We have made the conscious decision to identify as a Social Enterprise (SE) for a number of reasons. First and foremost, we believe that the future of small and corporate-scale business is one where consumers expect a commitment from service and product providers to The Triple Bottom Line. As we educate young people about business, we also think it's important to lead by example in our operation of one!
More on Social Enterprises:
An SE is a business model that seeks to achieve social good in some variation of a double or triple bottom line, recognizing profit and social and environmental good in the business proposition. An SE is not defined in the Canadian Income Tax Act, requires no certification and there are currently a range of definitions. An SE can be either for-profit or nonprofit, and some are sister organizations to (or partnered with) registered charities.
Buy Social Canada stipulates SE's show that "At least 50% of the business revenue comes from selling goods and services in the market place and there is an embedded mission to achieve social, cultural or environmental objectives through the sales".
*The items in BOLD fit in with our model.