Consulting and support for social enterprise in Canada

Tag: SECC

Social Enterprise: A tonic for your pessimism

There is a new, heartening trend out there.

Optimism.

Each day, we read (or hear second-hand) news that brings us tales of human injustices like murder, poverty, gender violence, and child abuse. This sad knowledge forms a foundation for the tide of details about accidents like plane crashes, natural disasters and floods. We are saddled with grief if we are feeling people, and we are labelled as ignorant if we ignore the obvious.

The problem is the optimists. They are actually disproving the commonly held assertion that life is getting worse. The book Factfulness, by the late Hans Rosling and published by his family just this year, was my first introduction to rabidly optimistic views. And today I read “Are things getting better or worse,” an upsetting article written by Joshua Rothman in the New Yorker; it is upsetting in that it upsets the common beliefs of our collective pessimism. Rothman quotes content from scholars and experts around the world that further inform us that by virtually any standard, life is getting better for everyone on the planet. Life expectancy, murder, disease, abuse, addiction…you name it: the statistics in both the wealthy and the less wealthy parts of the world are staggeringly good.

We are easily swayed by bad news. And increasingly we don’t hear the good news. But good news is all around us.

Social enterprise is good news. It is not flawless, nor is it easy, but it is a positive tool about which we can all be optimistic. Imagine: businesses that exist only for the purpose of improving the lives, livelihoods and experiences of our people in our communities.

It is my experience that social enterprise flourishes when social problems feel overwhelming. There are spectacular examples of social enterprise addressing the needs of communities in the North End of Winnipeg, the Downtown East Side in Vancouver, the impoverished areas of Nova Scotia, and many of the aspiring First Nation communities scattered across the country.

I encourage you to visit the links page at the Social Enterprise Council of Canada, or visit Buy Social Canada, Social Enterprise Ontario, or the nascent Akcelos to see listings of social enterprises active in the market. Or read the many well researched reports that celebrate the impact of social enterprises at the Social Enterprise Sector Survey.

Celebrate the optimism.

Support social enterprises across the country as a customer. Learn about how social enterprises are changing the status quo for the better. Believe that even when there are challenges, there are innovative human solutions hard at work.

Join the Social Enterprise Council of Canada

As of April 2015, the Social Enterprise Council of Canada (SECC) has opened up its membership to social enterprises and any and all who support social enterprise across the country.  By working together, we all have a greater voice to promote change. Become a member now and raise your voice to support the sector.

The SECC is the only national organization that works to promote social enterprise policy and best practice. Based upon the following six pillars required to support the sector, the SECC has for almost a decade worked with governments, social enterprise supports, community partners, funders and financiers to help build a positive environment for social enterprise to start and flourish in Canada.  These pillars have been used by public policy makers in BC, Nova Scotia,  Ontario,  Manitoba and in federal government departments.

The Six Pillars:

  1. Enhance Business Skills
  2. Ensure Access To Capital
  3. Create Market Opportunities
  4. Recognize Impact
  5. Provide Supportive Legislation And Regulations
  6. Connect practitioners in a strong national network

Annual memberships are inexpensive, and with greater membership, the Council has greater voice in representing those who are using business tools and earned income to create  more just, sustainable, resilient and robust communities across the country.

Join today at www.secouncil.ca.  Become part of the conversation that will chart the future of social enterprise in Canada.

Members are eligible to stand for and vote for SECC Directors–who are unpaid for their work to build the sector– and all members are invited to participate in the discussion on how best to support  social enterprises in the country.

One of the key public activities of the SECC is to work with a local partner to present a national conference every 18 months to showcase success, share best practices, build capacity and develop policy recommendations. Past conferences have been held in Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, Calgary, and most recently in London (Ontario). The next national conference is planned for the Fall of 2016.

Colour_Full

 

© 2024 social delta

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