Social economy enterprise

Social economy enterprise

There are three main differences between a social economy enterprise and a traditional commercial business. A social economy enterprise:

• serves members of the community rather than simply generating profits;
• includes a democratic decision-making process, allowing users and workers to participate;
• places greater emphasis on individuals and jobs than on capital when distributing surpluses and income.

Co-operative or NPO?

Generally speaking, a co-operative serves its members, while an NPO serves the community. The members of a co-operative usually make regular use of its goods or services. They may be users or customers of the goods or services offered, or work in the co-operative. There are different kinds of co-operatives: workers, producers, consumers, solidarity or worker-shareholders. NPOs are more flexible and tend to have a less formal structure.

Tools available:

Find the best legal form for your business:

• La boussole entrepreneuriale (in French)

For more details on co-operatives:

• Coopérative de développement régional du Québec (in French)
• Réseau de la coopération du travail du Québec (in French)

For more details on NPOs:

• Registraire des entreprises, Constitute a non-profit legal person section
• Tool box created by the Comité sectoriel de main-d’œuvre Économie sociale et action communautaire (CSMO-ÉSAC), in co-operation with the Centre de formation populaire, the Centre St-Pierre and Relais-femmes (in French)

Creating a NPO

• Form a group of at least 3 promoters/founders
• Register the NPO with the Registraire des entreprises
• Draw up its statutes and by-laws
• Hold a general assembly to found the organization, elect a board and adopt the statutes and by-laws

For more details on NPOs:

• Tool box created by the Comité sectoriel de main-d’œuvre Économie sociale et action communautaire (CSMO-ÉSAC), in co-operation with the Centre de formation populaire, the Centre St-Pierre and Relais-femmes (in French)
• Registraire des entreprises, Constitute a non-profit legal person section

Related information:

• Social entrepreneurship