ABOUT THE CLEANING SOLUTION CASE STUDY:
Recipient of the Social EnterPrize in 2015, The Cleaning Solution is featured in the latest edition of our case study series, our effort to more effectively tell the stories of amazing Canadian social enterprises.
While all of the case studies reveal interesting patterns (more on this below), each also has its unique aspects. The Cleaning Solution case study demonstrates a social enterprise that has balanced growth with organizational capacity and competes in a hyper competitive market while staying true to their mandate.
Additional insights for any social entrepreneurs relate to:
- Ideation
- Market Validation
- The Blended Business Model and
- The Road Ahead.
A special thanks to The Cleaning Solution and our amazing authors: Bruno Lam & Karen Taylor with research support from McKenzie Rainey and Sheen Sagalongos, University of British Columbia.
Click here to read the case study.
MORE ON THE SOCIAL ENTERPRIZE CASE STUDIES:
“Tell me a fact and I’ll learn. Tell me a truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever”
Native American Proverb
Excerpt from the Trico Charitable Foundation’s Introduction to the case studies:
Established in 2008, the Trico Charitable Foundation seeks to close gaps in society by provoking innovation and building capacity in social entrepreneurship[1].
Trico’s biennial Social EnterPrize has celebrated and advanced leadership and excellence in social entrepreneurship in Canada since 2011. While the benefits to the recipients of prize money and profile are substantial, they pale in comparison to the power of the recipients’ stories, when told well, to enlighten, inspire, and galvanize a world desperately in need of solutions to its social problems.
The subjects and the authors of all of the studies are as follows[2] :
| Social Enterprise | Post-Secondary Institution |
Target Release Date |
| The Cleaning Solution | UBC Sauder Centre for Social Innovation & Impact Investing, The University of British Columbia. | November 01, 2017 |
| Women in Need Society (WINS) | Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary; Institute for Community Prosperity, Bissett School of Business, Mount Royal University; and Professional and Continuing Studies, Chiu School of Business, Bow Valley College | September 13, 2017 |
| Groupe Convex | Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto | July 12, 2017 |
| Mission Possible | Okanagan School of Business, Okanagan College | May 10, 2017 |
| Potluck Café Society | RADIUS (Radical Ideas, Useful to Society), Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University | March 08, 2017 |
| JUMP Math | QSB Centre for Social Impact, Queen’s School of Business | May 20, 2015 |
| EMBERS Staffing Solutions | Sauder Centre for Social Innovation & Impact Investing, Sauder School of Business, The University of British Columbia | May 06, 2015 |
| TurnAround Couriers | Diversity Institute, Ted Rogers School of Management, Ryerson University | April 22, 2015 |
| YWCA Metro Vancouver Hotel/Residence | Okanagan School of Business, Okanagan College | April 08, 2015 |
[1] Social enterprises are organizations, for-profit or not-for-profit, that blend the social and the entrepreneurial by using business models/markets to solve social problems. Trico sees “social entrepreneur” as the person, “social enterprise” as the organization, and “social entrepreneurship” as the activity.
[2] The previously released case studies can be found at: https://tricofoundation.ca/social-enterprize/