The new Procurement and Investment Readiness Fund (PIRF) is now open and accepting applications from social enterprises. PIRF is a $4.5 million fund financed by the Government of Ontario aimed at eligible social enterprises to improve their sustainability and capacity to scale to help them deliver greater social impact for communities across Ontario. The fund is the first of its kind in Canada.
A grant from the Fund will help social enterprises at the beginning of their social investment journey, to get tailored support provided by knowledgeable service providers. Deadlines for three different grant applications will be posted on a regular basis over the two years of the program. The program is set to end in early 2021.
“NORDIK Institute is proud to partner as a service provider in the PIRF project,” states
Research Coordinator and primary contact. “We will assist successful applicants in assessing their procurement and investment readiness. We will also help them access services and capacity building supports they will need to compete for opportunities”.
“NORDIK Institute has been invited to be a partner because of its leadership role in Social Enterprise development in Northern Ontario since 2012,” says Sean Meades, Director of NORDIK. “Through this exciting province-wide initiative, we look forward to continuing our work to develop and support Social Enterprises.”
PIRF offers Social Enterprises three grant opportunities (Assessment; Capacity Building; Catalytic) within two funding streams (Capacity; Catalytic). Through the mobilization of procurement and investment specialists, the Fund aims to increase the number of procurement an investment opportunities across the province and build the capacity of service providers to promote procurement and investment in their respective regions.
Social enterprises have a mission to address social, environmental or cultural challenges by reinvesting profits back into their missions. Social enterprises take many forms, ranging from sole-proprietor businesses to cooperatives and not-for-profit organizations. They differ from other small businesses in that they use the “triple bottom line” (People, Planet, Profit) to assess success.
To find out more about the funding streams and upcoming spring deadlines, please visit the PIRF website
The Procurement and Investment Readiness Fund (PIRF) is financed by the Government of Ontario and is administered by the Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet) in partnership
with key leaders in the social enterprise sector.
www.nordikinstitute.com | [email protected]
NORDIK Institute is Algoma University’s community based research organization whose goal is to build Northern Ontario’s capacity to conduct research that contributes to social, economic and environmental justice in rural, Indigenous and northern communities and provides evidence for informed policy and decision making.
Media contact: Sean Meades, Director of NORDIK Institute Phone:705-949-2301 ext. 4235 Email: [email protected]
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