What Value Social Enterprise? Understanding the success of Atira Property Management

Abstract

A charity that manages transition houses in B.C.'s lower mainland is in the curious position of both making and breaking the case for social enterprise. Atira Women's Resource Society has found itself well-positioned to make property management serve its greater goals and turn a profit as well. Business has given a creative, independent outlet to much of the time and energy once given over to fund-raising. While recognizing the immense value of this experiment, however, executive director Janice Abbott cautions those who might think their entry into the property management business is easily replicable.

For those who have been reading these cases in sequence and tracking the kind of supports that have been important in the start-up and survival of specific social enterprises, the APM case provides important clues.