.

IF THERE IS A DISCREPANCY BETWEEN ANY PRINTED VERSION AND THE ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THIS NEWS RELEASE, THE ELECTRONIC VERSION WILL PREVAIL.

Backgrounder

Social enterprise

Social enterprise is the use of business strategies by both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations to achieve a social good. This emerging business model is helping to increase the financial strength of community organizations by providing an alternate source of revenue to tackle complex social problems.

Not-for-profit organizations (NFPs) are encouraged to invest in change and adopt new approaches for greater organizational resilience and community impact. Social enterprise can be an option for NFPs to stabilize and diversify their funding base while enhancing their programs or services. The result: stronger, more sustainable non-profits and healthier communities.

The Government of Canada’s support of social enterprise will enhance a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, while sharing risk and responsibility. Through a social enterprise, an NFP can advance its mission, fill a market need in their community, and provide opportunities for its client base to participate in community.

Social Development Partnerships Program

The Social Development Partnerships Program (SDPP) invests in organizations that support the well-being of Canadians – from developing a better understanding of the issues Canadians face, to providing greater access to information, programs and services.

The SDPP supports community programs through grant and contribution funding that directly assists non-government organizations to develop and implement innovative solutions to overcome barriers. For example, organizations carry out projects to help families taking care of elderly parents while raising children; to help youth who are at-risk of dropping out of high school, and to increase participation, opportunities and accessibility for people with disabilities.

For more information on the Social Development Partnerships Program, please visit www.hrsdc.gc.ca

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.

Toby Williams, Project Manager for the Coffee Project, visited the Dominican Republic last spring:

“Once you see how coffee is grown and produced, you will never take it for granted again! It is incredibly hard work, the slopes are so steep that it is impossible to mechanize, and the roads are so bad that transporting the coffee 18 km to town down the mountain takes an entire afternoon.”

The slogan on the coffee bags reads ‘an exotic blend of coffee and education,’ and includes Olds College’s project partners:  Ramirez Coffee; UAFAM, a private university in the Dominican; and Coffee Concept out of Calgary. The back panel tells the story of the project in three languages: English, French, and Spanish. The package also includes a dedication to Dan Fullerton, the former Director of International at Olds who initiated this project. Dan passed away in the fall of 2012 before he could see the project come to fruition. It was his dream to see the project succeed. 

Students from the Olds College Entrepreneurship Club have been an integral part of the marketing, sales, and distribution of the Dominican Republic Coffee, gaining real-life skills in business, entrepreneurship, and social responsibility. The Dominican Republic Coffee Project is part of a larger initiative to provide all graduates of Olds College with skills in entrepreneurship, marketing, and philanthropy. 

Olds College will sell ground and whole bean coffee throughout its Centennial year in 2013. Coffee bags are $15 each with discounts for volume purchases. 

For more information, go to www.canadianentrepreneurship.ca and click on “buy coffee”.

About Olds College:

Founded in 1913, Olds College’s vision is to be the premier Canadian integrated learning and applied research community specializing in agriculture, horticulture, land and environmental management. Located 45 minutes north of Calgary, Olds College prepares students to contribute provincially, nationally and internationally through careers in agriculture, horticulture, environmental land management, agribusiness, and rural entrepreneurship. Olds College provides certificate, diploma and applied degree programs, and participates with other institutions in offering post-diploma degrees.

2013 marks the College’s 100 year Anniversary and events from the Centennial will leave a lasting impression in the form of the Centennial Entrepreneurial Legacy Fund, which will position Olds College “to be indisputably recognized as Canada’s entrepreneurial College.”

1-800-661-6537

www.oldscollege.ca

India Wardrop in front of the Jesus Statue in Rio de Janeiro, where she attended the 2012 Social Enterprise World Forum.

By India Wardrop*

The Social Enterprise World Forum 2012 (SEWF) hosted by NESsT Inc. in October was upbeat and filled with optimism about the growth of the social enterprise sector.   Nearly 700 delegates from around the world attended the three-day event held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to explore instruments and strategies for attracting new investment capital for social enterprise.

