Youth Entrepreneurship Partnerships Grants for Non-Profit Organizations - Funded Programs
Youth Entrepreneurship Partnerships (YEP) provides funding to support projects through not-for-profit organizations that facilitate the development of an enterprising culture amongst Ontario’s youth by providing them with educational and entrepreneurial opportunities and programs.
The following organizations received funding from the YEP program:
Round 3 - Funding announced May 2009
Break Into Business Café
Community Futures Development Corporation of Middlesex County
Focusing on rural youth in Middlesex County, this innovative project will provide hands-on entrepreneurial experience and education by providing youth with the opportunity to work in the state-of-the-art “Next Wave Youth Centre,” located in Strathroy, Ontario. Participants in the program will use the centre's café as a model for running their own business by participating in the practical day-to-day operations of the café, as well as through professional training on various elements of entrepreneurship.
Project starts: March 2009 / Project ends: March 2010
For more information about this project visit www.cfdcmiddlesex.on.ca
Parteneriat Jeunesse, 2ieme Ronde
La Clé d’la Baie en Huronie
This project will target Francophone students in elementary and high schools in Simcoe County, primarily Barrie and Penetanguishene. Mentors from all industrial sectors will be recruited to work with students to teach them many facets of running a small business, and to share their small business and entrepreneurship experiences. Through the mentors and the host organization, students will learn about cooperatives, how to formulate business plans, participate in workshops, and learn about feasibility studies and marketing plans. Entrepreneurs from the Francophone community will give school presentations about how they achieved success and conduct guided tours of their companies.
Project starts: March 2009 / Project ends: March 2010
For more information about this project visit www.lacle.ca
It's Your Business
Town of Ingersoll
The goal of this workshop- and case study-based project will be to expose hundreds of youth in Ingersoll and surrounding communities in Oxford County to important and stimulating entrepreneurial concepts. The host organization will deliver 10 workshops designed to spark interest in entrepreneurship, present six relevant business cases, and involve speakers from the local business community. Youth will also have the opportunity to develop one of four social enterprises including: food services, multimedia production, recording and audio, and computers services. These enterprises will expose youth to the basics of running a business while also offering several marketable skills. Finally, the project will also develop youth-friendly business planning materials, tools and web site.
Project starts: March 2009 / Project ends: March 2010
For more information about this project visit www.ingersoll.ca
BNRC "Business Education Starting Today" Program
Brampton Neighbourhood Resource Centre
Unlike traditional workshop-based activities, this project will offer a much more hands-on approach for its youth participants to become entrepreneurs. The project will include bi-weekly entrepreneurial sessions held at two local partner schools, business development support such as mentoring and toolkits, and innovative sharing opportunities for youth to help advance their entrepreneurial ideas through media such as Facebook, blogs, and other information-based technology.
Project starts: March 2009 / Project ends: March 2010
For more information about this project visit www.bnrc.org
Store 54 - Tracks to Business
Employment and Resource Services of Georgian Bay and Area Incorporated
This is the second round of funding for the successful storefront operation in downtown Collingwood called “Store 54.” This unique project has received awards and accolades from local business organizations and has helped support the creation of three youth-run storefront businesses in Collingwood. The project will continue to be an entrepreneurial incubator that provides resources, activities, and hands-on training and support to promote youth entrepreneurship in the region. The young entrepreneurs will assess their business’ feasibility, develop business strategies and skills, identify potential risks and challenges, market and sell the business, and complete a business plan that support their on-going success.
Project starts: November 2009 / Project ends: April 2010
For more information about this project visit www.store54.biz
Entrepreneurship Prep
Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre
Creating a strong sense of the importance of entrepreneurship, especially in the IT field, is one of the key mandates of the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre. Their project will teach and encourage students in the Algoma District to write a business plan and to develop it into a small business opportunity. Youth will interact with local entrepreneurs in a mentoring program, participate in speaking engagements and information sessions, connect through social activities, and work with other youth interested in entrepreneurship through the “Youth Entrepreneurial Council.” The material will be presented to participants in a fun and engaging manner with the help of Enterprise Centre Sault Ste. Marie (a division of the Sault Ste. Marie Economic Development Corporation), and they will learn about entrepreneurial opportunities, local success stories and relevant government programs.
