Consulting and Project Support

Tailored support for impact-driven organizations.


For Summer 2023, we're exclusively supporting women- and gender diverse-led nonprofits and charities to develop social enterprises.

Applications are open on a rolling basis until Sunday, April 30.

Dedicated, driven talent.
Your team will be paired with a team of two paid Propel Impact Summer Analysts, who will commit 120 hours over 12 weeks. Analysts have been hand-selected and bring an array of diverse experiences to the table.
Focused, practical support.
Projects will support one of four specific needs: market research, feasibility assessment, financial modeling, and impact measurement. The project is designed help your nonprofit or charity build capacity towards launching a social enterprise.
Impact investing education.
Your team will be invited to participate in a series of educational sessions led by Propel's Impact Investing arm and if applicable, be added to the pipeline for potential investment by a local Propel Impact fund.

In the past four years, we've helped 160+ impact-first organizations overcome a wide variety of challenges.

Takachar
Yukonstruct
Food Stash Foundation

We get into the weeds of helping you build your social enterprise, one project at a time.

What makes an ideal
Propel Impact project?

Overview

Projects that will help your nonprofit or charity work towards developing a social enterprise and generating revenue.

Duration: 120 hours of Analyst time commitment over 12 weeks between May 15 - August 4.
Team Structure: 2 paid Propel Impact Summer Analysts guided by a Propel Impact Manager
Focus Areas: Market Research, Feasibility Assessment, Financial Modeling, Impact Measurement
Cost: Organizations are charged on a sliding scale, depending on their financial capacity. As a benchmark, it costs Propel Impact $3,500 to hire, train, and mentor Analysts to deliver each project. Any payment above enables Propel Impact to continue its work serving youth and impact-first organizations. We strive to ensure that financial capacity is not the limiting factor for any eligible organization.

Eligibility

• You self-identify as a women or gender-diverse leader of a nonprofit or charity. Your nonprofit or charity has a social, environmental, and/or cultural mandate.
• You are headquartered in Canada or you have a significant amount of operations in Canada.
• You are interested in establishing revenue-generating activities and/or have plans to fundraise capital (philanthropy, grants, venture capital, impact investing etc.) in the next 1-2 years.
• The scope of your project can be completed over 120 hours between May and August 2023. Your organization is able to commit 10 hours over 12 weeks to meeting with Analysts and providing feedback.

Applications are open on a rolling basis until May 7, 2023.
Apply Now
Previous Projects

Organizations we’ve worked with

Client testimonials

“The project support provided by Propel Impact Analysts was an amazing help to our organization and helped us to confirm we were on the right track in reopening following a necessary closure due to COVID. The extensive market research and financial projections the team completed for us was exactly what we needed to understand the emerging opportunities in our field and the best ways to increase our market reach."
- The Barking Lot (Fredericton, New Brunswick)
“Propel Impact Analysts provided our organization with a really comprehensive framework to help us understand and address trends and opportunities in our industry. They very quickly showed that they understood our business model and were able to bring relevant, fresh perspectives to help guide our planning process moving forward.”
- Mealshare (National)
“Propel Impact has provided tremendous value to CityStudio. The Analysts were incredibly intelligent, curious, thoughtful, and asked critical questions that challenged my team to clarify our goals and think in deeper and new ways. The final deliverables and recommendations surpassed my expectations in terms of quality, thoroughness, and usefulness.”
- CityStudio (Vancouver, British Columbia)

FAQ

Who will we be working with?
Your nonprofit or charity will be matched with a team of 1-2 Summer Analysts who come from different backgrounds. Many Summer Analysts are senior year undergraduate students or have just graduated from a Bachelors program, and others are completing graduate degrees or have been in the workforce for a few years. Each team will be supported by a Project Advisor - either an experienced alum or a Propel Impact team member.
What criteria do you use to select projects?
Beyond our Summer 2023 focus on women- and gender diverse-led nonprofits and charities, project requests are assessed on three criteria: whether they address specific social, environmental, and cultural issues that are aligned with Propel Impact’s priorities, whether the Fellows have the requisite skills to complete the project successfully, and whether your organization demonstrates a commitment to establishing a social enterprise or revenue generating activities.
What additional value will Propel Impact provide?
As your project comes to an end, you will be invited to participate in several workshops led by Propel Impact's Investing arm, where you will learn about the impact investing landscape in Canada, the wide variety of impact investing instruments that exist, and how to navigate relationships with investors. Once your nonprofit or charity is ready to seek funding, we will also consider you for investment through one of our seven local Propel Impact funds.
What type of projects can be issued? How should we go about scoping the work?
With a strong focus on helping you develop a social enterprise, projects must be focused on market research, feasibility assessment, financial modeling, or impact measurement. A strong project proposal will only cover one of these areas. Once the projects begin, the Propel Impact Analysts and project mentors will help you determine the scope of work to ensure project success. Read some case studies showcasing previous projects for inspiration.
Why does my organization have to pay?
As a small nonprofit, Propel Impact incurs direct costs to operate these projects. These costs include: recruiting, hiring, & training Summer Analysts, paying Analysts and Managers for the time that they contribute to consulting engagements, and facilitating impact investing workshops for participating nonprofits and charities.

Note: We do not accept projects based on your capacity to pay. Proposals will be evaluated on the criteria described in FAQ 2.

Get in
touch

We thrive on feedback. We want to learn how we can best support you. We love connecting. So, get in touch.
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