SEWF, hosted annually in a different country, is an event that focuses exclusively on the field of social enterprise and seeks to build global awareness of the effectiveness of social enterprise in solving critical social problems.  NESsT, a pioneer celebrating its 15^th year in the field, develops sustainable social enterprises in South America and Eastern Europe.

For SEWF 2012, NESsT chose the theme of Impact Investing.  Keynote speaker, Antony Bugg-Levine, co-author of “Impact Investing: Transforming How We Make Money While Making a Difference” [1] asked, “What will it take for social enterprise to reach its potential?” and gave an uplifting perspective of the sector asking the audience to consider four questions:

• Who are we?
• What are we trying to do?
• What is the context in which we are doing our work?
• What are we all doing to make sure we are helping the whole?

Inspiring to the audience of social entrepreneurs and others vested in the field, this address was a good preamble to exploring how to really access the big bucks.

Social enterprise, with rapid expansion this past decade, has gained popularity as a means for socially conscious organizations to become self-sustainable as opposed to solely reliant upon charitable or government donations.  Social enterprises are ventures with a social mission that aspire to attain financial return and to have social impact.

The United Kingdom estimates that social enterprises contribute at least £24 billion to the UK economy.”[2]  Nell Edgington of Social Velocity says “social impact funds are becoming commonplace with experiments like the US Social Innovation Fund (which combines government and private money to fund the growth of proven nonprofit models), Village Capital Fund (seed funding for social entrepreneurs, determined by social entrepreneurs), social investment funds like Good Capital, and venture philanthropy funds like New Profit and SeaChange Capital Partners.”[3]

Impact investing is more popular than ever.  Social enterprise may be an emerging asset class, but it’s a long way from being a funded asset class.  Will it ever really capture its fair share of the trillions of dollars invested by mainstream investors?

One of the greatest challenges to growth is accessing investment capital. The core tenant of financial investment is to achieve the highest return on capital relative to risk.  Putting social return into the mix shakes this up – and traditional investors are far from embracing this type of blended return.

The head of a major charitable foundation, who’s mission includes ‘harnessing innovation to improve the living standards of the poorest of the poor’, told me of a recent meeting with executives of other like-minded pension funds and endowments where they debated at length whether or not they should invest their assets in mission related enterprises.  They couldn’t reconcile the risk–return ratio of their mission related opportunities with that of their traditional asset investments.  The conclusion: they decided to continue to fund mission related businesses out of the ‘charity’ pot rather than with their investment assets.

According to an article published in Harvard Business Review, in the United States alone, charitable foundations hold $600 billion in investment assets but donate less than $50 billion each year”.[4], which highlights the current gulf between investment and charitable funding of social enterprises and the huge untapped potential for impact investing.  When you consider that US venture capitalists alone placed $22billion in 2010”.[5], social enterprise has a lot to gain from accessing investment capital.

However, today even funds dedicated to impact investing often struggle to find acceptable investments.  Challenges include: large minimum investment size mismatching with smaller average investment size in social enterprise; blended financial/social returns below desired risk/return rates; investment timelines notably longer than those of pure growth companies; and an abundance of entrepreneurs focused more on social return than on efficient business management and financial accountability.

Antony Bugg-Levine, Bruce Kogut and Nalin Kulatiaka call this the In addition to vering a blended return that holds for all investors but is acceptable to very few.” USA or vice-versa –eg ‘financial-social return gap’ in their recently published article “A New Approach to Funding Social Enterprises”.[6]  They assert that financial engineering could be the transformative key to capital access for social enterprise.  Through creative financial structuring, the enterprise “can offer different risk and returns to different kinds of investors instead of delivering a blended return that holds for all investors but is acceptable to very few.”  They propose enterprises do this by recalibrating their balance sheets and using various social financing innovations such as loan guarantees, quasi-equity debt, pooling, and social impact bonds (first launched in 2010 in the UK).  In addition, professional investors will seek standards and ratings, measurements as well as legal and regulatory structures that codify their social enterprise investments in terms they can put into an asset allocation context.