Project starts: August 2009 / Project ends: August 2010
For more information about this project visit www.ssmic.com/nextgen
New Start Lounge
First Work: Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres
Promoting the importance of online media in helping to support and encourage youth entrepreneurship is the goal of this innovative undertaking. The project will focus on creating a web platform and forum that can be used by youth across Ontario to create and grow small businesses, learn from other successful youth entrepreneurs, and discover effective business practices and tools. The project will include “train-the-trainer” sessions, an online marketplace and an online communication tool to help participants interact with each other, share successes and lessons learned, and grow their businesses.
Project starts: March 2009 / Project ends: March 2010
For more information about this project visit www.oayec.org
The Frito Pie Catering Company
Learning Disabilities Association of Ontario – Lambton County
This unique project will develop and implement a local business model that will provide entrepreneurial skills training and experiential learning to at-risk youth in Lambton County. Participants will meet on a regular basis and utilize business tools and self-assessments to help identify learning skills and strengths. After learning the “ins and outs” of producing and marketing the “Frito Pie” product, the youth will create a company that will cater several events, a company that will provide a unique and interactive opportunity for youth to learn about running a small business.
Project starts: March 2009 / Project ends: March 2010
For more information about this project visit www.sarnia.com/groups/lda-lc
Scarborough East Newcomer Youth Entrepreneurship Project
Heritage Skills Development Centre (HSDC)
Building on the successes of a similar project funded by the ministry, which focused on at-risk and under-served youth in the Scarborough area, the host organization will expand its project to target approximately 40 marginalized newcomer youth in the Scarborough East area. The purpose of the project will be to help encourage participants to learn about and explore entrepreneurship as a viable career option. The project will integrate work readiness, employability, civic engagement, interpersonal skills and experiential learning – all within an inviting and learning-friendly environment. This project will be used to bridge the gaps in social services that are unavailable to many of these youth.
Project starts: May 2009 / Project ends: May 2010
For more information about this project visit www.hsdconline.org
Developing Young Entrepreneurs in Windsor Essex
University of Windsor –
Odette School of Business and Faculty of Law
This project will be a collaborative effort between the University of Windsor, the Windsor-Essex Development Commission, the Windsor-Essex Small Business Enterprise Centre, and the Law Foundation of Ontario. It will identify post-secondary youth with promising entrepreneurial ideas. A “youth mentoring youth” approach will involve business students working in the University of Windsor’s Centre for Business Advancement and Research (CBAR) and law students working in the University of Windsor’s Intellectual Property Legal Information Network (IPLIN). A business mentoring program will be developed which will match program participants with successful local entrepreneurs and lawyers. The host organizations will also work with participants to prepare their business plans for seed funding from other sources and to aid with the business and legal implications as they begin to implement their businesses.
Project starts: September 2009 / Project ends: September 2010
For more information about this project visit www.cbar-iplin.ca
start-me-up
Timmins Business Enterprise Centre
Aimed at fostering the spirit of entrepreneurship among high school students in the Timmins area, “School to Entrepreneurship” is a credited business co-op program that will actively connect several Northern Ontario school boards, including Francophone, to help teach students about entrepreneurship. Participants will develop an idea, create a viable business plan and operate the business for one school semester. Each participating class will be matched with an experienced business mentor from the community who will help guide and counsel them through this unique and exciting experience. Students will also have access to an array of business resources, including business professionals and guest speakers.
Project starts: March 2009 / Project ends: March 2010
For more information about this project visit www.timminsedc.com
Operation Start Up
Youth In Motion
Through its “train-the-trainer” approach, this innovative project will arm youth with the inspiration and skills needed to learn about small business development, and to then teach their peers about the importance of entrepreneurship. Developed by Youth In Motion, in partnership with the Laurier School of Business and Economics and Lemonadecapital.ca, this innovative project will offer educators a practical enhancement to their curriculum, support them with resource materials and organizational expertise, and provide 10 two-hour entrepreneurship-focused, interactive workshops for senior student representatives from various high schools, who will then go back to their peers and share their experiences.
