With considerable interest in the opportunity of scaling up social finance in Canada, Tides Canada, J.W. McConnell Family Foundation and PLAN, with funding from Vancity Credit Union, hosted a 1.5 day social finance strategy session with national leaders in social finance on October 19 and 20, 2006.
The purpose of the meeting was to map an accelerated growth plan for the financial infrastructure needed to support Canada’s competitive, innovative and entrepreneurial social sector.
Social finance for the purpose of the meeting was described as sustainable finance with a social or environmental goal, covering a growing continuum including community investing, social enterprise finance, micro-lending, sustainable business, and philanthropic program-related investments.
Premised on the view that the Canadian social sector (including charities, non-profits and community enterprises) is drastically under-financed, the meeting sought to consider how to reverse this situation through advancing the growth of the social capital marketplace.
