PICTURING POTENTIAL: Hope For Community Development, a Non-profit Advanced Entrepreneurship program, puts Next Gen business opportunities in frame
Hope For Community Development is empowering young people through a creative lens —and Waterloo Region’s future wave of aspiring entrepreneurs is ready for their close-up.
The youth-focused non-profit organization aims to break the cycle of poverty that Black and newcomer families face in Waterloo Region. Through its programming, Hope For Community Development unearths opportunities, including space for learning and leadership.
One such opportunity is the Advanced Entrepreneurship Program, launched in July 2023 with support from the Canadian government’s Community Services Recovery Fund.
The 12-week program was designed for youth (mostly high-school-aged) with a dream of launching a business. Participants received a comprehensive curriculum on developing a successful social enterprise and additional applied learning through the social enterprise itself, in this case, a youth photography business (chosen based on community research).
The business — Next Gen Photography — opened in November 2023. The full-service photography agency serves the region with a vision of elevating youth through the art of photography.
“They’ve learned and developed their photography skills and customer service, and they are now employed by our organization to offer professional photography services throughout Waterloo Region,” said Francess Dunhann, Executive Director of the Kitchener-based non-profit that was founded in 2018. “Youth support each other on-site and learn on the job, advancing their photography skills through experience and sharing knowledge.”
To deliver the program, Hope For Community Development leaned on resources provided by The Community Company, a Certified B Corporation that works with non-profits to create sustainable enterprises. Representatives from Waterloo Region Community Foundation (WRCF), LiftOff, and the Waterloo Region Small Business Centre also lent expertise.
After the Advanced Entrepreneurship Program, four youths were hired to work for Next Gen Photography, which offers photography packages aimed at everyone from businesses and charities to groups and individuals across the region.
“Next Gen Photography has its own Facebook, Instagram, and website where customers can book our services,” Dunhann said. “Next Gen Photography clients are over the moon with the quality photo services provided to them so far.”
Program participants are equally excited.
“It was evident that the program progressed because the youth became increasingly invested in their own learning. They were asking a lot of questions because they were passionate about the program,” Dunhann said.
“One key learning I will take away from this program is that even the biggest ideas or dreams can seem achievable when you break it down to simple weekly steps, just like how we demonstrated in this class. I see myself participating in our photography social enterprise because I am curious to see it to the end.”
“We are providing a springboard of employment opportunities for Black youth in the difficult transition time following high school completion while paying them a living wage for their time and work,” she added.
The Community Services Recovery Fund is a $400-million investment from the federal government to support charities and non-profits as they recover from the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic. This fund was a collaboration between the Canadian Red Cross, Community Foundations of Canada, and United Way Centraide Canada.
Locally, WRCF partnered with United Way Waterloo Region Communities to provide $3 million in funding to support 64 organizations across Waterloo Region.
“It was a great experience working with WRCF and the United Way,” Dunhann said. “As a first-time recipient of the Community Services Recovery Fund, we were new to the granting process. WRCF and United Way were helpful in providing answers to questions we had and updating us on important information from CFC about our application.”
She added: “(The funding) really built our organization’s capacity in terms of our entrepreneurship program going to the next level, so I will say that with this fund, it has impacted our organization.”
As for what’s next?
“We are hoping to ramp up our enterprise pilot this year, which is why we are searching for more funding for youth wages,” Dunhann said. “The long-term goal for our Advanced Entrepreneurship Program is to continue to empower and employ many young people, as much as possible, every year. In Waterloo Region, there are other preventative youth programs for Black youth in the age range we are targeting, but our program is unique in that it provides paid employment as well as resume-building activities for youth in a discipline that is vastly applicable in a variety of career fields.”
“My experience in the program so far has been a positive and insightful journey. The program has taught me things and given me resources a school classroom is unable to give. I appreciated the contacts and relationships formed. I liked that everyone including myself was pushed out of our comfort zones to grow and put ourselves out there.”
As the name of the organization suggests, hope is not to be overlooked.
“We believe that our youth are the new generation,” Dunhann said. “I believe that the youth that are engaging in this program, are going to be great leaders in the future and have great businesses.”
For more information on Hope for Community Development, visit hope4cd.org.
For more details about Next Gen Photography, or to book services, visit nextgenphotos.org.
To learn more about the Community Services Recovery Fund, go to wrcf.ca/recovery-fund.