Project starts: May 2009 / Project ends: May 2010
For more information about this project visit www.youth-in-motion.ca
United Music Fund Publishing
San Romanoway Revitalization Association
The San Romanoway Revitalization Association will use music and music-related industries as the centrepiece in promoting entrepreneurship through their “United Music Fund Publishing” project. The project will teach business and life skills to at-risk youth in the San Romanoway area of Toronto, using music publishing as the engagement tool. The project will be a 24-week session that includes both a 12-week curriculum and subsequent 12-week practicum for each of two programming rounds. Youth will learn about the music publishing industry through the perspective of an entrepreneur, using the tools and experience gained to help shape future small business endeavours.
Project starts: March 2009 / Project ends: March 2010
For more information about this project visit www.srra.ca
Youth Innovation Centre Project
Christie Ossington Neighbourhood Centre
The purpose of this project will be to invest in the entrepreneurial potential of talented at-risk youth by providing them with social entrepreneurship training, business tools, mentorship and hands-on experience in a visual arts business. Youth will participate in straightforward learning in relevant topics like marketing, sales and business operations by developing and implementing a marketing and sales strategy for the products of the “LOFT” visual arts program. They will then see the fruits of their labour as they monitor the sales of their products.
Project starts: March 2009 / Project ends: March 2010
For more information about this project visit www.conccommunity.org
NewStart
Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI)/Canadian Centre for Financial Literacy
Hoping to bridge the gap between youth and the communities in which they live, this Ontario-wide project will use a five-community approach that aims to promote entrepreneurship and financial literacy to newcomer youth. This will be accomplished through various community forums, “train the trainer” sessions and direct delivery of the training curriculum to hundreds of youth through the establishment of partnerships with 50 community-based organizations throughout the province.
Project starts: March 2009 / Project ends: March 2010
For more information about this project visit www.sedi.org
Nbisiing Spirit Creations
Nbisiing Secondary School
The establishment of the “Spirit Creations” brand by Nbisiing Secondary School was assisted through previous funding by the ministry. Now this secondary school, located on Nipissing First Nation, will expand and strengthen its unique business model, which was designed to spark the entrepreneurial spirit of Aboriginal youth, all while incorporating vital cultural components. The “Spirit Creations” project will grow this entrepreneurial school/community-based program in which Aboriginal youth participate in a range of entrepreneurial activities, including camps, trade fairs and cultural events, and the development of viable hospitality and tourism ventures in their community.
Project starts: March 2009 / Project ends: March 2010
For more information about this project visit www.nbisiing.com
A Passion for Fashion
Youth Employment Services
This innovative project will help to demystify the world of business, encouraging creative youth to see entrepreneurship as a viable option. The project will offer participants a series of business and fashion design workshops aimed at teaching them the basics of running their own business in the fashion industry. Participants will also have access to one-on-one mentorship from emerging and seasoned industry professionals. The project will end with the exciting “Fashionista’s Den” competition in which participants will pitch their fashion business plan and sketches to a panel of expert judges. The winner of the competition will receive a $1,000 prize and a free Toronto Fashion Incubator (TFI) membership that includes 50 hours of mentorship.
Project starts: May 2009 / Project ends: May 2010
For more information about this project visit www.yes.on.ca
Artist As Entrepreneur Youth Program
Corporation of the County of Prince Edward
This practical, hands-on project, which will focus on high schools in Prince Edward, Hastings and Lennox and Addington counties, as well as the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory, will provide a range of activities to help showcase the artistic and entrepreneurial opportunities that exist in rural Ontario. Key aspects of the project will include entrepreneurship training and mentoring, the development of an Artist's Studio and Residency Program in the town of Picton, and the creation of materials and research that will be assembled into a web-based “how to” guide for use by other high schools and students.
Project starts: May 2009 / Project ends: May 2010
For more information about this project visit www.pecounty.on.ca
Cree Youth Entrepreneurship Program
Moose Cree First Nation
Led by Moose Cree First Nation, in partnership with the Wakenagun Community Futures Development Corporation, this innovative project will promote youth entrepreneurship across the James Bay region and recruit 20 Aboriginal youth entrepreneurship participants. The selected youth will enjoy a 16-week intensive entrepreneurship training program, which will include interaction and job-shadowing with local entrepreneurs and customized youth business training and support. The youth participants will also participate in Wakenagun’s Youth Business Quest’s business plan competition and annual conference. Following the training, the young entrepreneurs will then be able to launch their businesses in the new John R. Delaney Small Business and Youth Opportunity Centre in Moose Factory, with 'incubation' office space, dedicated aftercare support and mentoring to help grow their small businesses.
