social finance

• Canadians are harnessing the power of social finance Last week, at the inaugural Women in Social Business Forum in Ottawa, the Honourable Diane Finley, minister of human resources and skills development, released a report outlining the results of the National Call for Concepts for Social Finance. The report, “Harnessing the Power of Social Finance,” profiles 15 of the over 150 proposals to leverage social finance as [...]

• Blended financing for impact: The opportunity for social finance in supportive housing It all started with a wicked problem and an ambitious goal.

• Breaking perceptions: Unlocking capital for impact investing I am a relative newcomer to the world of social finance and impact investing in Canada. I have spent parts of the last 20 years working with investment funds in emerging markets (primarily in Africa) where, almost by definition, all small and medium enterprise investing is impact investing.

• MaRS Centre for Impact Investing receives $1 million gift from RBC Toronto, November 8, 2012 – The MaRS Centre for Impact Investing today received a $1 million, five-year commitment from RBC to help build its capacity as a leadership hub for social finance and impact investing. The announcement was made at the Centre’s annual Social Finance Forum, taking place at MaRS Discovery District. With this gift, [...]

• Who is Canada’s most promising new financial player in social finance? You tell us! From one of Canada’s largest financial institutions to a group of community investors who set out to make a difference, this year’s finalists for the Social Finance Awards represent the diversity and scope of impact investing activity in Canada. Whether they have pioneered a new financial model, strengthened the social economy or impacted an entirely [...]

• Impact Investing: Building the industry Although investments for social and environmental impact have been made for decades, the field of impact investing has really taken off over the last decade, and since 2007 in particular. This evolution has been covered in a new report titled “Accelerating Impact: Achievements, Challenges and What’s Next in Building the Impact Investing Industry,” which was [...]

• What do railroads, telephones and social enterprise share? Canada has a long-standing history of developing policy that supports the growth of emerging sectors of its economy. From transportation to health to information, much of our country’s infrastructure is a function of some form of government involvement. There is also great potential for government to support the development of impact investing infrastructure through smart [...]

• Social finance: The key to The Innovation City How do we create cities that are catalysts for growth and prosperity on the global scale? How do we overcome the complexities of urbanization to develop effective digital and transportation infrastructure? How do we create sustainable and resource-efficient metropolitan regions?

• Case Studies in Social Innovation: MaRS Centre for Impact Investing The MaRS Centre for Impact Investing helps increase the effectiveness of social finance to deliver innovative solutions to Canada’s social and environmental challenges.

• Speak up now! Nominate a leader for the Social Finance Awards Trailblazers within the field of social finance are those leaders who challenge the status quo. By proposing new models, solutions and frameworks for finance, they fundamentally alter the way we perceive and interact with the world.