CED News

Directory of Resources for Aboriginal Social Entrepreneurs

CCEDNet Members Promote Social Procurement at the WTO

CCEDNet members Sandra Hamilton and David LePage are in Geneva last week as key presenters in a World Trade Organization (WTO) Symposium on Sustainable Procurement.

• What is sustainable procurement and what are its main objectives?
• What are the key practices of sustainable procurement and how can sustainability be incorporated into the different stages of procurement?
• How are sustainability measures in procurement processes practiced in a manner consistent with both the principle of "best-value for money" and international trade obligations?

#EconoUS2017 Updates

Thank you to the many people who submitted amazing workshop proposals for EconoUs2017 coming up in Calgary, September 13-15.  The program will be finalized in the coming weeks.  Save the date to attend, and watch for registration to open in April!

Applications Open for the $100,000 Social EnterPrize

Created by the Trico Charitable Foundation in 2011, the biennial Social EnterPrize celebrate and advance leadership and excellence in social entrepreneurship in Canada. 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.

• NEW: $100,000 prize money for each recipient;
• A video profile; and
• An in-depth profile in a case-study undertaken by a Canadian post-secondary institution.

Canadian Women’s Foundation Economic Development Grants

The Canadian Women’s Foundation is accepting proposals for multi-year Economic Development grants (2017-2022).

Organizations can apply for one of the following types of grants:

• Self-Employment Training and Business Accelerator Programs
• Women’s Social Enterprises
• Women in Trades & Technology Programs

Federal Consultations to Develop a Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy

In order to support the development of a Canadian Poverty Reduction Strategy, the Government of Canada is launching a consultation process to ensure that the diverse needs of Canadians and the different types of approaches used to reduce poverty across the country are considered.

All Canadians are invited to participate in the online consultation that will run from February until June 2017.

CED Blogs

How New Brunswick Non-profits are Using Entrepreneurship to Tackle Poverty

Blog by Cherise Letson

Poverty is one of Saint John’s biggest issues and there’s no shortage of organizations and causes trying to solve it.

But some organizations are taking a different, entrepreneurial approach to the problem, and the Saint John Community Loan Fund is helping lead the way.

The Saint John Community Loan Fund got its start in 1999 as a microloan-lending program where people in the community were invited to lend money. The money was then pooled and loaned to others in the community to start businesses, get back to work or to move into better housing.

Do you have an interesting idea for a blog post? We're interested in publishing relevant CED lessons and successes. Contact us today!

CED Resources

Launching A Green Economy for Brown People

Ojibwe prophecies speak of a time during the seventh fire when our people will have a choice between two paths. The first path is well-worn and scorched. The second path is new and green. It is our choice as communities and as individuals how we will proceed.

The economy of the future is the green economy. The rising price of fossil fuels will create a mandate for efficiency and the challenge of addressing climate change will require a reduction in carbon emissions from power generation, transportation and agricultural sources. With lack of action by the federal government on climate change, many cities, states and a number of tribal communities nationally have adopted policies to limit and reduce their carbon emissions.

Social Innovation Toolkit

A new toolkit has been launched to help foster social innovation across Windsor-Essex.

This first-of-its-kind toolkit will provide information for non-profits and entrepreneurs wanting to create innovative new products, services or approaches that address social challenges.

The comprehensive toolkit includes:

• Learn how to be a Social Entrepreneur
• Social Enterprises - what they are, and how they operate.
• Social Entrepreneurs - a person who uses a business model to solve social problems.
• Social Innovation - building a better world, one idea at a time.
• Social Business Model Canvas
• Starting & Growing a Social Enterprise
• Grants & Financing 

CED Videos

Going Local: the solution-multiplier

A short introduction to localization. Learn more at https://www.localfutures.org/.