About the Ottawa CED Network

The Ottawa CED Network is a not-for-profit initiative designed to foster community economic development within the Ottawa area. As a project of the Ottawa Social Planning Council funded by the City of Ottawa and the Trillium Foundation, the Network exists to:

• To help implement new CED initiatives and social enterprises in Ottawa
• To facilitate capacity building in CED initiatives through technical assistance and improved access to resources
• To increase communication and co-operation among CED organizations and social enterprises

Community Economic Development (CED) helps individuals achieve their personal goals while enhancing the capacity of individuals working as a community to create vibrant places in which to live and work. Helping individuals with multiple barriers to employment attain a job or start a business creates winning results for the individual, the community and the economy.

Ultimately, ABCD and CED ventures benefit governments with savings in spending on services and through increases in tax revenues.

CED depends on people sharing a range of hard and soft skills, capable and enterprising agencies, longer time-lines for implementation, coordination among several programs, funders who support community capacity building and cooperation between the public, private and community sectors.

How we make a difference

Our members represent and create opportunities for a range of groups, including people with low incomes, new Canadians, youth, the homeless and those with mental illnesses. Our members’ CED ventures include:

• A catering business that employs persons diagnosed with mental illness
• A loan fund that finances individuals when government programs and banks will not
• Housing cooperatives, which enable more people to enjoy the benefits of home ownership
• Programs and business ventures that offer hard-to-serve people, such as youth at risk, training and employment opportunities.

How can I get involved?

The Network seeks volunteers with professional experience, persons running or interested in running a CED program, and donors.

If you have professional experience –, admin., business management, business or strategic planning, IT, PR– please contact the CED Network directly, or go to the Volunteer page.

If you are interested in running a CED Venture, or are running one not listed in the Ottawa CED Directory, then please contact the Ottawa CED Network.

Financial donations are welcome. We receive donations through the Social Planning Council (make a special note to indicate your wish to support the CED Network.) Donations are tax-deductible. Please download the monetary donation form.

More Information

Although new, CED has already begun in Ottawa; take a look at the Ottawa CED Directory.

For any CED inquiries not addressed by this site, please feel free to contact the CED Coordinators: George Brown (English Co-Director) or Nelson Ovalle (French Co-Director)