CCEDNet Webinars Available OnlineNew webinars on the latest social economy research and microfinance are now available online. We also have sessions on social impact bonds, the versatility of coops, community resilience, financial management for  sustainability, and the Canada Revenue Agency's new guidelines for Charitable Status and CED, among others. Check out our Webinars page for more information on all the sessions. CCEDNet also partnered with the Community Social Planning Council of Greater Victoria for a webinar series they recently offered on youth social entrepreneurship. The three webinars explore how young people and youth-serving organizations are using social enterprise to create sustainable livelihoods. 
Growing Social Enterprise in the North On May 1st, ‘Making the money, getting the tools, creating the linkages for social enterprises in northern Ontario' was the theme of a seri es of workshops hosted by long-time members of CCEDNet, the PARO Centre for Women’s Enterprise and the Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN). Paul Chamberlain from CCEDNet and Mary Ferguson from Eko Nomos kept the energy going in the morning with community members who came from the Thunder Bay region.
As part of LIAISOn and the Rural Social Enterprise Constellation Projects (RSEC), Paul and Mary presented Social Enterprise 101 and had the group break off to complete a mapping exercise on social enterprises in their communities. Participants also learned about NORDIK and AFNOO as well as True North Community Co-operative, La Maison Verte, and Team Werks, just a few of the over 50 social enterprises identified by individuals attending the one-day conference.
“It was great to see the commitment and enthusiasm around social enterprises in northern communities,” Paul commented. “People are eager to learn from each other to develop new businesses and to grow their existing enterprises.”
The following day Mary and Paul facilitated a Northern Ontario Investor’s Luncheon, also hosted by PARO and ONN. As participants mapped the different ways they connect to each other around social enterprise, the complex web of mutually supportive relationships that exist across northern communities was revealed. Joanna Rey nolds, of MaRS Centre for Impact Investing, and Anne Jamieson of the Toronto Enterprise Fund also presented on their work. In looking to the future, organizations were keen to explore social enterprise opportunities, to learn more about social finance tools, and to increase their connections for networking and prospective collaboration.
2012 Social Enterprise Survey for Ontario - UpdatedThe first survey of its kind in Ontario, the report of the 2012 Social Enterprise Survey for Ontario will be presented in a webinar on June 26, 2013 - watch for the upcoming bulletin! The launch of the full report will take place as part of the Ontario Nonprofit Network's conference from September 19 - 20, 2013. The report creates a profile of the size, scope, and socioeconomic impact of nonprofit social enterprise in Ontario during 2011. Some key findings from the 363 enterprises that completed the survey include:  Social enterprises are well established and on the rise- over 50% operating for over 10 years
- almost 20% operating less than 3 years
Social enterprises are tackling poverty - over 68% of social enterprises have a poverty reduction focus
Social enterprises create employment- Respondents employed 5,355 individuals of which 2,930 were full-time equivalents (FTEs). Each FTE was paid an average of $47,680
Social enterprises foster volunteerism - engaged at least 17,700 volunteers, averaging 57 per organization
Sign up to receive CCEDNet Ontario’s bulletins and newsletters and you’ll receive the link. THANK YOU to everyone who made this report possible – your passion and commitment to social enterprise is evident and will create more opportunities for our communities to grow in positive directions.
Discussing Ontario's Social Enterprise Ecosystem - UpdatedThe Mowat Centre at the School of Public Policy and Governance at the University of Toronto has just completed a consultation with the social enterprise sector in Ontario to determine the sector’s key priorities and how the provincial government can be a stronger partner in supporting the sector’s growth and resilience. To frame the first two discussions about opportunities for social enterprises in Ontario today, CCEDNet-Ontario presented some of the key findings from the 2012 Social Enterprise Survey for Ontario - the first survey of its kind in Ontario. The survey report, set to be released in June 2013, creates a profile of the size, scope, and socioeconomic impact of nonprofit social enterprise in Ontario during 2011. To receive the full report, sign up to get CCEDNet - Ontario’s bulletins and newsletters.  The consultation framed the discussion using the Pillars of Social Enterprise, the policy framework developed through the Social Enterprise Council of Canada (SECC): enhancing business skills, expanding markets, raising awareness and demonstrating impact, increasing access to capital, facilitating networks, and ensuring enabling legislation. The consultations provided participants, who included many of our Ontario Social Economy Roundtable (OSER) partners, the opportunity to highlight a number of priorities for social enterprise development in the province. The results of the process will be developed into a Mowat NFP Sector Signal that will be released in June, 2013.
