Access Richmond Hill
The Access Richmond Hill Contact Centre provides assistance for general inquiries, responds to questions or concerns regarding programs and services as well as accepts in person payments.
Contact Us
905-771-8800
Hours of Service:
Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
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Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Growth, the Starter Company Plus and Summer Company grant programs are offered through the Richmond Hill Small Business Enterprise Centre to assist you in starting or growing your company.
Social Enterprise 101 powered by the Centre for Social Innovation
This program is provided in partnership with Vaughan Enterprise Centre and Markham Small Business Centre.
Are you looking to grow your entrepreneurial or intrapreneurial competencies to create positive impact and prepare for a fast-changing business environment? As the world looks to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, now is the time for the entrepreneurially-minded to step up to address pressing social and environmental challenges, and to develop the 21st century skills needed to succeed.
Join us for Social Enterprise 101: an 8-week, part-time online program that covers the foundations of social entrepreneurship, from making sure you’ve identified the right problem, to developing a solution, to turning your idea into a sustainable business model. If you’re ready to roll up your sleeves, invest in your personal and professional growth, and turn your idea into impact, this is the right course for you.
We are offering the opportunity to participate in this program through Richmond Hill Small Business Enterprise Centre to a limited number of local innovators. This program is offered in partnership with Vaughan Small Business Enterprise Centre and Markham Small Business Centre. All applicants based in Richmond Hill are eligible to apply.
The details:
We are now accepting applications for our online cohort:
Mondays, 5:30pm to 8:30pm, from Monday, February 22nd to Monday, April 19th, 2021
Online: Zoom Classroom and SLACK workspace
What you’ll learn
Social Enterprise 101 is an 8-week program delivered in two phases:
Phase 1 (Weeks 1-4): Explore your purpose as a social entrepreneur. Discover your problem space. Map opportunities for impact.
Together, we’ll begin with some of the big questions you may be asking yourself, such as:
- I see so many urgent problems to solve. Which should I focus on specifically, and why?
- There are so many things to do to get started. How do I prioritize?
- What skills, knowledge, connections, and experience can I leverage to make an impact?
- How do I move from idea to action?
Phase 2 (Weeks 4-8): Discover stakeholders. Build your business and financial models. Identify funding options and enterprise impact.
Questions answered during this phase include:
- I have developed a clear idea of the impact that I want my enterprise to generate. How do I design my business to reach this impact?
- How can I generate sustainable revenue (and profit) from my social enterprise?
- What resources am I going to need to start my enterprise?
- What funding models and options should I explore?
By the end of the 8-weeks, you’ll gain experience, confidence, and practice with core competencies in social entrepreneurship such as critical thinking, systems thinking, active listening, storytelling, decision-making, and business modelling.
Who you’ll meet
You will connect with a cohort of changemakers from across York Region who are similarly driven and committed to making an impact. SE 101 is open to everyone interested in making the world better through entrepreneurial thinking and approaches.
Social Enterprise 101 was developed in partnership with experienced social entrepreneurs, coaches, facilitators, and educators, and based on the learnings from over 10 years of training social enterprises.
Participants who start a for-profit social enterprise upon completing the program will also be invited to apply for a $5,000 Starter Company Plus grant through Richmond Hill Small Business Enterprise Centre.
Apply for the program by completing our application form.
Other Programs
| Small Business Recovery Grant Program | ||||
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Are you an existing business with a brick and mortar location? Was your business affected by COVID-19 and experiencing a loss in revenue? The Richmond Hill Small Business Recovery Grant Program is here to help with your business recovery. Richmond Hill has launched a new program to support the business community. The Small Business Recovery Grant Program provides free training and mentoring opportunities to assist local businesses adapt to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, it will also offer grants of up to $5000 to help businesses adopt new tools, increase their online presence and implement their new business strategy. Applications are now closed! Eligibility
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| Starter Company Plus | ||||
| Are you looking to start up or scale up a company? Get funded with Starter Company PLUS!
Successful Applicants get business training, 3 months of mentorship and up to $5,000 in funding. To apply, you need a developed business proposition that you can launch immediately. This program is open to applicants who are 18 years or older and not in full time school or work. Please note that in light of the current circumstances with COVID-19, the next 2020 cohort of Starter Company Plus is currently under review. Please continue to check our website and sign-up for our newsletter for updates.
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| Summer Company | ||||
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Do you have an idea that you are super excited to bring to life or a business you are inspired start? Are you a student who is interested in learning what it would be like to be your own boss? Get funded with Summer Company! Successful applicants get business education, 2 months of mentorship and up to $3,000 in funding. To apply, you need a launch-ready business idea, a free summer, and a short business plan. This program is available for full time students between 15 - 29 years of age. To get started, please fill out this inquiry form. Please note: the Summer Company applications begin in January and close in May.
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| Digital Main Street | ||||
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The Digital Main Street Program funded by the Province of Ontario in partnership with the Ontario BIA Association seeks to help small main street businesses across Ontario improve their adoption of technologies to better promote themselves online, sell online and even run back-office processes online. Every business that wants to participate in the grant must first take an online assessment of their current technology use. Based on the assessment, the business will then develop a Digital Transformation Plan based on a template that will be provided which will detail their goals and what technologies they need to achieve those goals. To help put the plan into action, the business can then apply for a one-time grant of $2,500 to help with the costs of adopting the required technology. For more information, please Learn more about the Digital Main Street Program. |
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| Freshworks for Startups | ||||
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Freshworks is a leading maker of cloud-based customer and employee engagement software. With this innovative partnership, Richmond Hill startups can receive $4000 in credits on the Freshworks suite of products and priority access to the Freshworks startup program including events, resources, workshops, mentoring and much more. To learn more about the program and apply please email rhsbec@richmondhill.ca. |
Mentorship Opportunities
If you have business experience and expertise and a desire to help develop new and aspiring entrepreneurs, then we'd like to hear from you. Start mentoring with the Richmond Hill SBEC and you will have the opportunity to connect with entrepreneurs who are starting or scaling up their businesses.
Apply for group mentorship or one-on-one mentorship below: