coRISE is a social enterprise in Calgary that upcycles excess food to create nutritious snacks, and then contributes proceeds from that venture to support mental health programs through pet companionship.
Bow Valley College and Women In Need Society (WINS) have partnered to launch a new on-campus thrift store that combines affordability, sustainability, and hands-on learning. The initiative gives students access to low-cost essentials while creating real-world learning opportunities in social enterprise and community impact.
Click here to read more!
We define social entrepreneurship as using business models (selling a good or service) to enhance social impact. This reflects most Canadian definitions.
Many see the social and the entrepreneurial as being in opposition, like two sides of a scale that needs to be balanced. Instead, we see the social and the entrepreneurial as partners in progress.
We support a social entrepreneurship movement that dares to ask, “How far could we go in solving the world’s problems, and even fulfilling our potential as human beings, if we fully harnessed the power of business models to enhance social impact?”
coRISE is a social enterprise in Calgary that upcycles excess food to create nutritious snacks, and then contributes proceeds from that venture to support mental health programs through pet companionship.
Canada’s first Indigenous arts hotel, Skwachàys Lodge (pronounced skwatch-eyes) is another shining example of Canada’s leadership in coming up with ingenious ways business ventures can be blended with a social mission. Located in Vancouver, Skwachàys Lodge is a unique social enterprise created by a social housing organization, Vancouver Native Housing Society (VNHS).
Social entrepreneur Aishwarya Khanduja firmly believes in pursuing her passions to their fullest extent, and there are plenty of examples of her doing so. The Trico Foundation had the privilege of working with Aishwarya when she joined the team as 2019’s summer student social entrepreneur, where she developed her social enterprise LoopEducation as she brought her venture through our A.S.E.S.S. process.
As one of our favourite examples of a Canadian social enterprise, a 2013 Social EnterPrize recipient, EMBERS Staffing Solutions (ESS) continues to excel by using the power of business models to solve social problems. Since the last time we touched base with Founder and CEO, Marcia Nozick in early 2019, ESS has paid 9.2 million in wages and benefits and grossed 11.6 million in sales.