CreateAction Ontario InternsBienvenue and welcome to the CreateAction Interns of Ontario! CreateAction is a work experience program which provides post-graduate youth with work experience in community economic development (CED) and the social economy across Canada. Interns are being hosted by CCEDNet partners who will be challenging them to learn more about this sector. Find out more about them below: When asked to describe community economic development in one word the interns said: strong, sustainability, connections, partnership, employability, opportunity, genial, resilience, reinvent, interesting, and inhabitants. If you go by any of these social enterprises make sure to say hi!
Setting an Irreversible Direction: Community Benefit Agreements & Social Procurement Change Toronto brought together three dynamic speakers on May 23rd to share their experiences in developing community benefit agreements (CBAs) from a community, government, and international perspective. CBAs are a way of integrating social benefits into procurement processes and development agreements. Change Toronto will be hosting more events about the future of Toronto and efforts that can be made now to address social challenges, click here to find out about the next opportunity. 
On the same day, a member of CCEDNet - Social Enterprise Toronto (SET) invited Gerry Higgins, Community Enterprise in Scotland (CEiS), to present on key strategies for the social enterprise sector from a global perspective. Gerry assisted the Department of Trade and Industry to create the first Social Enterprise Strategy for the UK in 2001 and was a founding director of the UK Social Enterprise Coalition (Social Enterprise UK). Setting the stage for the development of social enterprise in Scotland alone has led to the creation of 509 social enterprises in 2012. All attendees were encouraged to think of at least two action items to move this sector forward – what will yours be? Bring them to the Calgary Social Enterprise World Forum where CCEDNet is looking forward to building on the important dialogue that resulted from the events on May 23rd and re-connecting with Gerry Higgins, host of the inaugural Social Enterprise World Forum in 2008.
Thank you to Out of This World Café for providing the tasty treats that helped keep ideas and questions flowing late into the afternoon.
Practical Tools for Social Innovation Innoweave helps community organizations learn about, assess, and implement new tools and approaches that can help non-profits and charities generate greater impact, more quickly, and at less cost.  Full applications for the first wave of Innoweave Implementation Grants are due on July 2, 2013. These grants will help organizations access coaching to implement cloud computing, developmental evaluation, social enterprise, and social finance tools and approaches in their organizations. To find out which of the three application streams is for you, click here.
June is Bike MonthDon’t have your own bike but want to get rolling? Find a Bixi bike near you. The first 30 minutes are free! Fun fact: all Bixi bikes are repaired by the Learning Enrichment Foundation. Need to repair your bike? Visit New Hope Community Bikes where getting your bike fixed provides employment and job training opportunities for youth. Need to buy a bike? Walk, run, or bus over to Cycle Salvation who is under the umbrella of Causeway Work Centre and ride away on a bike that you know provided a training opportunity in mechanics for people who are economically disadvantaged.  Want to leave the city riding behind and go on a cross-Canada adventure? Leave in July, August or September with the Otesha Project. This national youth-led charitable organization uses experiential learning, theatre, and bicycle tours to engage and empower Canadians of all ages to take action for a more equitable and sustainable world. Have too many bikes? Donate your bike to Charlie Freewheels – they provide training in basic bicycle maintenance for youth in the Regent / Moss Park community of Toronto. Want to makes sure your package is couriered and has a social impact? TurnAround Couriers has been hiring and training at-risk youth since 2002. In Toronto all packages are delivered by bicycle. As Albert Einstein said, ‘Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.’ Wherever you are, let’s all get out and ride more this month!
Feast Your EyesIt is time to feast your eyes on the good food ideas developing across Ontario. The Local Organic Food Co-ops (LOFC) network celebrates the launch of 3 delightful films about the importance of the co-operative model for food system transformation  in Ontario and beyond! Featuring 13 of the LOFC’s partners, the films detail the role of co-ops in the Ontario food system, the power of the Network to support the work of neighbourhoods and communities through co-operatives, and the transformative possibilities co-operative enterprises engender. All of this is thanks to Powerline Films who has been traveling across Ontario gathering stories of people and places that are transforming the future of food. Created in partnership with Sustain Ontario and more than a dozen partners, there is a series of videos that shine light on good food ideas from many regions of Ontario; from forest foods foraging to food charter development.