That’s a lot to digest for gaining proper status as an asset class in the investment arena.  At SEWF 2012 financing innovations, education and structure were themes but the onus was upon the delegate to piece together the whole in a coherent fashion.  I suspect this challenge spans the sector.  For those who have access, publications like those from Ashoka, NESsT or the Harvard Business Review provide a sound framework for advancing the field.  But in reality there appears to be a gap between practitioners and financiers.  Closing that gap will help move the money.

Next year, TRICO Charitable Foundation will host SEWF 2013 in Calgary, Canada .    Maybe in October SEWF 2013 Canada can drive the stampede of investment so greatly needed to fuel social enterprise.

* Note from TRICO Charitable Foundation: This article originally appeared on the Queen’s School of Business Centre for Responsible Leadership’s blog. Thanks to them for allowing us to repost it. You should check out the blog, it’s a great resource. Learn more here.

Social Enterprise Opportunity

Calgary Reads was among Trico Charitable Foundation and Enterprising Non-Profits Alberta’s (enp-AB) very first group of grantees.  Calgary Reads was exploring the idea of starting a social enterprise that would further both their mission and help achieve financial stability.  They first came upon the idea of an after-school tutoring program through their relationship with the U of C’s Faculty of Education.  This partnership would provide education students with paid positions to tutor struggling elementary students after school for 33 sessions.  This opportunity would also help generate additional revenue for Calgary Reads to continue and improve its programs, since Calgary Reads currently meets its budget through funding from individuals, corporations, foundations, and the annual CBC Calgary Reads book sale.

Feasibility Study

With the grant that Calgary Reads received, they conducted a feasibility study for the after-school tutoring program.  From this study, they realized that they had two significant market advantages.  First, Calgary Reads had a close relationship with the CBE and could gain access to many struggling students.  Another market advantage was Calgary Reads’ brand identity and established methodology that is proven to be effective. 

Despite these competitive advantages, Calgary Reads also discovered they would have to overcome several challenges.  The after-school tutoring program would be competing in two different spaces: after-school programs and tutoring services.  Through interviews and surveys with potential customers, after-school programs and tutoring agencies, Calgary Reads also struggled with a pricing strategy for their service due to the two highly saturated industries.  This implied that competitive pressures would force them to charge a lower fee, ultimately shrinking their bottom line.

What Happened?

In the end, Calgary Reads decided not to pursue the after-school tutoring program.  They felt that they needed to define more clearly their social and financial goals.  As well, they concluded that the need for early literacy intervention did not translate into demand in the marketplace.  Calgary Reads also felt that they needed to understand whether they were going to focus on revenue generation or on extending the reach of their early literacy initiative.

Advice to Share

• Define “social enterprise” and clarify your organization’s social and financial goals prior to launching a venture.
• Take time to conduct a feasibility study before acting on an idea.
• Understand your organization’s capabilities and available resources; Leverage these existing assets to offer a product or service that will drive your mission forward but will also help generate revenue.
• Don’t get too attached to one idea, as it will likely change.  Continue to explore different opportunities.

Thanks for taking the time to read up on our featured grantee.  We look forward to sharing more experiences and stories from around the community soon.  Lastly, as August is a busy month for us, we will be taking a short blogging break and will return in September.  Enjoy the rest of the summer!

What We Heard

What I have gathered from these evaluations is that many social enterprises want advice on how to “establish new revenue opportunities… while maintaining the primary mission”. Many of you in the “early learning” and “planning” stages of the development path have expressed that you want more insight on how to approach a feasibility study and how to write a sound business plan.  As we move further along the development path, many have conveyed that it is a challenge to understand all the legal and accounting implications, develop brand recognition and pitch your idea to potential investors. Furthermore, finding a suitable consultant with experience in not-for-profit organizations can be difficult, as serving a social or environmental mission, rather than seeking profit, is often the priority.

Connection, Voice, Value

In response to these comments, we have come up with a few ideas that will hopefully answer to your needs.  We have developed criteria – Connection, Voice, Value— to guide us when developing learning sessions to ensure that it is most effective.  At every learning session, we will make sure there is time allotted for networking, for gathering feedback and that we are providing information that is beneficial.

