Social Enterprise 101
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Learn the foundations of social entrepreneurship and how to make an impact
Vaughan’s residents and businesses have a generous spirit and continue to look for ways to give back to the community. To help foster opportunities to create positive social impact, the City of Vaughan has partnered with the Centre for Social Innovation, York Region, the City of Markham and the City of Richmond Hill to provide virtual programs to support local entrepreneurs and citizens in becoming social innovators.
The first cohort of the York Region Social Enterprise 101 program, is an eight-week, part-time, online program that covers the foundations of social entrepreneurship. The key to developing a social enterprise is a commitment to a social mission that can do good and make a difference in a community. This program will help participants identify problems, develop a solution and turn an idea into a sustainable business or non-profit model that can make a positive impact.
The City is offering this new program for free to a limited number of participants. All Vaughan-based applicants are eligible to apply. The application process is open and will close on Sunday, Jan. 31. The program will run online on Mondays starting Monday, Feb. 22 until Monday, April 19 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. All for-profit businesses started through the program will also be invited to apply for a Starter Company Plus grant to support the startup of Vaughan-based social enterprises.
Since March 2020, the City’s Economic and Cultural Development department has seen a rise in the number of inquiries from local residents, entrepreneurs and business owners who are looking for a way to support, and positively impact, their communities in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic. This program is a timely effort to support and catalyze the recent spike in for-profit and not-for-profit social entrepreneurship in Vaughan.
The continued support of programs like Social Enterprise 101 that offer training to the business community aligns with the City’s Business Resilience Plan, which was presented to the City’s Ready, Resilient and Resourceful Committee on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. The plan focuses on securing Vaughan’s place as the Region’s largest employment centre, enhancing key strategic economic drivers like the city’s downtown commercial zone, manufacturing and logistics, the health and tourism industries, and leveraging public spaces by supporting community events and the arts.
All program information and the application are available at vaughanbusiness.ca/SocialEnterprise101.
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