Social Purpose Enterprises: Case Studies for Social Change presents case studies of twelve organizations that operate in a growing niche within the Canadian social economy: market-based entities supported by a nonprofit organization and operated for the benefit of a workforce who lives on the margins of society. Using a variety of research methods, the contributors examine the work of social purpose enterprises in a range of businesses including food services, child care, furniture, courier services, and microfinance. Combining the experience of academics and practitioners, each chapter analyses the economic, social, and policy implications of the case. Building on research published in Researching the Social Economy (2010) and Businesses with a Difference (2013), Social Purpose Enterprises provides a valuable resource for those involved in the growing push to encourage market-based solutions for those on the social margins.

Author Biography

Jack Quarter is a professor in the Department of Leadership, Higher and Adult Education at the University of Toronto. He is a founding member of Ontario Institute for Studies in Education's Social Economy Centre. Sherida Ryan is a post-doctoral fellow, co-director of the Social Economy Centre and faculty member with the Adult Education and Community Development Program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. Andrea Chan is a doctoral candidate in the Adult Education and Community Development Program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.