Since its inception in 2000, the Toronto Enterprise Fund has invested in research and evaluation to document and support the dissemination of learning and best practices on social purpose enterprises working with the homeless and very low-income people. On this site, you can develop your understanding of social purpose enterprises and their value in helping homeless and low-income people develop livelihoods. You can access links to other sources of information, and you can download and review research and learning papers and case studies of the enterprises developed and supported by the Toronto Enterprise Fund. These papers are the result of research on the impact of these enterprises on homeless and low-income people; the challenges of enterprise development for community agencies, and effective practices for social entrepreneurs. The reports include the following sections:
- Introduction;
- What is a Social Purpose Enterprise;
- Why the Rising Interest in Social Purpose Enterprise;
- Learning and Evaluation Process;
- Living with Poverty and Homelessness;
- A Profile of Participants;
- Stages of Livelihood Development through Social Purpose Enterprise;
- Effective Practice in Building Livelihoods;
- A Strategy to Promote Economic Participation;
- Participant Outcomes;
- Different Approaches to Social Purpose Enterprise;
- Employee Ownership & Participation in Decision-Making;
- Staffing, Management & Leadership;
- Stages of Social Purpose Enterprise Development;
- Business Planning in Developmental Social Purpose Enterprise;
- Reflections on Self-Employment Programming;
- Building a Business Culture;
- Assessing Viability;
- Organizational Approaches to Building Social Purpose Enterprises;
- Building Board Leadership.
- Decision Making and the Role of the Parent Organization.
For other reports from the Toronto Enterprise Fund, consult the website below.
