Announcing TEF’s 2012 Business Plan Competition

$100,000 in seed funding is available to the winners of the Toronto Enterprise Fund’s 2012 Business Plan Competition for social enterprises that provide transitional or permanent employment for people who are marginalized. A social enterprise is a business owned by a non-profit organization that is directly involved in the production and/or sale of goods and services for the blended purpose of generating income and fulfilling a social, cultural and/or environmental mission.

To apply for a grant, your organization or group must have a comprehensive business plan and enter our 2011 Business Plan Competition! This year, the deadline for the Competition is September 17^th 2012.  You may apply for up to $50,000 in seed funding to start up your social enterprise.  

For more details on eligibility, please visit  How to Apply   If you plan to apply to the competition, please contact us to talk about your application. Call Jerome at (416) 777-1444 ex 661 or email jkisting@uwgt.org

Workshop - An Introduction to Social Enterprise

In an ongoing effort to ensure that prospective applicants fit the criteria for the competition, TEF has introduced a mandatory Introductory Workshop for organisations who intend to participate in this year’s Business Plan Competition. We will host three Introduction to Social Enterprise Workshops in February, April and June 2012.  

Please join us on either one of the following dates for interactive workshops designed to introduce you to the world of social enterprise. Both locations are wheelchair accessible.

1. Wednesday, February 29^th 9:30am to 2:30pm

United Way offices

26 Wellington East, 11^th Floor Board room

            (Enter via United Way reception on the 2^nd floor)

2. Wednesday, April 18^th 9:30am to 2:30pm

United Way offices

26 Wellington East, 2^nd Floor Board room

      (Enter via United Way reception on the 2^nd floor)

3. Friday, June 22^nd 9:30am to 2:30pm

United Way offices

26 Wellington East, 2^nd Floor Board room

            (Enter via United Way reception on the 2^nd floor)

TTC Directions – Take the subway to the King subway station. Walk two short blocks south to Wellington. Walk one block east to 26 Wellington. Take elevator to 2^nd floor.

For organizations and community groups that are interested in social enterprise, this workshop will help you understand the difference between different types of social enterprises and explore the organizational characteristics that lead to successful implementation. We will also do an exercise to brainstorm business ideas that might be a good fit for your organization and explore the extent to which your organisation is ready to start a social enterprise. You will come away from this workshop with information about the development path for social enterprises and the Toronto Enterprise Fund’s Business Plan Competition’s eligibility criteria and application requirements.

We would like to emphasise to organizations that intend to submit business plans to our business plan competition that attendance of these introductory sessions are mandatory.

Join us to find out if social enterprise is right for your organization!