The Trico Charitable Foundation was established in December of 2008 as an evolution of Wayne and Eleanor Chiu’s philanthropic endeavours.  Our focus is promoting the development of effective and successful models, concepts and principles related to the national advancement of social enterprise.

One of the programs within the Foundation is the Social EnterPrize.  This program provides awards funding and education through a national conference and Social “EnterPrize”.  The Social EnterPrize recognizes Canadian leaders and non-profit organizations that are effectively using social enterprise to deepen their community impact. Up to four awards can be granted to organizations and individuals.

Announced recently at our Enterprising Spirit: Creating Value and Social Good Conference, the 2011 winners of the Social EnterPrize are:

Organizational winners:

The mission of Potluck Café & Catering is community employment and community nutrition and a commitment to sustainable environmental practices in its café and catering business.  The social enterprise was founded in 2001 and it is a neighbourhood café and professional catering services to corporate, government and clients in Vancouver.  Their impact includes 30,000 meals prepared and served annually to 100 most vulnerable downtown east side residents (DTES), job training for 10 – 24  DTES community residents, four to six internships – all to people with barriers to employment, and an additional 500 to 1000 DTES free meals for residents of the DTES.  They are a unique model of social enterprise because they generate 85 – 90% revenue from their catering business, they receive no government funding, they have strong grass roots connection to their community and it is a replicable food training model for other non-profit organizations to consider as a revenue generating model.

Mission Possible is a Christian humanitarian agency that transforms lives by helping people experiencing homelessness and poverty achieve a renewed sense of dignity and purpose through meaningful work.  Their social enterprise is MP Maintenance, founded in 2009 and it is a property maintenance business that includes services such as graffiti removal, exterior property cleaning services and site cleanup.  Since their creation of the social enterprise in 2009 they have helped 36 people and employed 23 people, with 8 people currently servicing 60 customers in the Vancouver area.  They are a unique model of social enterprise as they have strong business acumen complemented by charismatic leadership, with a strong group of dedicated volunteers resulting in significant impact in a short time.  They are also poised for substantial growth with a recent contract from BC Hydro to install smart meters.

Individual winner:

Caroline Arcand, Groupe Convex Prescott-Russell

Caroline Arcand is the instigator of 10 social enterprises, a prominent speaker, coach and leader.  Witnessing the increase in self-esteem of disabled people at work inspires her.  The mission of her non-profit, Groupe Convex Prescott-Russell, located in Hawksbury, Ontario, is to generate meaningful jobs through business projects for residents who face employment challenges.  One of their successful social enterprises is Recycle Action, a sorting facility, industry collector, and receiver of recyclable products from BlueBox, commercial and industrial sectors.  The impact in their community is significant with the development of multiple community partnerships, serving over 30,000 households, 41 schools, 159 businesses and 5 municipalities.  They are unique as their work successfully blends social, economic, environmental issues while creating jobs and generating revenue.  They have a proven track record, and address a need in their rural community.  Caroline Arcand is a strong leader and social entrepreneur driving the organization.

Social enterprise experts and practitioners from across the country gathered in Calgary on November 17th to attend Enterprising Spirit: Creating Value and Social Good. Hosted by the Trico Charitable Foundation, the conference featured a day of interactive workshops and experimental problem solving related to planning, practicing, and fine tuning social enterprise.

The Enterprising Spirit Conference opened with an inspirational keynote address by Tonya Surman, Executive Director of the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI). Tonya describes herself as a community animator, which she explained involves creating collisions between people to foster the connections that lead to social innovation. If there was any doubt about Tonya’s assertion that the process of engagement is the point, it was quickly dispelled by the palpable buzz her insights and passion sparked among the conference attendees.