Project starts: March 2009 / Project ends: March 2010
For more information about this project visit www.moosecree.com
Round 2 - Funding announced January 2007
Ouvrir les portes de l’entrepreneuriat aux minorites ethnoculturelles
Centre des Jeunes Francophones de Toronto (Project completed March 2009)
The ministry will grant funding over three years to support "Ouvrir les portes de l’entrepreneuriat aux minorites ethnoculturelles." Through workshops, seminars and mentoring in the Greater Toronto Area, this French-language program will assist racial minority and ethnocultural francophone youths in the business planning process.
For more information about Centre des Jeunes Francophones de Toronto visit www.centredesjeunes.org.
Peterborough's Rural Youth Entrepreneurship Program
Community Opportunity and Innovation Network (COIN)
The ministry will grant funds over a three-year span in support of "Peterborough's Rural Youth Entrepreneurship Program". Funding will be used to deliver COIN's Team Entrepreneurship training curriculum to 30 young people each year, assist with business plan development, and provide support to post-secondary students to help create businesses .
For more information about COIN visit www.coin-ced.org.
BYOB – Be Your Own Boss
East Central Ontario Training Board
This group will receive funding over a three-year period to fund its “BYOB – Be Your Own Boss” initiative. This project is a community-wide effort in support of rural and remote youth and students in Hastings County, Prince Edward County and Lennox & Addington . The ministry grant will be used to provide young people with a range of entrepreneurial activities and resources, including camps, support services, and resource material.
For more information about East Central Ontario Training Board visit www.focusontraining.com.
Tracks to Business
Employment & Resource Services of Georgian Bay Area
The ministry will fund this organization over three years to support its innovative "Tracks to Business" program. Funding will be used to engage rural youth in the Collingwood, Ontario area by exploring entrepreneurial concepts and helping them to grow their own businesses through the creation of a "storefront" operation.
For more information about Employment & Resource Services of Georgian Bay Area visit www.tracks.on.ca.
Youth Initiatives DVD
Enterprise Centre Sault Ste. Marie
(Project completed January 2008)
The ministry will support the Enterprise Centre’s production and distribution of its "Youth Initiatives DVD." The promotional DVD and web content will highlight programs and services related to youth entrepreneurship in the Algoma District .
For more information about Enterprise Centre Sault Ste. Marie visit www.ssmedc.ca.
African-Canadian Youth Entrepreneurship
Heritage Skills Development Centre
The ministry will fund the centre to support its "African-Canadian Youth Entrepreneurship" project. Through business development training, personal development workshops and coaching, the project will facilitate the development of an enterprising culture among 80 marginalized African-Canadian youth between the ages of 18 and 25 in Scarborough, Ontario.
For more information about Heritage Skills Development Centre visit www.hsdconline.org.
Impact Leadership Conference
Impact (Project completed December 2006)
The “Impact Leadership Conference” was held in Toronto, Ontario November 17 - 19, 2006. Over 300 students from across Ontario and Canada attended the popular learning event .
For more information about Impact visit www.impact.org.
JA Titan – Year 2
Junior Achievement of Central Ontario
(Project completed February 2008)
The organization will receive support for the expansion of its "JA Titan" program, an online business simulation program offered free to regional high school students. This project develops students’ entrepreneurial and leadership skills through interactive learning opportunities and web-based simulations. Students will work in teams to compete as companies in a fictitious market. In the first year of this program's operation, more than 100 JA Titan projects were launched in high schools across Ontario.
For more information about Junior Achievement of Central Ontario visit www.jacentralontario.org.
Programme partenariat jeunesse
La Cle d’la Baie (Project completed December 2008)
The ministry will provide funding over a two-year period to aid the "Programme partenariat jeunesse". Funding will be used to prepare rural francophone youth in Simcoe County for careers as entrepreneurs through workshops, training, and mentoring sessions. The program will also help young Ontarians launch their own businesses under the guidance of their mentors .
