Welcome to the Team Jessie Brown!
We want to take the time to welcome our new Youth Program Manager for the Career Rising initiative.
We couldn’t be happier to have Jessie join our team and look forward to working with her!
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FarmWorks – Field to Fork to Future
FarmWorks Investment Co-operative Limited is making a difference in the year-round availability of food for Nova Scotians. Over 460 people have purchased $4,009,900 of shares in ten offers of FarmWorks’ tax advantageous Community Economic Development Investment Fund. Shareholders are helping to grow sustainable food-related businesses from field to fork to future. Global and local challenges present opportunities for wise investment in this Province by Nova Scotians.
As of August 15, 2021, FarmWorks has loaned $6,208,000 to Nova Scotian businesses: farmers who are starting up or expanding, restaurants and cafés, stores and farm markets, seed growers, brewers and cider makers and other enterprises that are building capacity in Nova Scotia. Directors carry out due diligence on applicants and provide support and encouragement to clients. FarmWorks clients are outstanding citizens who contribute significantly to the life and economy of Nova Scotia.
FarmWorks is now achieving profitability and will decide with Shareholders the allocation of after-tax profit.
FarmWorks Vision is Healthy Farms, Healthy Food and the Directors promote, and provide, strategic and responsible community investment in food production and distribution in order to help increase access to a sustainable local food supply for all Nova Scotians. Investing locally and buying local food provides health, economic, social, environmental and other benefits for Nova Scotians. The Community Economic Development Investment program enables Nova Scotians to gain tax credits for investing in food related enterprises that are increasing sustainable local production and profitability.
FarmWorks Directors and Clients sincerely thank the Shareholders – your confidence in Nova Scotian producers provides us with the opportunity to support people who are providing excellent food and beverages. Please let us know if you might consider joining the Board for the opportunity to work more closely with farmers and producers in one of the most encouraging initiatives in Nova Scotia.
Impatient Readiness: The State of Social Finance in Canada 2021
This report is a testament to the depth and breadth of impact investing in Canada over the past decade. Social impact fund assets under management have increased substantially in recent years, nearing an estimated $1 billion1. The proliferation of funds has fostered a vibrant diversity of impact and increased investment choices. A rich landscape of investment opportunities is generating positive triple bottom line impact in communities across Canada. Co authored by our CEO Dianne Kelderman.
Canada’s Credit Unions Continue To Standout Amongst All Financial Institutions With Seven 2020 Ipsos Financial Service Excellence Awards Wins
“Canada’s credit unions have always prioritized their members and their communities. This is especially true this year, as many Canadians were faced with uncertainties from the pandemic” notes Martha Durdin, President & CEO, Canadian Credit Union Association. “Credit unions responded to the COVID-19 crisis by providing financial relief efforts that allowed their members to focus on their health above all, and I believe the Customer Service Excellence Award is a reflection of that” adds Durdin.
A movement ahead of its time
The nearly instantaneous economic recession triggered by the COVID-19 shutdown has wreaked havoc on businesses large and small. Our very way of life was suddenly shaken at its core. On the basis of sweeping proclamations about “the end of commuting,” “the demise of retail,” and “the collapse of globalization,” many have come to assume that everything will change. Change, at its core, is impartial. It is simply the act of becoming different. It is also always triggered by something powerful enough to shift our vision of reality. If the challenges and hurdles of the year have brought anything to the Nova Scotia Co-operative Council, it is a strong desire to
change for the better, to embrace the communities we live and work in, and to focus on what matters the most: how we
can be of service to others. Choosing to unite in the face of adversity and find ways to help and work with one another, the co-operative model in Nova Scotia shone brightly during an otherwise very dark spring.
Born of a partnership between Genrus United and the Nova Scotia Co-operative Council, the goal is to lower the cost of prescription medication for Canadians.
We believe in the power of unity and the resources of our communities. That is why we partnered with independent pharmacists to deliver the program.
Subscribers not only access the medication they need at an affordable price, but they also empower their local economy.
Founded by a diverse group of individuals who have witnessed first-hand the impact of high prescription costs on families, it was unanimously decided that the best way to do something about it was by starting right here.
Save on over 130 prescription medications
Congratulations Chris Tucker!
Congratulations to our team member and friend, Chris Tucker on being elected as a Director to the Board of Community Credit Union . They are very lucky to have your experience and wisdom on their side!
