Canadian Youth Business Foundation and Trico Charitable Foundation partner to champion social purpose business in Canada

TORONTO, ON (November 27, 2012) – The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) and Trico Charitable Foundation have joined forces to educate, support and inspire young entrepreneurs, ages 18—39, to launch businesses that are both profitable and socially-minded. The ongoing partnership between CYBF and Trico Charitable Foundation, now in its second year, demonstrates a shared commitment to propel social entrepreneurship and social purpose businesses forward in Canada.

Whether addressing any of a range of global or local issues, from affordable housing, sustainable agriculture and green energy projects, to poverty reduction, job creation and micro-finance initiatives, social purpose businesses also make good business sense, creating a blended value of financial and social return on investment. Consumers are increasingly looking to support social purpose businesses. In fact, when quality and price are equal, social good is the most important factor to 53 per cent of consumers making a purchase globally, more than half of the potential market.*

“We want Canadians and aspiring entrepreneurs to know that not only can they create a business that is social in purpose, but they can make a career and life of it, and create economically sustainable businesses that have social purpose at their core.” said Tessa Mintz, CYBF Vice President, Volunteers and Programs.

Featured in CYBF’s newly launched free online Business Resource Centre, the following informative resources are available to educate entrepreneurs and mentors about social purpose business and encourage them to consider starting their own. They have all been made possible thanks to generous funding from the Trico Charitable Foundation, and include:

• A video series, sharing the challenges and successes of social entrepreneurs from across Canada, at cybf.ca/socialpurposevideoseries;
• A fun, informative infographic that explains and demonstrates the value of social purpose business, at cybf.ca/socialpurposeinfographic (can be downloaded or embedded in a website or presentation);
• Resources that help entrepreneurs understand, start, structure and measure the success of social purpose businesses, with additional resources for mentors, in CYBF’s Business Resource Centre at cybf.ca/resources.

“Our continued collaboration with Trico Charitable Foundation will greatly advance social entrepreneurship in Canada,” said Tessa Mintz, CYBF Vice President, Volunteers and Programs.

“Together, we will champion this movement to cultivate the next generation of socially-minded young entrepreneurs through education, awareness, advocacy and start-up financing support.”

“We are delighted to be working with CYBF to support and educate entrepreneurs who are looking to launch social purpose businesses,” said Wayne Chiu, Founder, Trico Homes and Executive Chairman, Trico Charitable Foundation. “We look forward to developing how these innovative businesses evolve and the long-lasting impact they create.”

Further highlighting a strong commitment to encouraging and supporting the next generation of socially minded entrepreneurs, Trico Charitable Foundation recently appointed Dr. Alex Bruton as its first-ever Educator-in-Residence. In this role, Dr. Bruton, who is also an Associate Professor at the Bissett School of Business at Mount Royal University, will work with Trico Charitable Foundation and its network of partners—including CYBF—to support the ongoing development of a vibrant community of organizations creating social and economic value. He will consult one-on-one, provide group learning opportunities, expand the range of tools and technical resources available to social entrepreneurs, and enhance connections with students, educators and researchers interested in the field of social entrepreneurship.

Dr. Alex Bruton recently received the 2012 CYBF Entrepreneur Educator Award in recognition of his significant contribution to Canada’s economic growth and prosperity within the education sector; for his commitment to promoting entrepreneurship among students, faculty and the community; and providing the guidance and resources necessary for future Canadian entrepreneurs to succeed.

For additional information, please visit cybf.ca or tricofoundation.ca.

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* Edelman’s goodpurpose 2012 Executive Summary

About the Canadian Youth Business Foundation – Canada’s Entrepreneur Gateway

The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) is the ‘go to’ place for youth entrepreneurship. As a national organization, we are dedicated to growing Canada’s economy one young entrepreneur at a time. We look at character not collateral, when providing youth, age 18-39, with pre-launch coaching, business resources, start-up financing and mentoring to help them launch and sustain a successful entrepreneurial business. CYBF is the founder of the G20 Young Entrepreneur Summit (G20 YES) and founding member of the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance (G20 YEA). www.cybf.ca.

About The Trico Charitable Foundation

Established in 2008, The Trico Charitable Foundation is dedicated to provoking innovation and building capacity in social entrepreneurship. Our vision is to grow a community of sustainable, entrepreneurial non-profit organizations. For more information please visit tricofoundation.ca.

For more information please contact:

Lesley Wilmot
Director, Marketing and Communications, CYBF
(416) 408-2923, ext. 2203 or 647-680-8165 (cell)
lwilmot@cybf.ca

Brittni Kerluke
Foundation Coordinator, Trico Charitable Foundation
403.228.6756 ext. 3
brittni.kerluke@tricofoundation.ca