Above (L-R): Laurel Centre team at the WCSE 2007 – James Mackness, William Durocher, Suzanne Gardner, Nadia Salvo, Andrew Dilts, Jeff Henry, Renjie Butalid

Social Entrepreneurship ‘Bootcamp’

Entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to get their skills in shape at an innovative, entrepreneurial “bootcamp” to be held at UW next month. The Social Entrepreneurship Intensive event, organizers say, “emphasizes the importance of combining a passion for social change with the knowledge, skills and abilities from traditional business fields, helping participants master the skills necessary to start or grow an enterprise.”

This initiative will run for three very full days, May 12-14. Participants in the Social Entrepreneurship Intensive will include people starting a social enterprise, working for an organization that is developing a social enterprise for growth or financial support, working for an established not-for-profit organization that could benefit from the Intensive’s many workshops, or seeking a new direction and change in their career path. It’s also expected to attract those working in sectors that support social enterprises and seek first-hand knowledge of the needs and challenges of today’s social enterprises.

The Social Entrepreneurship Intensive “bootcamp” program will be limited to 30 participants, maintaining an intimate atmosphere throughout the morning-until-night program, a news release explains. “It will consist of a mix of presentations, hands-on workshops and collaboration sessions, with the goal of providing would-be social entrepreneurs the tools for success in running a successful, healthy enterprise. Today’s social entrepreneurs are gaining access to knowledge and resources previously unprecedented in society, and the Intensive will allow both entrepreneurs and social entrepreneurs to take advantage of the growing wealth of knowledge in this field.”

Highlights will include presentations from John Baker, CEO of Aperio Inc., on revenue generation; Cheryl Rose, director of partnerships and projects for the Social Innovation Generation at UW, on engaging universities; Geoff Malleck, associate director of the Centre for Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology, on entrepreneurship; and Bob Copeland, associate vice-president (annual giving and alumni affairs), on seeking sponsorship.

The event is part of the 2008 program offerings for the Laurel Centre for Social Entrepreneurship. The Centre was founded in 2007 after the success of the Waterloo Conference on Social Entrepreneurship, which saw more than 200 people come together from around the world to collaborate on the bridging of the passion for social change together with a business-minded discipline. Earlier this year the Centre presented the first instalment of a Social Entrepreneurship Lecture Series, which featured four community leaders in the world of social entrepreneurship. Laurel says it’s organizing several other initiatives for later this year, including a research conference in June and a second annual conference in November.

The three-day bootcamp event costs $250 for students and $450 for community members. Workshop materials, accommodations, and meals are provided for all participants as part of the program. UW undergraduate students are eligible to apply for one of 13 grants provided by UW’s Federation of Students and the Arts Endowment Fund.

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