Upcoming Events and New Programs

We started applying this framework yesterday, at one of our summer Lunch & Learns, Dynamic Marketing for Social Enterprise.  We had a great turnout, so thank you to everyone who took time off from stampeding to join us.  If you didn’t get a chance to drop by, don’t worry.  We will be having another Lunch & Learn in early August, called Innovative Business Models.  Last but not least, on November 5, 2012, we will be co-hosting the Fast Pitch Social Innovation Expo with Social Venture Partners.  Social enterprises will pair up with a pitch coach over the course of September and October to practice and perfect a three-minute pitch of your business approach to achieving a social mission.  Finalists will then compete and showcase their pitch to judges and an audience at the Expo.  Please check our Twitter, Facebook or website for more information.

On top of the learning events, we plan on launching other programs. For example, the Educator-in-Residence program will feature an educator who will connect directly with social enterprises to share their expertise and provide support to enhance the social enterprise.  Please stay tuned for more information.

I would like to thank those who have attended our Enterprising Non-Profits (enp-ab) workshops and other learning events and have given us such constructive feedback.  Please do not hesitate to let us know if you have any other concerns or areas we can focus on that would be most helpful to you.  We look forward to finding new and better ways to support all the not-for-profit organizations and social enterprises in our community.

From Free the Children to Me to We

In 1995, 12 year old Craig Kielburger and his brother Marc began their mission to provide education to children around the world through their charity Free the Children. Today, Free the Children has built over 650 schools and every day provides 55,000 children access to education. Additionally, Free the Children has been involved in alternative income programs, water and sanitation projects and has increased the accessibility to medical resources for over one million individuals living in the third world.

Noticing that the administrative costs associated with running a charity diminished the funds reaching those in need and that a pure business model did not fit their mission, the brothers decided to enter the realm of social enterprise by blending charitable impact with business practices. In 2008, the Kielburger brothers were able to increase the sustainability of Free the Children by developing the innovative social enterprise Me to We. Me to We is a mechanism for social change that inspires first world citizens into making a difference. These programs are geared towards youth helping youth and over a million youth have been engaged worldwide since its inception.

Looking for adventure and want to make a difference?

Me to We offers leadership training programs and international volunteer trips to China, India, Africa and South America. Volunteers, who participate in Me to We excursions, build schools and actively provide education to children around the world. Fifty-percent of the revenue generated through these programs is used to offset the expenses of Free the Children interventions with the goal of decreasing the administration costs to zero—this means that every dollar raised is going directly to those they are trying to help. The remaining 50% of revenue is reinvested into Me to We to assist in operations and future growth. Me to We measures their bottom line by the social and environmental impacts that are made by the organization not the dollars earned:

-          Over 220,000 volunteer hours on their trips

-          Reached almost 400,000 people via their presentations, books, leadership programs and speeches

-          Employed over 500 artisans across these communities

These excursions are offered to youth, school groups, adults and companies as a way to experience the world while helping others.

How can you be involved?

If taking part in a Me to We excursion is out of reach, you can support their mission from the comfort of your own home. Me to We aims to change the way consumers consume by offering environmentally-friendly and socially conscious products. Visit their shop to view their unique domestically-produced products.

As we are approaching Canada Day, keep in mind the amazing things Canadians are capable of, not only domestically but also internationally. Have a great long weekend and be sure to celebrate our country’s amazing accomplishments!

Like many of you, having driven through Osoyoos I am always amazed by the various resorts, vineyards & wineries available to tour. But for me, one vineyard sets itself apart—the Osoyoos First Nation’s Nk’mip Cellars (pronounced in-ka-meep) is North America’s first Aboriginal owned and operated winey. The winery can produce 162,000 liters of both red and white wine, has won numerous awards, and their wines are available for purchase  in Calgary. I was first introduced to the Osoyoos First Nation on the CBC 8^th Fire Series, and then on my second day working with the Trico Foundation I was surprised to learn that their winery is a social enterprise.