For more information about La Cle d’la Baie visit www.lacle.ca.
Nbisiing Secondary School 'Company' Program
Nbisiing Secondary School (Project completed December 2008)
The ministry will support the "Nbisiing Secondary School 'Company' Program". Funding will be used to facilitate the development of an enterprising spirit among Aboriginal youth in North Bay/Nipissing First Nation area, and surrounding Aboriginal communities, by giving them a series of educational and entrepreneurial opportunities involving local crafts people, Elders and community members.
For more information about Nbisiing Secondary School visit www.nbisiing.com.
Business Centre in a Box
The Business Centre – Nipissing Parry Sound
The ministry will provide the centre with a grant, spread out over a three-year span, to support its "Business Centre in a Box" initiative. Funding will be used to develop a comprehensive toolkit, DVD, lesson plans, and interactive website to encourage youth to pursue entrepreneurship as a career. The toolkits will be distributed to senior level secondary school students and business class teachers in the Nipissing and Parry Sound areas.
For more information about The Business Centre – Nipissing Parry Sound visit www.cityofnorthbay.ca.
Entrepreneurial Adventure Program
The Learning Partnership
This group will receive funding over a three-year term to support the Province-wide expansion of the "Entrepreneurial Adventure Program". Ministry funding will also be used to expand the existing program by developing and distributing a bilingual Entrepreneurial Adventure resource kit .
For more information about The Learning Partnership visit www.thelearningpartnership.ca.
Freedom, Flexibility and Financial Rewards:
Entrepreneurship Has It All!
Youth In Motion (Project completed Januaray 2008)
Youth in Motion will receive a grant to aid in the launch of its "Freedom, Flexibility and financial Rewards: Entrepreneurship Has It All!" initiative in the Fall 2007. Ministry funding will be used to host two, one-day interactive learning days in the GTA for 500 grades 7-10 students and at-risk youth to promote entrepreneurship .
For more information about Youth In Motion visit www.youth-in-motion.ca.
Round 1 - Funding announced June 2006
Start-A-Business Program
Wilfrid Laurier University (Project completed March 2009)
This Project gives students at Wilfrid Laurier University's School of Business & Economics practical entrepreneurial experience by helping them launch real businesses. Three-year funding from the ministry will help provide operating capital, office space, and mentoring assistance to youth to help them start small businesses.
For more information about Wilfrid Laurier University and the Schlegel Centre for Entrepreneurs visit www.wlu.ca/sbe/schlegel.
New Possibilities Project
Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre (Project completed March 2009)
This project aims to provide youth in the Algoma District with an awareness of entrepreneurial opportunities and success stories in the science and technology sectors. Funding for three years will be used to create an interactive DVD and web site, support a number of school presentations, and establish an entrepreneurial “boot camp” for youth.
For more information about the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre (SSMIC) visit www.ssmic.com.
Youth Enterprise Experience Pilot Project
McMaster University (Project completed April 2007)
This project provides undergraduate co-operative education where students experience entrepreneurship first-hand while working side-by-side with Masters-level students in a state-of-the-art entrepreneurship training and business creation program. The one-year funding will encourage students to undertake a wide range of entrepreneurial activities, including market research, prototype development, competitive analysis, and overall business plan development.
For more information about McMaster University visit www.mcmaster.ca.
'Youth Ink.' – Creating Entrepreneurial Awareness in Ontario
Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI) (Project completed March 2008)
This project is a two-year, 14-community approach to raise the awareness of young people in Ontario to entrepreneurship as a viable career option. Ministry funding will help support a wide-ranging series of presentations and forums by local community groups to over 1,500 youth in Ontario to help them see entrepreneurship as a viable career option.
For more information about Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI) visit www.sedi.org.
JA TITAN
Junior Achievement of Central Ontario (Project completed February 2007)
This project is Junior Achievement of Central Ontario’s newest program, an interactive learning opportunity and web-based simulation that gives students high-level entrepreneurial and leadership experience without the high-stakes risk. The one-year ministry funding will be used to expand the very successful JA TITAN program to other parts of Ontario, reaching a total of 2,700 students, and to provide the students with mentors and role models.
For more information about Junior Achievement of Central Ontario visit www.jacentralontario.org.
Students and Young 