About enp

Enterprising Non-Profits, enp, is a unique collaborative program  that promotes and supports social enterprise development and growth as a means to build strong non-profit organizations and healthier communities. The four objectives of the enp BC program are to: 

Enhance Enterprise Skills

Blending business operations with social outcomes in social enterprises requires a particular set of governance and management skills not common in the traditional separation of for-profit business skills and non-profit service skills. This emerging business model presents a challenge to the non-profit sector as it ventures into the business arena and to experienced business managers as they integrate social values in everyday operations. This gap in skills and experience requires the creation and funding for the appropriate and on-going learning opportunities for individuals and organizations along the entire social enterprise development path, from early learning through business planning and into operations.

Adding social enterprise to at all levels of the educational sector curriculum in both social and business studies will enhance the future strength of the social enterprise management and governance skills. 

Ensure Access to Capital and Investment

All businesses require access to financial capital; especially investment and patient capital at start up and points of growth in the business.

Social enterprises, by the nature of their predominantly non-share incorporation, have limited options beyond traditional grant models and straight forward loan arrangements. Grant income is not sustainable in the long term and loans are a cash flow problem and often an expensive avenue to raise capital at a start-up or growth stage.

New forms of patient, investment-like, capital pools have to be developed, investor tax credits for social enterprise are needed and innovative share-based social enterprise incorporation models are required. 

 Expand Market Opportunities

Every purchase has a ripple effect and multiplier impacts, whether unintentional or intentional. Intentional purchasing can insure the greatest impact opportunities for social enterprise.

The procurement policies and the purchasing practices of the three levels of government, NPO's and the private sector need to maximize their buying from social enterprises. This requires marketing schemes, purchaser and supplier matching, and appropriate incentives to encourage participation in a changing supply chain management model. The options to practice social purchasing include targeted purchases, unbundling, and supportive RFP criteria. (www.sepurchasing.ca) 

Build  Healthy Communities

A healthy community is a complex integration of multiple capitals and assets. Healthy communities aren’t just about economic capital, they also have cultural capital, environmental capital, social capital; they are inclusive and provide opportunities for all the members of the community. We all care about building healthy communities.

While the private sector and government are two legs of the healthy community model, the non-profit  sector is the 3rd leg of that stool. Supporting social enterprise supports the non-profit sector to be successful and sustainable.

Social enterprise is another way, a means, to create social value. Social enterprise is a verb that is defined and measured in how it contributes to building healthy communities.