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.
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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?”
On the evening of September 14th, 2017, 350 delegates and community leaders from across Canada gathered at the EconoUs conference where Trico Foundation was honoured to formally present our 2017 Social EnterPrize awards. Our evening panel conversation covered a wide array of topics, including: when to seize opportunities to diversify, scaling, leadership transitions, measuring success, and more!
This experience taught, and continues to teach, me lessons on both boundaries and mentorship. All relationships need clear and healthy boundaries; although, these can be hard to clearly see. As noted in “Mentorship Starts With a Coffee,” very rarely does mentorship start out with a formalized proposal. For me, most of the important mentors in my life have emerged from a search for answers.
We are excited to announce that the The WINS case study is the first of its kind to have three local post-secondary institutions collaborate on a case study! It's a testament to Calgary's growth as a social enterprise hub and the cooperative spirit of that hub that a) three local post-secondary institutions wanted to do a case study on social enterprise and b) they were happy to work together. The WINS case study demonstrates a social enterprise committed to working with women and their families facing a range of challenges – financial, in the process of leaving shelters, outfitting a home, adapting to a new city or country, or single parents caring for their children. WINS' balance of delivery of a quality product and service along with profits for re-investment in business operations confirm that it is a deserving recipient of the Social EnterPrize.
An entrepreneur is always learning, going through ups and downs while trying to navigate new approaches to attain success. The recipe for innovation and running your own venture involves four key ingredients: ideas, leadership, a great team, and planning.