The Enterprising Spirit Conference was divided into a number of workshops that were aimed at providing practical and experiential guidance for aspiring and established social entrepreneurs. The following offers a summary of the breakout sessions:

In The What and Why of Social Entrepreneurship, David LePage (enp) led a hands-on workshop exploring the ways in which non-profit organizations can blend mission and business to achieve their goals. The session was punctuated with examples drawn from David’s 30+ years of experience in the social economy and non-profit sectors. Newbies and experienced practitioners alike gained an in-depth understanding of the what, why, and how of social enterprise.

The True Confessions in Social Entrepreneurship panel included Jane Bisbee (Social Enterprise Fund), Michele Cherot (Greater Trail Community Skills Centre), Linda Huffman (Arts Habitat Association of Edmonton) and Jessie Radies (Live Local). Attendees were exposed to a discussion filled with illustrative examples of what it’s really like in the trenches of social enterprise. While earning revenue is one of the obvious goals of social enterprise, Linda Huffman emphasized that the biggest reward is connecting to the community.

Show Me the Money – Solutions to Challenges of Growing Your Social Enterprise featured some of Canada’s foremost social enterprise experts, namely Derek Gent (Vancity Community Foundation), David LePage (enp), Tonya Surman (Centre for Social Innovation), Bill Young (Social Capital Partners), and Gerrad Oishi (Lodestone Social Ventures). The conversations ranged from navigating legal structures, to mobilizing pools of capital, to the importance of social enterprises finding champions within financial institutions. As Tonya Surman and David LePage explained, money follows good ideas, so it’s crucial to know what social and business objectives your organization is trying to accomplish.

In Profits + Purpose: Demonstrating Value, Jocelyne Daw (JS Daw & Associates), Derek Gent (Vancity Community Foundation), and Stephanie Robertson (SiMPACT Strategy Group) emphasized that demonstrating value is a must for social enterprises. Impact, however, is extremely difficult to determine if you neglect to ask the questions, ‘What do we need to know?’ and ‘What do we want to show?’ The key to maximizing and optimizing a social enterprise’s mission and revenue is to couple storytelling with benchmarks, metrics, and data analysis.

For me, the key takeaway from the Enterprising Spirit Conference was the importance of social enterprises remaining solidly concentrated on the macro-level issue(s) they aim to alleviate. As Tonya Surman argued, social innovation is about addressing root causes, and not just the treatment of symptoms.  Knowing what your social and business goals are is crucial because it ensures the focus of your enterprise is on community impact, rather than on the individual non-profit organization.

At the conclusion of the Enterprising Spirit Conference, an awards reception was hosted by the Trico Charitable Foundation to present the inaugural Social EnterPrize Awards. The goal of the award program is to recognize individuals and organizations who demonstrate excellence and innovation in Canada’s social enterprise sector. Mission Possible and Potluck Cafe and Catering each won an organizational Social EnterPrize, and Caroline Arcand of Groupe Convex was awarded the individual Social EnterPrize. While it can be difficult to conceptualize a social enterprise’s effects, videos featuring the work of the Social EnterPrize winners vividly illustrated the impact of their ventures. Coupled with a thought-provoking keynote address provided by Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, the reception offered an uplifting ending to an already inspirational day.

The Enterprising Spirit: Creating Value and Social Good Conference is now sold out!

If you missed registering for the full conference day, but would like to join us in celebrating social entrepreneurship, please register to attend the Social EnterPrize Awards.

The Social EnterPrize Awards Reception will be held on the evening of Thursday, November 17th at the Delta Bow Valley Hotel from 5:30 – 7:30. Winners of the inaugural Social EnterPrize Awards will be announced at the event, and Mayor Nenshi will be providing the Reception Address.

This is no charge for the Awards Reception, but you must register via Eventbrite to attend.  Hurry before that sells out too!

Looking forward to seeing you on November 17, 2011.

The Social EnterPrize Awards were recently featured on CTV Calgary’s In Touch segment. Check out the clip below to learn more:

Do you plan to apply for one of the four Social EnterPrize Awards that will be granted at our November 17th Enterprising Spirit conference? If so, you have just over a month to submit your application. The submission deadline is September 15th, and eligibility details can be found by clicking here.