The Building Blocks Incubation Program is a four-week, community-based accelerator designed to support early-stage, locally rooted projects. Each round invites five teams from one neighborhood to grow their skills through hands-on workshops, personalized mentorship, and peer learning.
Participating projects receive $1,000 in seed funding for completing the program, with the chance to earn an additional $1,500 through a community-voted graduation showcase.
Summer 2025 Cohort:
Stewarded by: Milton-Parc Citizen's Committee
Deadline: July 18th, 2025
Workshop Content
Building the Foundations
Governance & the Solidarity Economy
Learn the core values and practices of the solidarity economy and explore how collective governance and shared decision-making can strengthen your project. You’ll begin defining your team’s purpose, membership, and structure while grounding your work in real community needs, shared accountability, and trust.
Organizing with Purpose
Tools for Collective Project Management
Build the skills to organize your team and structure your work. We’ll cover tools for collaborative planning, democratic structuring, time management, and task-sharing. You'll also learn low-barrier digital tools for staying organized and leading your project with care and clarity.
Financing Your Vision
Values-Based Financial Planning
Understand what it takes to fund and sustain your initiative. This session breaks down budgeting basics, resource mapping, start-up costs, and revenue generation strategies. You’ll learn how to build a financial plan that aligns with your project’s values while identifying realistic paths to bring in resources and keep your work going.
From Vision to Action
Planning & Promoting Your Project
Bring it all together by developing a simple project plan that outlines your goals, structure, finances and how you'll connect with your community. You’ll learn how to identify your audience, craft messages that resonate, and build an outreach strategy rooted in relationship-building and trust. This session ensures your vision is clear and shareable.
Who is the program for?
The Building Blocks Incubation Program is designed for early-stage projects rooted in the Milton-Parc neighborhood that align with the values of the social solidarity economy (SSE). This program is for you if:
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You have a project idea that supports collective wellbeing, mutual aid, or community-led solutions
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Your initiative is in the ideation or pre-startup phase (not yet formally launched)
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You’re excited to participate in hands-on training, mentorship, and a collaborative learning cohort
We welcome applications from small teams with a clear commitment to community, cooperation, and collective impact. No previous experience in entrepreneurship is required, just a strong idea and a willingness to grow!
Eligibility
- Apply as a team of at least 3 people
- Be based in or meaningfully connected to the Milton-Parc neighborhood
- Be available in August for the full 4-week program, including all workshops, mentorship, and the graduation event
5 Projects Selected
Building Blocks, Step by Step
Apply to the Program
Deadline: July 18th, 2025
Tell us about your team and your project idea by submitting a short application. No formal experience is needed, just a strong commitment to your community and a willingness to learn.
Selection Committee
Results by: July 25th, 2025
A joint committee made up of SEIZE and the Milton-Parc Citizens’ Committee will carefully review all applications. 5 projects will be selected to join the program based on alignment with solidarity economy values, community impact, and readiness.
Grow and Learn
Sessions: Thursdays, August 7th, 14th, 21st, & 28th from 10AM – 1PM
Selected teams will take part in four in-person workshops designed to build core skills in project planning, cooperative governance, budgeting, and business development.
All sessions will be held at the CCMP Building (3516 Avenue du Parc) and include mentorship and peer learning.
Community Presentations
Date: September 2025, TBD
At the end of the program, all teams will present their projects at a public community showcase. Attendees will vote on their favorite initiatives, and the top two will receive additional prize funding based on community support!