Catalyzing Change:Canada's Social Entrepreneurs

Today, our most important work appears to be addressing the broken systems hindering our ability to advance social, environmental, and economic well-being. How can we empower the social innovators and entrepreneurs among us to effectively address systemic issues and drive positive change in our communities and beyond?

Catalyst Now, formerly Catalyst 2030, is an impressive global network of 5500+ members representing 146 countries. Canada is one of them, actively supporting social innovation and entrepreneurs who share a deep sense of urgency and a passion for addressing today's missing and complex local and global issues and opportunities. The UN has articulated these as the 17 Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs.

For many Canada Chapter members, it has also been about connecting with other social innovators and entrepreneurs and finding a place that feels like home.

What's an Entrepreneur?

Social innovators/entrepreneurs are generally distinguished from traditional social service providers or social activists by an entrepreneurial approach to creating new solutions.

Unlike conventional entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs focus on more than profits. Instead, they are typically driven by a desire to make positive, sustainable social change that benefits the public good. They do this by applying entrepreneurial principles and strategies.

Recently, Brenda Herchmer and Tam Nguyen, co-chairs of the Canada Chapter of Catalyst, and Marc-André Belisle, chair of the evolving chapiter Québécois, met to clarify specific actions related to strategies for the upcoming year. It soon became apparent that more information would be needed for the Chapter to ensure informed decision-making and increase the impact of individual members and the collective impact. Recognition of the need for deeper insights into social innovators and opportunities resulted in a member survey followed by in-depth discussions.

The survey was designed to identify the gaps and strengths within the current social purpose ecosystem critical for driving transformative social innovation, fostering entrepreneurship, and tackling complex issues and opportunities.

Key Learnings

? Organization size:

Every respondent identified their organization as small, with five or fewer employees. This was viewed as both an advantage (agility) and a disadvantage (funding and credibility).

? Organizational diversity:

Member organizations include registered charities, not-for-profits, hybrid social enterprises, and businesses with a primary social purpose. All can be described as Social Purpose Organizations (SPOs).

? SDG focus:

SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals) emerged as the top priority among members, highlighting the importance of collaboration for successfully addressing complex challenges, e.g. poverty, hunger, health, education, climate action, etc.

? Growth stage:

50% of members reported being in the growth phase and, in some cases, stalled there, having moved beyond pre-launch and startup stages.

? Barriers to Growth:

o Securing funding or social finance

o Capacity for scaling and growth

o Stakeholder engagement and partnership support across sectors.

? Partnership challenges:

Members cited:

o lack of support for addressing complex issues

o limited systems thinking

o reluctance among existing organizations to share power

o funding preferences for larger established entities over smaller or newer social innovators.

? Support needs:

Members expressed interest in:

o cross-sector collaboration opportunities

o increased access to tailored funding

o knowledge-sharing platforms.

? Capacity building:

Online learning platforms, industry networks, and local incubators were most frequently mentioned for strengthening organizational capacity. However, the most effective source of support was identified as being peer support and collaborations with other social enterprises. The least effective were identified as being government-funded initiatives and programs.

? Beneficial partnerships:

Cross-sector, multiple-scale strategic alliances with defined purposes and values were identified as most beneficial.

Members of the Canada Chapter of Catalyst are currently vetting and prioritizing action steps. It's not It'sly to take much time because small, agile social entrepreneurs are passionate and driven about their work and quick to develop creative solutions. Stay tuned.

Full survey results are available <a href="https:// "rive.google.com/file/d/1QHn7V2KnBc5cokyzxTs-FEekXZEHBjRB/view?usp=sharing">at this"link</a>. </a>