Last November 21, A Night of Social Enterprise celebrated the winners of the national Social EnterPrize and the What’s Next YYC awards.
Skwachàys Lodge, was selected as the 2019 recipient of the $100,000 Social EnterPrize. Accepting on behalf of Skwachàys Lodge was David Eddy, chief executive officer of the Vancouver Native Housing Society, who shared how his organization was transformed by implementing a social enterprise model. The revenues from the boutique hotel and fair trade Indigenous art gallery support the artist in residence program, providing live/work studios, personal and professional development, support, services and peer mentoring for 24 Indigenous artists on three-year tenancies.
What’s Next YYC is a new initiative from the Trico Charitable Foundation and the newly formed Trico Foundation Social Entrepreneurship Centre at the Haskayne School of Business to recognize some of the many social entrepreneurs in Calgary. The inaugural winners of the What’s Next YYC awards were:
- Beaverlodge – An app that turns energy efficiency for your home into an easy game that saves you real money.
- CMNGD – Employing people facing poverty through a sustainable commercial laundry service.
- Universal Access – Accessibility consultants providing certified barrier-free environments.
- Deepwater Farms – Calgary’s first aquaponics farm.
