History

 Enterprising Non-Profits (enp) began in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997 with a pilot project lead by Vancity Community Foundation in collaboration with the Vancouver Foundation and the United Way of the Lower Mainland. With additional funding from the McConnell Foundation, the project was designed to help 10 non-profits become more self-sustainable by developing social enterprises. A report summarizing these activities can be found in our resource library.

Enp evolved from a pilot into its own program in 2002. From 2002 – 2005 enp’s primary focus was to provide grants and technical assistance to organizations wishing to start or expand a social enterprises. Enp hosted orientation sessions twice a year to assist organizations in understanding what social enterprise is and why it might be option for them. Organizations attending the workshops were then eligible to apply for funding.

In 2006 we broadened our reach. We began hosting orientation sessions in all areas of the Province.  We launched the Enterprising Non-Profits website where we began compiling resources and tools to assist social enterprises in Canada. In the same year we published the Canadian Social Enterprise Guide – the first publication of its kind to focus on social enterprise in a Canadian context.

From 2007 to present, our core activities and objectives have continued. We now host over 20 “Building your Social Enterprise” workshops a year and have traveled far and wide across BC to deliver them. We continue to provide grants to organizations for social enterprise development. Our provision of resources and information has grown – the website is continuously evolving and now contains several toolkits, a curated resource library, and a podcast series. We produce an e-newsletter delivered to regularly to over 4000 subscribers across Canada. Our Canadian Social Enterprise Guide has been revised and a 2^nd edition is available for free to non-profit organizations. And we continue to support the sector through policy initiatives, learning events, and participation in national conferences and conversations.   

Our funders have evolved and changed through out the years. Funders of the enp program  have included:

Learn more about: 

• Our current funders
• enp's highlights from 2006 - 2011
• Previous grant recipients