Inside Social Enterprise in B.C.

Charles Campbell

| October 8, 2010

Image by: Nik West

Open Doors: Helen Hill (front) has lived a hard life made harder by alcohol. But working at Potluck Catering Society, the non-profit run by Heather O'Hara (standing), she says she's finally found a place where she belongs

B.C. is a leader in righting social wrongs through charitable  business ventures. But as social enterprise emerges as a global trend and non-profits increasingly compete with traditional companies, what’s fair? Do they need special tax advantages?  In theory and practice, what does social enterprise really mean? 

It does not feel like a dragon’s den.  

Outside the Vancity Theatre in the April evening sunshine, stilt walkers in Elizabethan costumes gently cajole the smartly casual arrivals. Inside, the lobby teems with proud, happy people, some of whom have overcome real adversity. Tables promote clean energy and aboriginal winemaking and woodworking by women. Prosciutto-wrapped asparagus and other fine noshes are elegantly served by Potluck Café & Catering, a company that makes it its mission to hire people who’ve suffered from poverty, mental illness, addiction and sometimes all three.

When the members of Vancouver’s new aristocracy – the people who helped turn organic juice king Gregor Robertson into His Worship, Mayor of Vancouver – have finished the requisite networking, they take their seats in the theatre for the Social Enterprise Dragons event. Four “dragons,” including Vancity CEO Tamara Vrooman and BC Social Venture Partners co-founder Jim Fletcher, will consider pitches from three organizations with a social mission: the Pivot Legal Society, Mission Possible Addiction Rehabilitation Society and the Public Dreams Society. There’s $15,000 on the table for the winner. It’s reality TV for the social-justice set, and it’s damn peculiar.  

The MC, Pam Chaloult, the chief operating officer of Joel Solomon and Carol Newell’s Renewal Partners Co., welcomes everyone to traditional Coast Salish territory. “They are the original social entrepreneurs in this area,” she declares.  

Well, yes, and they were the region’s first slave traders too. Pretensions and contradictions abound. There’s wealth and need. There’s distrust of business’s agenda and faith in its power to help those it has left behind. There are social-policy theoreticians, and there may even be a person or two serving canapés who would give them a sideways glance and think, “What do you know?” 

Once the presentations begin, it’s clear the dragons don’t have much fire. The Pivot Legal Society wants the money for strategic planning and to better brand the low-cost legal services offered by the social-enterprise law firm the society founded; it hopes the firm can provide expertise and ultimately a steady source of business income to assist its anti-poverty advocacy work. Mission Possible wants to improve the marketing of its maintenance and cleaning business, which is staffed by people with “multiple barriers to employment.” Public Dreams wants to improve awareness of its contract event-consulting and -production work, an offshoot of its signature free community-based arts events, such as the annual Illuminares lantern festival. 

In between declarations of love and affection come gentle offers of advice about mission creep and legal structure. One dragon says, “I’ve had some mentors who’ve helped me to understand that money can really help you out.” 

However, when Public Dreams finishes the last presentation, dragon Alanna Hendren, executive director of the Developmental Disabilities Association, finally remembers she’s supposed to blow a little hot air. “What’s the difference between what you do and what Rogers does when they put on a Christmas parade?” she asks. “One difference is that Rogers pays taxes.”  

Public Dreams’ Samantha Jo Simmonds looks completely deflated. Not everyone is quick to see community-based art making as a valuable social good. 

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Thanks for the interesting

Submitted by GYurkovich (not verified) on Thu, 2010-10-14 13:39.

Thanks for the interesting article on Social Enterprise in BC. I also wanted to thank you for mentioning our organization, BC Social Venture Partners, and hinting at the work we do. BC SVP has funded many social enterprises over the years, including very early stage funding form most of the organizations in your article. Potluck Cafe, United We Can, Atira, Starworks, and Embers were all given early stage funding and business mentoring by BCSVP and our partners. BC SVP is a network of like minded business people who believe in Venture Philanthropy which includes donating our money as a team, and helping early not-for-profits with the business mentoring skills of our member partners. Great to see an article on social enterprise in a mainstream business publication that our partners read. Gary Yurkovich Partner BC Social Venture Partners www.bctsvp.com

Thanks for this piece on the

Submitted by mrowlands (not verified) on Mon, 2010-10-11 09:17.

Thanks for this piece on the emerging social enterprise sector in Vancouver. You seem to bring a healthy skepticism to the topic, but you also seem to be a supporter, at the end of the day. With tales like Ken's and Helen's, it's hard to deny the potential and opportunity for organizations that are growing every day out of challenged communities and groups. I and my firm are fortunate to be involved with social enterprise, both here in Vancouver and through our office in London, UK. Our experience certainly reinforces your contention that enterprises like Potluck and United We can are exceptional global examples of urban social enterprise. As we work to lift the sector's capacity and esteem, though, it's imperative that we engage supporters from outside the non-profit sector—bringing the perspectives of traditional business, and the support of academic theoreticians to bear on these distinct and compelling community challenges. The Social Enterprise Dragons event is a helpful initiative in this regard: The audience learns as much as the presenters, and by reaching beyond the "new aristocracy" (as you perhaps cynically put it?), we hope to bring new attention and more support to social enterprise. Coverage in the business press—like this article—certainly help to introduce the potential of social enterprise to community members and leaders who aren't yet familiar with the incredible work that's happening all around them. Thanks. Mike Rowlands Founder & President, Octopus Strategies Inc. http://www.octopusstrategies.com