Social Enterprise

A welcoming Inn and an innovative social enterprise.

Since opening a decade ago, Fogo Island Inn has offered a hospitality experience that is based on community-centred values. Building on Fogo Island’s place-specific culture, the Inn was founded and remains owned by the charity Shorefast. Shorefast’s initiatives are dedicated to making it possible for local communities to thrive in the global economy, with a focus on securing Fogo Island’s cultural and economic future. There is no private gain from your stay at the Inn: 100 percent of operating surpluses are returned to Shorefast for reinvestment in further community development work.

So where does your money go? See the breakdown in our Economic Nutrition label.

In this way, Shorefast strives to use business-minded ways to achieve social ends.
This “not-just-for-profit” approach to business is a model for a more positive and productive relationship between capital and community. Money spent at Fogo Island Inn directly contributes the well-being of one of Canada’s oldest European settled communities, and is an investment in a different way of thinking.
And we are also sharing our experience with other communities so they can benefit from it and build their own resilient future.

Learn more here: Shorefast