On Friday July 20th, the EPICentre held its second social innovation workshop. It was a one-hour session led by Daniel Fuentes – the Manager of Social Enterprise and Social Finance at Pillar Nonprofit Network based in London, Ontario. His presentation covered both the theoretical aspects as well as functionality of the Flourishing Business Model Canvas (FBMC). The FBMC is used as a means to communicate your social enterprise business model in an organized way without writing a long and complex report. Participants then had the chance to work through the FBMC and design a rough business plan to communicate how their social enterprises will generate revenue while also considering the social and environmental impact of their business. Following this, individuals were encouraged to present their FBMC to the rest of the participants for feedback and suggestions. The workshop wrapped up with a half-an-hour networking session during which people stayed behind to clarify questions and learn more about the FBMC.

This workshop was part 2 of a three-part workshop series supported by Libro Credit Union and Pillar Nonprofit Network. Workshop three will take place on August 24 at 1pm in the EPICentre workshop room. It will be a panel discussion on how to go from business idea to execution, with a chance to ask local entrepreneurs your burning questions about starting a social enterprise.