A local MLA is welcoming the province's recent introduction of a bill to create a new social finance structure: the community contribution company.
Gordon Hogg, MLA for Surrey-White Rock, told Business in Vancouver that B.C.'s non-profit sector has been prohibited from using enterprising solutions to raise revenue.
"You can't make a profit, as the name suggests. You can't do a business plan over three years. You can't pay your board of directors. You can't buy a franchise to support your entity. And if you've got a contract with government, you may be told that your overhead can't be over 7%."
In an economy where grants and donations are drying up, Hogg said, those rules are holding non-profits back from doing their work.
"No businesses can function that way," he said. "And we make it virtually impossible for many non-profits who want to provide service to function – other than being just a little-league or a marginal social-service provider."
Hogg commended last week's introduction of a bill that would create the community contribution company financial structure. The structure would allow organizations to raise capital, turn a profit for themselves and shareholders, and answer to more than one bottom line as they pursue a community-oriented mission.
"This is looking at how we can leverage some of the business community's acumen into the social sector," said Hogg.
