EVERETT — Housing Hope, with assistance from Snohomish County, will continue its “social enterprise” workshops this fall, beginning Wednesday, Sept. 12.
Reduction in state and federal funding has forced many nonprofits to look at new ways to generate revenue. One approach, called “social enterprise,” is to develop revenue-generating business that can earn unrestricted income and increase visibility.
HopeWorks Social Enterprises, established in 2011 by Housing Hope, is hosting this series of workshops so that nonprofits can learn to utilize social enterprise opportunities successfully. Snohomish County has been working with local nonprofits, including Housing Hope, to expand social enterprise options locally.
“Nonprofits are faced with the fact that state and federal funds will continue to shrink,” Snohomish County County Executive Aaron Reardon said. “We want to help them find new revenue streams because so many Snohomish County residents rely on their services.”
The workshops will be conducted at the Workforce Development Council of Snohomish County’s offices, and at Housing Hope’s Ken Schilaty Learning Center, offering interactive sessions featuring technical training, featured speakers and updates from local social enterprise initiatives. It will also include case studies and best practices from the field, technical training and input from fellow participants.
Workshops will cover the following topics and be held on the following days:
• “Technical Workshop: Advancing Your Market Analysis” on Sept. 12 at the Workforce Development Council of Snohomish County’s offices, located at 728 134th St. SW in Everett, will teach attendees how to research and evaluate the labor market, identify career pathways, and utilize Demand/Decline lists.
• “Social Enterprise: Local Success Story” will feature Ty Taylor, vice president of Northwest Centers, as the guest speaker on Wednesday, Oct. 3, at Housing Hope’s Ken Schilaty Learning Center, located at 5908 Evergreen Way in Everett.
Additional workshops planned for November and December will be announced later.
The cost of a three-workshop series is $25 per agency or $10 for each workshop. Agencies are encouraged to send up to five staff members per workshop. To register, contact Mary Jonasen at 425-347-6556, ext. 242, or maryjonasen@hopewrks.org.
