Funding My Sisters’ Place: Building a Sustainable Social Enterprise

By the spring of 2021, My Sisters’ Place, a safe, welcoming, and inclusive support centre for women in London, Ontario, had welcomed countless women to Buchan House, a historic Victorian mansion located in downtown London, that had been generously donated by a local family. While it had become a safe haven for so many people in the community, the building’s age and heritage status also meant frequent and high maintenance costs, and the recent roofing repair bill was just another item on a long list of expenses. With strong community support, My Sisters’ Place had many plans for future programs and initiatives, but the organization’s manager was feeling a little overwhelmed by mounting financial needs, including the unexpected roof repair cost. As the manager of a not-for-profit social enterprise with limited funding, she understood that proceeding with the repair would translate into a painful cut somewhere—a reduction in services or in staff hours. Both would heavily impact the vulnerable population the organization was designed to serve, but the manager had to make a choice.

This case can be used in entrepreneurship and social enterprise courses or modules at the undergraduate and graduate levels. This case introduces students to the issues associated with establishing and running a sustainable social enterprise, with a particular emphasis on funding. Specifically, it exposes the difficulties that social enterprise and funding managers face as they seek to deliver social value in a financially sustainable way. The case illustrates the challenges encountered in managing the expenses and costs of running a social enterprise, as well as sourcing funds on an ongoing basis. It contextualizes the decisions managers of social enterprises must make as they choose and implement appropriate funding models. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to<ul><li>understand the complexity of building sustainable sources of income for a social enterprise;</li><li>learn about the different funding sources available and their respective pros and cons;</li><li>familiarize themselves with different funding models for social enterprises; and</li><li>apply the civic wealth creation framework to understand how societal impact can be co-created in a community setting.</li></ul>

• NFP
• social enterprise
• gender
• finance