The late Chief Phillip Martin of the Choctaw Tribe once said “never do anything without a proper feasibility study.” These words obviously had an impact on Chief Clarence Louie, as the Osoyoos First Nation continues to expand their community-owned enterprises. The funds from these enterprises are used to meet the social needs of members by topping-up government funding, and supporting education and training initiatives.  Because the band operates its own educational, social, medical and municipal services, band members are employed and unemployment is decreased drastically. Additionally, economic development occurs through preserving culture, as these enterprises and programs adhere to cultural guidelines– Community success is the goal of these ventures and economic success is the way through which the Osoyoos First Nation has chosen to support their community members.

This development has been achieved through the Osoyoos Indian Band Development Corporation (OIBDC) which was formed in 1988. This Corporation strictly adheres to business principals, which have been credited for their success.  Today, the OIBDC is $14 million dollar organization that works in both existing and new business ventures; the end goal being the creation of a sustainable economy similar to pre-contact. Beyond the Cellars and vineyards, the Osoyoos First Nation is also involved in a variety of other community owned enterprises:

-         Nk’mip Desert Cultural Centre

-          Nk’mip RV Park

-          Nk’mip Resort

-          Spirit Ride Vineyard Resort & Spa

-          Mount Baldy Ski Corporation

-          Nk’mip Canyon Desert Golf Course

-          Canyon Desert Resort

-          Nk’mip Construction

-          Senkulmen Business Park

-          Nk’mip Conference Centre

Each venture represents a piece of the overall tourism and agricultural master plan for the First Nation and is strategically implemented piece by piece when the capacity exists. When developing a new business venture, the Osoyoos First Nation is not afraid to admit that they may lack certain skills within their community. They often choose to partner with individuals and companies outside of their First Nation who have the experience and skills to assist in their social enterprises. This is one way in which they are able to strictly adhere to business practices. To further their social enterprise endeavors the Osoyoos Indian Band Centre for Aboriginal Community Enterprise was opened. This centre has allowed the Osoyoos First Nation to connect with other Aboriginal communities and share their economic development strategies. For example in 2009, twenty-three NWT communities sent representatives to attend a two day economic development seminar hosted by the Osoyoos First Nation and funded by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (at the time INAC). This seminar addressed the band’s experiences in regards to economic development and their lessons learned.

Hopefully we will see an increasing number of Aboriginal-run social enterprises in the near future. But for now, enjoy a great bottle of Canadian wine and explore these other interesting examples of Aboriginal-run social enterprises: Neechi Foods & Many Nations

We apologize for our brief blog absence. In the past few weeks we have been busy with a number of events and are gearing up for the ENP-AB grant applications to come in at the end of May. We also have a few fresh faces around here: I am Brittni Kerluke and I am excited to be joining the Trico Charitable Foundation as Foundation Coordinator. I have to admit that I am new to Social Enterprise, as I come from a Sociology background, and I am attempting to wrap my head around the literature and language in this area. Thankfully, I had the opportunity to attend the Building Your Social Enterprise workshop in April and I am learning tremendous amounts every day. On April 31st, we successfully ran our first ENP-AB workshop in Edmonton with Jill Andres, our Acting General Manager, at the helm. Jill is a Calgary consultant who specializes in helping individuals and organizations create social value (www.creatingvalue.ca) and has been delivering the Building Your Social Enterprise workshops with the Trico Charitable Foundation since the New Year. Our Edmonton workshop was attended by a variety of organizations interested in Social Enterprise and we are looking forward to returning in the fall.

We have also been busy with our “After Hours” sessions. On May 8th, we hosted the session “Really Big Value Idea Generation for Social Innovation workshop” with Alex Bruton, President of The Innographer (theinnographer.com) and Professor of Innovation at Mount Royal University. This session filled up quickly and packed our office to capacity. At this event, attendees were introduced to a number of tools meant to assist in their Social Enterprise development and were given the opportunity to pitch their ideas to an audience of like-minded individuals. Overall, it was a successful and fun evening. We are currently preparing a number of “After Hours” sessions for the fall and we will share these with you when the details are finalized. Once they are announced be quick to register as these sessions tend to fill-up fast.

Finally, we are gearing-up for the next round of ENP-AB grants to arrive on May 24, 2012. We are looking forward to seeing what Alberta’s non-profit organizations are up to!

