This case study was requested by CEDEC—the Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation—as part of its role in helping communities throughout Quebec to identify, assess, and prepare to act on social, cultural, and economic development opportunities. The content is based on interviews with members of the cooperative on Grosse-Île as well as with representatives of organizations that have supported them in one way or another at different steps in the process of imagining, creating, starting up and continually developing their cooperative. A total of ten people were interviewed, representing seven different organizations.
Cooperatives such as the Women on a Mission Coop in Grosse-Ile are enabling women to reconcile work and family responsibilities, build their capacity in the labour force, and develop entrepreneurial skills.
The success of the Women on a Mission Cooperative illustrates that cooperatives can be economic drivers in small communities. This success story is documented as a case study which highlights successes, challenges and lessons learned over the course of the first year of operation – information that will be invaluable for other groups planning to develop a social enterprise.
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Contents:
| INTRODUCTION | |
| THE ENVIRONMENT: THE COMMUNITY OF GROSSE-ÎLE | |
| PLANTING THE SEED | |
| Motivations: Meeting community needs | |
| Successes | |
| Challenges faced | |
| Lessons learned | |
| GROWING THE PROJECT | |
| Deciding on a cooperative structure | |
| Steps in founding a cooperative | |
| Garnering support | |
| Start-up | |
| Successes | |
| Challenges faced | |
| Lessons learned | |
| BEARING FRUIT: THE CURRENT SITUATION | |
| Multiplying activities | |
| Learning curve | |
| Successes | |
| Current challenges | |
| Lessons learned | |
| SEEDS FOR THE FUTURE | |
| Capacity building | |
| Future challenges | |
| CONCLUSION | |
| Conditions contributing to the success of Women on a Mission | |
| Recommendations for similar initiatives | |
| Planting the seed | |
| Letting it grow | |
| Changing | |
| Adapting to your environment | |
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