Do you have a skill, passion, or hidden talent you want to offer? Do you have a service you’d like to purchase in support of non-profits?

Join YSEC’s special “”Skills Drive”" MeetUP co-hosted with Well of Change on Wednesday, July 28th at the Centre for Social Innovation, 215 Spadina Ave, 4th floor, 6-8pm.

Discover a new way to raise funds for your own organization or favourite charities & non-profits.

Come and donate your services or buy someone else’s.

All proceeds go to YSEC or to your choice of charities registered with Well of Change.

This month: Grab the Mic!  February 25 @ Centre for Social Innovation,  215 Spadina Ave., 4th Floor, 6:30-9 PM

At this month’s MeetUP, 15 people will have the chance to share their ideas / projects.  You’ll spend 20 minutes working with serial entrepreneur, Tim Harris, to perfect your pitch and then present it to a crowd of your peers. It’s good practice for next month’s Pitch Competition on March 25 at Centre for Social Innovation where social entrepreneurs will have the chance to win a $1,000 interest free loan to kickstart their ideas.  Register online and email us if you want to participate. First come, first serve!

Not interested in getting up in front of a crowd? Come out and hear more about the fascinating projects your peers are working on!  See if you have any resources or ideas you can offer to help them (and vice versa).

The rest of the evening will be devoted to networking – so come and get to know other young changemakers in the city.

Register online at http://meetupfeb.eventbrite.com/

Free for YSEC members.  Membership can be bought in person at the MeetUP or online.

For this month’s YSEC MeetUP, we’re hosting a Dragon’s Den style (but nicer) Pitch Competition.

Three of Toronto’s top youth-driven ideas will be presented to a panel of Toronto’s social entrepreneur and finance experts. The winner will receive:

• $1,000 as an interest free loan from the YSEC Fund, Canada’s first for youth, by youth, fund for social entrepreneurs
• 5 hours of free consulting with George Brown’s Institute of Entrepreneurship and Community Innovation
• Applicants that fit with the Toronto Enterprise Fund’s (TEF) program mandate will be considered for entry into TEF’s seed funding program (grants run from $5,000 to $50,000).

Who are the judges?

• Sarah Hashem,Business Manager for Central Ontario, Canadian Youth Business Foundation
• Magnus Sandberg, Director of Investments, Social Capital Partners
• Mark Simpson, Professor and Founder, George Brown College’s Institute of Entrepreneurship and Community Innovation
• Eli Malinsky, Director of Programs and Partnerships, Centre for Social Innovation
• Assaf Weisz, Executive Director, Young Social Entrepreneurs of Canada

It’s going to be a great show. Don’t miss this entertaining, edge-of-your seat, and historic night!

Admission is $10 online for non-members, and $12 at the door
YSEC Members have free admission! Aren’t a member yet? Learn more here.

Please RSVP to watch the Pitch Competition by March 18, 2010.

This event is made possible with the generous support of the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, the Laidlaw Foundation, Sherwood Park Management, and Toronto’s burgeoning movement of young social entrepreneurs.

How does the YSEC Fund work?

It’s a new year, and a perfect time to make new connections and reconnect with organizers, entrepreneurs and activists in the community. That’s why we’re bringing in the year with our first MeetUP of 2010!

Come out on Wednesday, January 27 @ the Centre for Social Innovation (215 Spadina Avenue, 4th Floor) from 6:30 – 9 pm (event starts at 7pm).

- Join the city’s vibrant community of young changemakers
– Meet some of the most innovative minds and projects
– Learn about social entrepreneurship & social enterprise

Light snacks will be served as of 6:30 pm so come early, hang out, and enjoy. To cover costs of the event, we’re charging $10 at the door.

We look forward to seeing you there and catching up with you all!

Please RSVP by Friday, January 22.

Update:

We have a fabulous line-up of speakers who will be joining us at the MeetUP and sharing their views on what ’social entrepreneurship’ means to them:

• Karim Harji, Manager for Partnership Development at Social Capital Partners, Co-founder of socialfinance.ca
• Mark Simpson, Professor and Co-ordinator of The Institute of Entrepreneurship and Community Innovation (The Institute) and SIFE Faculty Advisor at George Brown College
• Norm Tasevski, Social Entrepreneur In Residence, SiG@MaRS
• Mathieu McFadden, a market warrior for ChocoSol