Ontario’s Social Enterprise Demonstration Fund Issues $2m Call for Proposals

October 3, 2016

Ontario's Social Enterprise Strategy will help social enterprises grow their businesses, enter new markets & create jobs.

The Government of Ontario is launching a second $2-million round of the Social Enterprise Demonstration Fund (SEDF) to support job creation and economic growth by providing opportunities for social enterprises to get funding as part of Ontario’s Social Enterprise Strategy 2016 – 2021. This round will support the development of financially sustainable and scalable social enterprises by addressing key challenges faced by social enterprises, such as access to capital.

The Social Enterprise Demonstration Fund provides funding to not-for-profit organizations with expertise in supporting social enterprises.  These not-for-profit organizations use the funding to support social enterprises. They do this in 2 ways:

  1. providing mentorship, coaching, and supports to the social enterprise
  2. providing funding to the social enterprise in the form of a grant, a loan, etc.

The not-for-profit organization must find funding from other sources to match the ministry’s funding.

How to apply

Timeline

  • November 4, 2016: deadline for proposals
  • November 8, 2016: applicants notified that their applications were received
  • January 4, 2017: applicants notified of decisions regarding successful applications

Source: The Government of Ontario