Social Enterprise Impact Investment Fund
The Social Enterprise Network of Nova Scotia (SENNS) is thrilled to announce the launch of Nova Scotia’s first Impact Investment Fund, in partnership with the national Social Enterprise Ecosystem Project (S4ES), managed by SENNS partner, the Nova Scotia Co-operative Council. Financing is available for social enterprises who meet the eligibility criteria as outlined on the Fund application form. The maximum amount of financing available is up to $15,000 per applicant. Please note that this a lending and/or equity program. It is not a grant or donation program. Questions and/or completed applications should be submitted to diannefk@eastlink.ca or fax 902-895-0109.
Click HERE for the application.
Nova Scotia Diversity Scholarship
Any student living in a CHF Canada member housing co-op in NS is eligible. The deadline for applications is July 12, and the application and more details are available here:
https://chfcanada.coop/…/awards-gra…/diversity-scholarships/
WFM2GO WORKPLACE HUB
WFM2Go is a great option for workplaces that want to promote healthy eating, support local producers, and want the convenienceof having their groceries delivered!
Registration Open and Bursaries Available:
Master’s, Graduate Diploma and Certificate in Co-operative and Credit Union Management
Planning your career, organizational succession or leadership development? The International Centre for Co-operative Management in the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University offers Master’s level business programs designed to meet the growing demands of co-operative and credit union managers (and those aspiring to these roles).
Your opportunity is here! Each year the Centre opens up to 25 seats for co-operative professionals to join the ranks of some of the most innovative and creative leaders in the co-operative system. Join new, stimulating conversations. Build your business skills. Meet other keen co-operators from around the world. Get exposed to new solutions to current issues.
Online, part-time education for working co-operative professionals:
Master of Management, Co-operatives and Credit Unions (3 years, includes 10-day co-operative study tour to Italy or Spain)
Learn more about these courses as well as our Executive Education offerings
Graduate Diploma in Co-operative Management (20 months)
Certificate in Co-operative Management (10 months)
As a local, community-based organization, CUA is committed to improving the quality of life of our members and the communities in which they live and work.
The Community Investment Grant Program is designed to provide funding support to a variety of community groups and individuals that will directly benefit the community. Events, programs, activities and projects are all eligible for funding. This program is an expression of CUA’s vision that our members and communities are better off, and provides broad support to projects with an aim to effect positive economic, social and environmental change. Visit the website for more information
Invest In Your Co-operative Business. Invest In A Graduate
Would you like some financial help with the next person you hire?
The province’s Graduate to Opportunity program helps small businesses hire recent university and college graduates by providing salary support for the first two years of employment – 25% the first year, 12.5% the second year, for new jobs paying at least $30,000.
The process is quick and easy: complete applications are normally approved within days.
It’s available to companies of 100 employees or less, start-ups, non-profits and social enterprises.
Employers say the financial incentive is making a real difference and their recent grads are bringing enthusiasm, creativity and skill to the workplace.
Find out more at http://novascotia.ca/gto, or call 902.424.6000.
CALL FOR INTEREST – BOARD DIRECTORS
Over the past 6 years SENNS has played an impactful role in fostering an ecosystem in our
province to help Social Enterprises thrive. Our work has prompted the development of a
provincial framework to grow the sector, and advocated for the creation of funding accessible
to new start-ups and existing structures looking to expand or amplify their impact. The
incubation program developed a new class of entrepreneurs with ideas ready for investment
but not all of the pieces are yet in place.
After the events of the past year and a collective deep breath, it is clear that given our
ambitious plans for the future, the only way forward is through a collaborative approach that is
representative of ALL Nova Scotians. We are committed to building a group comprised of
diverse backgrounds & perspectives representative of the diversity of our beautiful province.
Nova Scotia has an abundance of incredible Black, Indigenous, POC and LGBTQ2IA+ community
leaders whose values and visions for a social economy will help direct SENNS moving forward.
As such we have recognized that the composition of our board of directors must be diversified
going forward. Diversity in race, age, gender/orientation and rural & urban community
members are needed around our table. We are asking you, our community, to help us shape
our composition moving forward. With multiple positions opening up we are seeking
applications from community members that represent the diversity of this province that will
help shape the future of SENNS and amplify our social impact for all Nova Scotians.
Your role with this board will be transformational. This spring, the board will be working with a
talented group of researchers to re-engage the sector through a replication of past surveys.
They will dig deeper into issues and impacts of our sector and utilize this critical data to help
reimagine SENNS and its strategy as an organization moving forward.
Ideal candidates will have a depth of experience in their communities and the social enterprise
ecosystem and possess skills to contribute to the functioning of an operational board in a
transition phase.
If you would like to submit your interest in participating as a SENNS board or committee
member, please complete the online application form by Friday, April 30, 2021, detailing your
interest.
Link to Application: https://forms.office.com/r/VysRkEH2NY
Deadline: Friday, April 30
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at info@SENNS.ca