Celebrate high-impact businesses and socially-minded organizations by taking part in Ontario’s second Impact Week, November 4-10, 2024. This event will highlight their essential contribution to the social economy and the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals, while offering a variety of activities throughout the week.
Impact Week is an opportunity to introduce impact businesses and social purpose organizations (SPOs) to the public and decision-makers, to raise awareness of their role and the economic and social value they bring to our communities.
Buy Social Canada defines social enterprises (impact business) as companies thart sell goods and services, integrate a social, cultural or environmental objective into their activity, and reinvest the majority ot their profits in their social mission.
The Canadian government defines SPOs as charities, non-profit organizations, social enterprises, cooperatives and businesses with a social mission.
All play an important role in solving socio-economic and environmental problems, and have a significant impact on the economy. By their very nature, they actively participate in advancing the United Nations’ Agenda 2030, and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We want to celebrate these players and showcase their activities!
In 2015, there were an estimated 10,000 social enterprises in Ontario that generated an average of $1.2 million in revenues, including almost $1 million in sales, and each generated an average of 38 jobs.
According to Buy Social Canada’s study, the most common primary purpose for social enterprise was employment and skills training, at 35%.
It is estimated that there are likely to be more than 20,000 social enterprises operating in Canada.
GreenShield Canada, a health social enterprise, reported an annual revenue of CA $3.9bn in 2022.
Myth: Social enterprises aren’t profitable. Fact: The data shows that just over 70% of all social enterprises surveyed report their financial health to be breaking even, or better.
Social finance is the practice of making investments intended to create social or environmental impact in addition to financial returns. Social finance is a tool that seeks to mobilize private capital for the public good.
Canada’s Social Finance Fund (SFF) is a $755 million initiative that seeks to accelerate the growth of Canada’s social finance market. Wholesalers will invest in existing or emerging social finance intermediaries, such as credit unions, community loan funds, and private equity firms. Social finance intermediaries will then invest in a range of diverse SPOs. Types of investments may include, loans, equity investments, or acting as a guarantor (co-signing a loan agreement).
The legal structures used to establish a social enterprise will vary across regions, cultures and economic systems. The variations are important as the diversity of social enterprise models results in greater global transferability.
In their 2022 study, the British Council and Social Enterprise UK estimate that there are over 11 million social enterprises around the world.
Ontario has 58 000 non-profit organizations that contribute $65 billion to the economy.
According to Statistics Canada, there are 84 000 social purpose organizations (SPO) in Canada that are not registered charities. This statistic only counts incorporated SPOs; the number inclusive of non-incorporated grassroots groups and associations is probably much larger!
The co-operative sector contributed $49.2 billion dollars towards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019, totalling to 2.5% of the Canada’s GDP. Furthermore, the sector also paid $10.4 billion dollars in taxes to the federal government.
Caisse Desjardins Ontario paid out $12.8 million in member and community dividends in June 2021.
Interested in taking part in an activity?
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04November04November04November
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06November
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07November12h00 - 13h00
The State of Women’s Entrepreneurship in Canada: 2024 from a social economy perspective
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08November
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Promote yourself as a social enterprise!
Let us help you make yourself known to as many people as possible by using our form.
A media kit is available, containing a logo you can use in your promotional material, as well as ready-made visuals in various formats.
Find out more about the various awareness-raising activities taking place during the week on this page.
Make your voice heard for the social economy! During Impact Week, we invite you to contact your provincial representatives to demand greater support for the social economy. Together, let's demand alternative business solutions, increased financial resources for social enterprises, and a more favorable regulatory framework.