Green Calgary is a social enterprise that is a wonderful resource; they provide knowledge, workshops, volunteer opportunities and the healthy homes program. The Ecostore operated by Green Calgary is a great place to stock up on earth friendly products and the funds raised are then re-invested in community environmental programs. To find out more on Green Calgary and the Ecostore visit their website at http://www.greencalgary.org/ and follow them on twitter @greencalgary

Another environmental social enterprise located in Cochrane, Alberta is Home Reno Heaven. Home Reno Heaven accepts donations of home renovation products, appliances, tools and landscaping products and resells them to generate revenue for self sustaining affordable housing. If you have been thinking about acquiring new appliances, you can donate the old ones to Home Reno Heaven. They will resell them, use the proceeds to support the Cochrane Society for Housing Options and best of all there is no waste! Make sure you follow the donation guidelines, they only accept donations of products that they can resell. To learn more about Home REno Heaven and their donation program vist their website at http://www.homerenoheaven.com

Not all great organizations are social enterprises; we have some businesses in Calgary that operate with the goal of blended value. Blended value is when organizations create economic, environmental and social value. A great resource for locating and learning more about these organizations is REAP-Respect for the Earth and All People Business Association. 

Founded in 2006, REAP strives to promote and support local, sustainable businesses that are committed to creating a more sustainable Calgary. These businesses contribute to their communities, buy local, use green power and pay living wage to their employees. If you want to learn more about REAP or REAP’s Business members you can visit their website http://www.reapcalgary.com and follow them on twitter @reapcalgary

We hope you enjoy Earth Day on April 22nd and we would love to hear what you did to celebrate or your new habit! Tweet us @tricofoundation or post something on our facebook here.

So, when thinking up my first blog for the Trico Charitable Foundation (TCF) I was at a loss for where to begin. How was I going to pick just one topic to focus on? I thought it might make sense to start with why I was drawn to working at TCF – and that is my growing awareness and interest in social enterprise (for TCF’s purposes, we define social enterprise as non-profit organizations running a business). I’ve also been learning a lot about private, charitable foundations. It’s a whole new world for someone who has only worked in the non-profit sector. Perhaps it would be valuable to share some of my new knowledge here?

Then I found myself watching Geoff Mulgan’s TED talk, Post-crash: Investing in a Better World, and I remembered some questions that have been on my mind for some time now. What is the economy for? What is the role of business in contributing to social good? This felt like as good a place to start as any.

I have to be honest. I didn’t used to give the economy much thought. Not until I started working in the field of community economic development and was introduced to all sorts of inspiring examples of how innovative approaches to locally-focused economic development could stimulate meaningful change for people. I saw that business, based on certain principles and used in certain ways, could contribute to healthy communities. I awoke to the realization that capitalism and economy, while related, are not the same thing and that both could be transformed to help us achieve the world we want. In fact, Ari Derfel of the Slow Money Alliance suggests that:

At its core, business is activism. It is the most powerful tool we have to shape the world.  –Ari Derfel, TEDxPresidio

For me, the simplest way I’ve come to understand “economy” is that it is all the labour and capital required to facilitate the exchange of goods and services between people (Economics for Everyone was helpful here). Our current use of market capitalism is just one system that has evolved to allow this exchange. And while it has generated unprecedented wealth, it has also contributed to alarming inequality within our communities.

Fortunately, market capitalism is a human-made system. We made it, so we can un-make it. Or transform it. We can re-imagine it completely – and in my opinion, it is increasingly necessary that we do. What’s also promising is that there is a lot of work already underway as people experiment on the pioneering edge of what a transformed version of capitalism might look like.

Social enterprise is one of those experiments, and while it has been in existence for several decades it’s the growing consciousness that the economy can be used to meet human needs and generate real wealth that might just make this social enterprise’s time to shine. Personally, I hope this means a proliferation of social enterprises that fully encompass what “Business 3.0” can offer. That is, businesses that don’t only generate revenue for revenue’s sake, but rather ones that provide goods and services that make it possible for people and communities to meet their needs. And not just basic needs – but all of our human needs like meaning, belonging and participation in the institutions that influence our lives.

