In 2012, due to the interaction between the Universidad Nacional del Litoral, the Government of the Province of Santa Fe and the Government of the City of Santa Fe, the Centro de Emprendedores de la Economía Social (CEES – Center for Entrepreneurs of the Social Economy) was created, in order to coordinate and to boost actions and policies aimed at strengthening SSE agents and practices.
Its goals include providing training and technical assistance through courses, conferences and workshops for the entrepreneurs of Social Economy, providing chances for cooperation and exchange between these stakeholders and linking credit lines for entrepreneurs with projects of Social Economy. In three years, this project has become a landmark in the region -approached by an increasing number of entrepreneurs willing to participate in the different proposals-, and a successful experience of co-management of public policies.

L’Atelier was created in 2007 at the instigation of the Île-de-France Region and of stakeholders of the sector, as non-profit making association. Since its creation, l’Atelier has offered many services to the stakeholders of SSE in Île-de-France, namely SSE entrepreneurs, local governments, professional networks and the general public. In particular it has created “Entrepreneurs du changement” (Entrepreneurs of change), a support program aimed at those creating SSE enterprises. The program aims to advise the project carriers, guide them toward support structures, facilitate their networking, provide access to thematic workshops, etc. To summarize, it is the “gateway” to the development of a SSE activity. Due to its plural governance and the activities it carries out, the Resource Center has a widespread knowledge of the regional entreprise support ecosystem and nearly 250 initiative developpers benefit from this every year.

In 2014, the City of Madison, Wisconsin approved $3 million of funding to be distributed over 5 years (subject to annual authorization of capital expenditure) to support cooperative development, beginning in 2016. The City of Madison’s Economic, Planning and Development units, MadWorC (an umbrella cooperative supporting the worker cooperatives sector in Madison), the University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives, and other stakeholders are collaboratively developing plans. The program will likely provide technical assistance and lending programs for new and existing cooperative businesses, business analysis and support for cooperative start-ups, assistance with conversions to worker cooperatives, equitable employment for excluded populations, and fundraising and technical support for creative problem solving.

The J. W. McConnell Family Foundation was founded in 1937, and is one of Canada’s largest private foundations. The Board is comprised of three generations of the extended McConnell family, and it has 40 staff located in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver. With a mission to ‘engage Canadians in building a society that is ‘inclusive, sustainable and resilient’, McConnell’s granting and impact investments are focused on sustainable food systems; Aboriginal reconciliation; energy and the economy; resilient and livable cities; and capacity building for the social sector, among other issues. From an endowment of $605 million (CAN), McConnell disburses 4% annually in grants. Its policy objective is to direct 10% of the endowment to impact investments (currently at 5%).