Provincial Budget 2013If you haven’t seen it already, it’s time to check out the $127.6 billion Ontario Budget. CCEDNet’s partner, Ontario Nonprofit  Network provides a good overview of the budget. Overall the budget seems to strive for inclusion and balance in the context of a minority government. While last year’s budget was a move towards restraint, this year, we see a slight but important shift towards investment for growth. There is recognition that “Ontario’s strength is its people,” a statement reinforced by some investment in municipalities, small businesses, and community health. With a nod to the nonprofit sector, there are a number of initiatives that could open doors to stronger government-nonprofit partnerships. However, the nonprofit sector’s role as a solutions builder remains largely untapped.
Ontario Catapult Microloan Fund ProvincialThe Ontario government is launching the country's first microloan fund to help social enterprises. Th  e province has partnered with the Centre for Social Innovation, TD Bank Group, Microsoft Canada, CCEDNet members Alterna Savings and Social Capital Partners along with KPMG to launch the Ontario Catapult Microloan Fund. Under the fund, social enterprises that help solve a social, environmental, cultural or economic problem, such as youth unemployment, may qualify for a loan of $5,000 to $25,000 and support services like mentorship.
National CED NewsTaking Community Economic Development Mainstream Members and supporters of the Canadian CED Network are well aware of the economic and social benefits of CED. But what would it take to bring these ideas into the mainstream? After studying this question for a year, Localise West Midlands has come up with some answers. Using CCEDNet's definition of CED as a starting point, their research report provides directions for how CED can be integrated into local economies to help create more successful, socially just and diverse places. The report also includes a literature review on the benefits of localised economies, which finds that CED-led communities out-perform communities with centralized economies on several indicators including job creation, social inclusion, and income distribution.
CED Tool: Grant Connect Imagine Canada has recently launched a new tool, Grant Connect, which is an innovative and comprehensive funder database providing detailed searchable information on thousands of funding opportunities for Canadian charities, as well as easy to use donor management tools. Imagine Canada is now inviting non-profits across the country to take part in a free trial of this new service, as well as informational webinars. This proprietary grading system analyzes the capacity of each listed funder as well as their connection to your non-profit's cause. Through Grant Connect, you'll instantly know who your best funding prospects are without having to do hours of research.
A Milestone Year in Co-ops Helping Co-ops
It was a milestone year for the Co-operative Tax Credit Fund in Manitoba. By the end of 2012, over $100,000 had been contributed by Manitoba co-operatives to the Fund, which supports the development of new and growing co-ops across the province through small grants and technical support. The value of contributions made by Manitoba co-ops has grown every year since the Fund was introduced in 2010. Learn more about the Tax Credit by reading our member-adopted policy resolution relating to the fund ( here), or follow the link below.
CED Book Club - Youth Homelessness in Canada  Youth Homelessness in Canada: Implications for Policy and Practice aims to fill a gap in the information available on homelessness by providing an accessible collection of the best Canadian research and policy analysis in the field. In this book, leading Canadian scholars present key findings from their research on youth homelessness. In an effort to make this research accessible as well as relevant to decision-makers and practitioners, contributing authors have been asked to address the 'so whatness' of their research; to make clear the policy and practice implications of their research so as to better inform the efforts of those working to address youth homelessness.
A Little Bird Told Us: Top Tweets of the Month Here are some of our most popular tweets from the last 30 days. Don't already follow us on Twitter? Click here- Top 10 Ingredients of a Local Economy: And The Pioneers That are Leading the Way http://bit.ly/14BwsOo @bealocalist #neweconomy
- From #Housing to #HealthCare, 7 Co-ops That Are Changing Our Economy: #Coop stories from diverse sectors http://ow.ly/kmIJ1 @yesmagazine
- Canada should take the lead in encouraging social enterprise http://ow.ly/kmHCl #socent
- New research highlights role of #coop's in strengthening environmental health of local economies http://ow.ly/kUKeH #food
- Social enterprises need a new 'ecosystem' of support, according to a sector expert http://ow.ly/kmIay #socent
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