A.S.E.S.S. Funding Idea Submission

Trico Foundation offers grants to Alberta based charitable organizations that are engaged in social entrepreneurship (using business models – selling products or services – to solve social problems) to close gaps in society (click here for more details).

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Our funding has been designed for organizations that feel they know the next thing they need to learn in their social enterprise journey and have identified that they need funding to take that next step. Whether you call it experiments, tests, social R&D, or something else, the key is, “It is part of building a culture of curiosity throughout the social sector about what works, what doesn’t, and why or why not” (“THE FUTURE IS MADE, ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN 2019: Trends and Emerging Issues”, Prepared for Calgary Foundation by James Stauch, MRU Institute for Community Prosperity). For ease of reference, from now on we will use “testing”. A good example of the type of testing we are talking about (and the power of testing) is this short video about Owlet.

While it is important that organizations are clear on their vision for the ultimate impact they want to achieve and have a high-level plan for how to get there (we will even ask you about this), we are most excited by organizations that embrace the social entrepreneur’s mindset (learn more about the social entrepreneur’s mindset here) and have the ability to progress by way of testing – for example, using frugal testing to learn, pivot where needed, and to make progress – rather than simply ‘working to a plan’.

The annual budget for A.S.E.S.S. funding is $250,000 with a maximum request of $25,000 per project. See the A.S.E.S.S. Funding page for details on requirements and what we are most excited by. These grants are meant to be a standalone– meaning the $25,000 is not meant to be used as part of a larger amount that you are seeking/ combined with other funds. For example, say that you have identified that you need $100,000 to open a storefront:

- What you could not do: You could not combine the A.S.E.S.S. $25,000 with other funding to reach the target amount of $100,000;

- What you could do: If an organization/ other funder that you were seeking the $100,000 from said they were tempted but would like to see “X” first, then you could use the up to $25,000 of A.S.E.S.S. to prove “X”;

- What else you could do: If on your way to getting ready for the $100,000

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* 1. To confirm your organization is a qualified donee based in Alberta that serves Albertans, please list your Charitable Registration Number:

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* 2. What is the product or service you are selling?

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* 3. Who pays for your product or service?

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* 4. How does your product or service create social impact?

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* 5. Please select the relevant check boxes below that describe the 'gap in society' your social enterprise seeks to address:

Alleviate poverty

Protect the environment

Uphold human rights

Promote health

Promote the welfare of animals

Provide relief to the victims of natural disasters or other emergencies

Address or prevent specific problems faced by children, youth, or families

Provide certain public works, amenities, services, or facilities (cemeteries, libraries, parks, etc.)

Address the needs of the Aboriginal people of Canada (please note that while the Foundation prefers the term Indigenous peoples, the current wording reflects the caselaw which we suspect reflects the wording of Federal statutes by which we are governed as a private Foundation)

Relieve conditions attributable to being aged

Promote racial equality

Relieve conditions associated with disability

Provide for the rehabilitation of those involved in the criminal justice system

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* 6. What stage would you say your social enterprise is at:

Seeking to understand the problem

Seeing if your solution works (it solves the problem and users like it)

Proving financial viability (this can range from proving you can make money selling the solution to proving that you can make enough money to be a financially sustainable social enterprise)

Growing after the financial sustainability of the social enterprise has been proven

Building on growth in a non-linear way (some big jump that fundamentally reimagines the social enterprise – but still builds on the solution and momentum rather than pivoting to something completely new)

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* 7. Once up and running (past piloting), what are your social and financial goals (please include timelines). For example, “social goal: annually create 20 jobs for economically excluded youth, financial goal: we wish to earn an annual return (revenue minus expenses) of $100,000, timeline: five years”?

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* 8. What is the test you are seeking funding for? (Please include timelines and amount --reminder: the maximum amount for these grants is $25,000):

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* 9. Your Details

Organization Name

Contact Name

City/Town

Contact Email Address

Please note that given the high volume of Idea Submissions we get, only Idea Submissions that we are moving forward with will hear from us. We also ask that you please refrain from contacting the Trico Foundation Team directly. Should you need to reach our team, please email us at info@tricofoundation.ca. If we see a potential match between your idea and our area of focus, you will hear from us within 10 business days.

Thank you, The Trico Foundation Team