Trico Charitable Foundation (TCF) is pleased to announce the return of our Summer Student initiative in which a Calgary post-secondary student developing a social enterprise will no longer have to put their venture on pause while working to ‘pay the bills’ during the summer.

“Through our work with student social entrepreneurs, we saw they often face the agonizing choice of putting their venture on pause because they need to generate income during the summer” explains Dan Overall, Executive Director of Trico Charitable Foundation. “Combine that with the fact that more and more Calgary students are developing social enterprises and Calgary’s growth as a social entrepreneurship hub, and we knew the time was right for this type of initiative.”

“This program represents a ‘summer of opportunity and social impact’, for the student and the Trico Foundation”, said Overall. “The student will be able to move their venture forward while generating additional income and plugging into our support services, network activities and events; and we get another bird’s eye view on what is needed to take promising social enterprises to the next level. It’s a real win-win.”

The Trico Summer Student Social Entrepreneur will work full-time over the summer of 2020 (exact start and end dates to be negotiated based on the selected student’s schedule). Tasks will be broken down as follows:

• 50% of their time will be devoted to their venture as they see fit,
• 30% of their time will be devoted to putting their venture through the A.S.E.S.S. process, the Foundation’s toolkit to help social enterprises develop, and
• 20% of their time will be devoted to helping the Foundation in its other social enterprise support efforts.

Qualifications

• A Calgary post-secondary student (attending a Calgary region post-secondary institution or residing in the Calgary region but studying abroad);
• Attending a post-secondary institution full time in the Winter 2020 semester and in the Fall 2020 semester;
• Currently developing a social enterprise (using a business model to solve a social problem). The social enterprise must be past the ideation phase and if applicable, can be structured as a for-profit or not-for-profit. Please note, while laudable certain ventures are not eligible: consultants, advisors, incubators, accelerators, associations, funders of other social impact organizations, and education initiatives;
• To learn more about about the ‘Types of Social Enterprises Trico is Excited About’, please visit here. 

Here is what previous participants Aishwarya Khanduja, Alexandra Daignault, and Victoria Ross have to say about the program: 

“This unique summer experience has shaped me into the social entrepreneur I always wanted to be. The lessons I learned are forming the foundation of my career. I could not be more thankful to the entire TCF team for the wonderful summer!”  says Aishwarya Khanduja, Summer Student 2019. Read more about Aishwarya’s journey here. 

“Working on my venture, as a Trico summer student, was possibly the most impactful experience of my degree thus far. I received personalized support to help grow and deepen the impacts of my venture. As well, I had access to resources I never would have explored elsewhere. The coaching I received helped launch my venture into its next phase of development. It was a tremendous experience where I, as a social entrepreneur, grew and learned so much. I would highly recommend this opportunity to other students.” says Alexandra Daignault, Summer Student 2017 & 2018. 

“I have been fortunate enough to take part in the Trico Foundation’s summer student program this year and it has had a huge emphasis on developing personal habits and bringing awareness to my cognitive biases. As a result, I have had more traction in the last two months with them then I have had in the previous two years of accessing other supports.” says Victoria Ross, Summer Student 2018.

Students have until 4pm February 18, 2020 to apply and we are looking forward to welcoming another student to our team in 2020!

For Further Details and to Apply, Click Here.