Social Enterprise Development Grants

Applying for an enp-BC Grant?

• Please review eligibility criteria and guidelines before applying (see below).
• The next application deadline will be May 23, 2013
• enp Grant Application Form (Fill in the blank WORD format)
• View our most recent grant recipients or highlights from the past 15 years.

Applications may be delivered in hard copy or soft copy by 4pm, directly to: 

Kim Buksa, Program Coordinator
Enterprising Non-Profits Program
810 - 815 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 1B4
kim@enterprisingnonprofits.ca
fax 604-709-6909 tel 604-871-5421

Social Enterprise Development Grants

The enp-BC program provides matching grants of up to $10,000 to between 50 and 75 organizations annually. Grants may be used to pay for professional fees for technical assistance and/or staff costs and resources related to the planning or organizational development activity.

An enp grant may NOT be used for operations, overhead, or implementation. Nor may an enp grant be used retroactively. 

Activities Funded

The enp program funds planning and/or research activities along the entire development path from opportunity identification and organizational readiness activities ($2500 - $5000) to feasibility studies, marketing plans or business plans (up to $10,000):

Sample activities:

Organizational Readiness

Business Development

Eligibility

To be eligible for enp funding, an organization must:

• be a Provincially or Federally incorporated non-profit organization.
• be a qualified donee under CRA regulations: native band, municipality, or registered charity (if not you will need to have a charitable sponsor).
• have its base, activities, and benefits in British Columbia. The organization must have an office in BC and the program & its benefits must be in BC. 
• attend a Building Your Social Enterprise workshop.
• have the organizational capacity (budget & staff) to meet the grant objectives.
• commit matching funds in cash or in-kind.*

*The enp program accepts matching funds in cash or in-kind. Matching funds must be directly related to the project for which you are applying. In-kind amounts must be related directly to the costs of business planning and organizational development (not operating expenses). If staff time is considered to be in-kind, the application must demonstrate that the staff person will have designated time to conduct planning work (not just off side of desk).

Application Criteria

During the application review process, the enp funding committee will assess:

• whether the basic elibility criteria have been met.
• the potential impact of the business idea and/or social enterprise concept.
• the applicant's need and potential use of a market, feasibility study, and/or business plan.
• the organizational and financial capacity.

Application Process

To apply for funding, organizations are required to attend a one-day orientation session. Organizations may apply for funding directly following the orientation sessions or are eligible to submit grant applications in subsequent funding cycles. The enp program accepts grant applications two times per year, in spring and fall. The proposal review process takes approximately 6-8 weeks.

Grant Decisions

A letter is sent out to all applicants following the Funders' meeting informing them of the status of their applications. Unsuccessful applicants may apply again in future rounds.

Successful applicants are notified by a letter of offer followed by a cheque for the grant amount. In some cases, a partial grant of the amount requested will be approved. Some applicants will be provided with a technical assistance coach if required. All successful grant applicants must submit a completion report once their grant activities are completed. Each grant is listed on our website.