Atira Property Management is one of the first socially responsible property management companies in Canada. The social enterprise is a subsidiary of Atira Women’s Resources, a nonprofit dedicated to providing transition homes and support services to women facing violence in their lives.

Atira received business plan coaching and a grant from the Social Enterprise Fund. Atira used the funds largely to purchase a specialized software program – Yardi – that is a standard operating component of established property management companies. The program provides accounting systems that enable a property management firm to process multiple rent and strata payments efficiently and provides the data management to comply with strict regulations in the industry. Success in the property management industry is dependent on getting the economies of scale associated with a high volume of clients. The SEF grant allowed Atira to make the jump into a high volume business with a specialized accounting system and business systems that are more efficient and can scale.

In the year following the social enterprise grant, Atira realized a 50% growth in revenue and is on target to generate a profit in the 2007. Once realized, profits from the property management enterprise will be used to subsidizing the mission of Atira Women’s Resources.

http://www.atira.ca/