This is the time to experiment with new iterations of how goods and services are exchanged (the economy) and to demonstrate that when intentionally put up front in business models, social, environmental, cultural and financial value can be generated. Not just for the business owner and customer, but for the entire community.

So, how do we get there? How does this new business model become the norm? The way all change happens – with experimentation, actively changing the structures that get in the way of progress and with investment of all kinds of resources into promising approaches. This is where TCF and others come in by providing the financial and technical support to launch social enterprises, and why I’m putting my energy here.

I encourage you to watch Geoff Mulgan’s TED talk. It sheds more light on these ideas and reminded me of that burning question: What is the economy for?

There’s no single response, but what are you doing to contribute to our collective answer?

Wondering what your next steps are? Here are some ideas:

1. Make purchasing from social enterprises part of your personal “purchasing policy”. Encourage your employer to do the same. Check out the Social Enterprise Marketplace here.
2. Learn more about the social, environmental, cultural and financial value that locally owned businesses create. BALLE and Yes! Magazine are good places to start (both are American resources).
3. Look up the root – the etymology – of the word economy and continue your own inquiry.

This experiential workshop helps you design really big value ideas – the kind that can’t help but make significant change in the world around us because they’re highly impactful, highly feasible, and highly passion-nourishing. In a safe, supportive and practical learning environment, you’ll experience coming up with an idea and designing a simple enterprise model that aims to build genuine wealth in society. And you’ll take away the DIY tools for doing it again, either on your own  whiteboards or on the back of the next napkin you run into.

 Our first feature grantee is the Association for the Alberta Network of Immigrant Women (ANIW). This organization was founded in 1986 and recently celebrated its 25^th anniversary. ANIW focuses on researching issues that impact the settlement of immigrant women in Alberta. This research is used to develop programs that support and empower these women.  

 ANIW like many not for profit organizations is considering pursuing a social enterprise. They understand and appreciate the value of diversifying their revenue sources to ensure the continuity of their programs. The Executive Director, Kamal Seghal, is familiar with social enterprise and has thought about it as a possible opportunity for ANIW. She has seen examples of social enterprise working in Calgary but was unsure of how to start developing a plan for her organization.

  In 2011, a representative from ANIW attended the Trico Charitable Foundation and enp-ab’s Building Your Social Enterprise Workshop. ANIW realized that many of the social enterprise endeavors they had been contemplating for their organization were possible and that there was support for organizations pursuing social enterprise. Kamal Seghal said that “The stimulus for us to move forward was the support”.

(This Photograph features ANIW‘s staff, from left to right: Nizar Allidina, Chido Samantha Mbavarira,  Rooh Khan, Rosa Martinez-Suarez).

ANIW received a grant from the Trico Charitable Foundation and enp-ab to undertake Opportunity Identification, the second step in the Development Path of Building a Social Enterprise. This grant was to fund a consultant that would help to identify and assess possible social enterprises for the organization. Throughout this process, ANIW realized that their organization was actually in the first stage of the Development Path—Organizational Readiness. They decided to re-group and re-focus their efforts on establishing their Organizational Readiness. This was not seen as a setback, but an important step to increase the strength and capacity of the organization and, in turn, the future planning of the social enterprise. This change in plans has made ANIW more determined and better prepared to develop their future social enterprise.

 ANIW is looking forward to receiving their completed Organizational Readiness report from their consultant. Many hours have been spent by the staff, board and clients discussing and gaining a better understanding of their organization and the possibility of a social enterprise. The consultant’s report will provide significant information with regards to their organization readiness to pursue this new enterprise.

 Kamal Sehgal feels that through this process, ANIW has learned more about their organization and social enterprise. She admits that they have now realized the complexity and potential risk of operating a social enterprise. As well as the importance of this enterprise focusing on the organization’s strengths, mission and vision. She says that one of the most significant lessons ANIW has gained from this exercise is that “it is possible”.

 ANIW is committed to finding a social enterprise that will be a fit for their organization, unique in the marketplace and successful. The Trico Charitable Foundation and enp-ab is proud to have assisted with ANIW’s first stage of planning for a social enterprise.

To learn more on the Association for the Alberta Network of Immigrant Women visit their website at www.aniw.org