CASE STUDY 12: The Elevator Project

The Elevator Project was a multi-stakeholder pilot project, supported by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, and led by 10 Carden, a community social innovation organization in Guelph. The purpose of the project was to develop community-led projects aligned with corporate social goals. A staged approach was used to elevate community innovator’s ideas to higher levels of potential and success. The project ran for three years and facilitated hundreds of small community projects that were in turn financially supported by backers in the community (companies and individuals).

[From the Elevator Project site] “The aim of The Elevator Project is to unite people with fantastic ideas to improve the quality of life in Guelph with the resources such as funding, materials, advice and expertise that will bring these ideas to life.”

The Elevator Project drew on community volunteers and local organizations to match ‘Idea Makers’ with ‘Investors’. In this way, cool and impactful projects were launched in Guelph ranging from new business ideas, to art installations, to social support programs, to local history projects.

This amazing program eventually came to an end but the projects have had lasting effects on Guelph and its people.