March 2, 2011
Fenn Lounge, Carleton University
9:00 am to 3:15 pm

On March 2nd, 2011, 3ci hosted a day‐long symposium on social enterprises and social finance solutions. Canada’s civil society organizations face increasing social and environmental challenges in a period of growing fiscal constraints. Lasting solutions to these challenges will require a commitment to innovation. Such innovation can be seen in both the emerging for‐profit social purpose business sector and the enterprising activities of charities, non‐profits, and co‐operatives. Many civil society organizations are turning to social enterprises to meet pressing social and environmental needs. Social enterprise is defined as any organization or business that uses market‐oriented production and sale of goods and/or services to pursue a public benefit mission. This definition covers many organizational forms – ranging from enterprising charities, non‐profits and co‐operatives to social purpose businesses, which are for‐profit businesses designed to fulfill a social mission. To be sustainable social enterprises require access to capital. They also need to be of sufficient scale to attract and retain capital with financial and operating leverage embedded in the solution to the problem they hope to address. There is also a need for innovation in our financial markets and in enabling government regulation that encourages social finance in Canada, if it is to grow beyond a niche idea into a viable solution to address pressing social problems. This symposium explores opportunities to address social and environmental challenges through social enterprise and social finance.

Symposium Participant List

Presenter Profiles

For presentations, please click on the links in the sessions below.

Please click here to access the blog by John Neale, summarizing the day's presentations.

Welcome and Introduction

Carleton Centre for Community Innovation

Addressing today’s social and environmental challenges through innovation

Panel chair ‐ Judith Madill, Professor, and Holder of the Paul Desmarais Professorship in Marketing, Telfer School of Management, University of Ottawa

Panel presentations from social entrepreneurs:

• Russ McLeod, Executive Director Me to We
  
  
• David Hughes, President and CEO Pathways to Education
  
  
• Tal Dehtiar, Oliberte Footwear
  
  
• Robert Mittelman, Kiva Microfinance

Discussion

Armchair discussion of Social Finance Possibilities and Challenges
Introductions ‐ Tim Draimin, Executive Director of Social Innovation Generation (SiG) ‐ Chair, Causeway Social Finance

• Bill Young, Founder and President Social Capital Partners
• Nancy Neamtan, President, Chantier de l’ economie sociale

Social Finance Challenge

Working at each table following lunch, groups analyzed a short social enterprise case study to come up with innovative suggestions on how to achieve scale and sustainable growth (and financing) to meet its mission.

Facilitator: Francois Brouard, Sprott Centre for Social Enterprise and Associate Professor, Sprott School of Business, Carleton University.

Please click here to access the Consolidated Report from all the tables.

Investing for Impact Panel presentations from Impact Investing specialists

Panel Chair: Aaron Good, Vice‐President, Public Policy Forum

• Ken Delaney, Assistant to National Director USWA and former President of First Ontario LSIF
• Steve Godeke, Godeke Consulting, author Philanthropy’s New Passing Gear