Themes that will be explored at Propelling 2014 include:

• Insights into entrepreneurial journeys from inspiring individuals creating impact around the world
• Government as an innovator? What roles can the public sector play in supporting innovation
• Social innovation in the Community Living Sector
• Ideas for impact: explore where ideas come from and how they turn into real impact
• A purpose driven career, not just for entrepreneurs
• Social Venture Showcase with the CCS Innovation Hub

Featuring keynote speaker Daniel Epstein, Co-founder of Unreasonable Group.

Daniel’s life has been shaped by a fundamental belief that entrepreneurship is the answer to nearly all the issues we face today. By the time he received his undergraduate degree in philosophy, he’d already started three companies. In 2012 he was recognized by Inc. Magazine as a “30 under 30 entrepreneur” and by Forbes as one of the “top 30 most impactful entrepreneurs” of the year. In 2013, he received the prestigious “Entrepreneur of the World” award along with Richard Branson at the Global Entrepreneurship Forum. Today, this passion for entrepreneurship and startups has led to the creation of Unreasonable Group. The vision of Unreasonable Group is to create a collective family of companies that will, together, put a dent on the seemingly intractable social and environmental challenges of this century.

Who should attend Propelling Social Ventures?

Business community: Learn how you can increase the impact of your business through partnerships with social ventures

Social Entrepreneurs: Meet other social entrepreneurs  and hear their experience and advice. Meet organizations looking to engage with social ventures.

Investors: Hear from investors about their experience investing in social ventures and meet some of Vancouver’s most promising social entrepreneurs.

Students: Learn what social ventures are all about and find out how you can engage with ventures as a student or in your career. Meet social entrepreneurs and other students passionate about the business of impact.

Government and policy makers: Get to know various models of social ventures and the impact they create in their communities and hear their thoughts on how governments can engage with social ventures to create more impact in our city and province.

Nonprofit and social sector organizations: Hear from social entrepreneurs creating impact through business models and explore ways that nonprofit and social sector organizations can partner with social ventures to increase impact and financial sustainability.

Social Enterprise intermediaries: Social entrepreneurs will share their experiences starting and scaling social ventures and discuss the types of intermediary support can help social ventures to grow and scale their impact.

Register now

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM ET

Investing in building retrofits for greater energy efficiency has the potential to reduce housing costs and improve utilities consumption while supporting emissions reductions. Whether for individual homeowners or affordable housing providers, a diversity of financial tools and programs are required to make it viable to invest in retrofits that will provide long-term energy efficiency savings and returns.

We will be joined by two non-profit organizations that provide financial incentives for energy efficient upgrades in the residential sector. Toronto Atmospheric Fund will discuss their TowerWise Energy Savings Purchase Agreement program, a revolving loan fund approach to financing energy retrofits, in addition to their partnership with Toronto Community Housing. Efficiency Nova Scotia Corporationwill provide background on their interest-free financing program for home energy efficiency upgrades, along with a new pilot program that allows energy upgrade loans to be repaid through the property-tax bill (PACE).

SPEAKERS

Tim Stoate is the Vice President of Impact Investing with the Toronto Atmospheric Fund. Tim has thirty years of experience in impact investing and corporate finance consulting in the banking sector. Portfolios under his management have exceeded $200 million in committed funds and have included residential real estate, construction transactions, and commercial loans.

Toronto Atmospheric Fund (TAF) was established in 1991 by the City of Toronto with a mandate to reduce local greenhouse gas and air pollution emissions. To accelerate the uptake of energy efficiency in the high-rise residential market, Tim and his team have created an innovative new financing tool, an Energy Savings Performance Agreement, (“ESPA”). The ESPA transfers the risk of achieving energy efficiency results to TAF through an insurance arrangement that TAF is pioneering. In addition, through a partnership with Toronto Community Housing, TAF has provided support on a major appliance upgrade.

Amy Brown is a Program Manager with Efficiency Nova Scotia’s Residential Financing program. Amy is a Bachelor of Business Administration graduate with over five years’ experience in the financial services sector. Her work focuses on designing and implementing unique financing incentive options to assist homeowners overcome financial barriers often associated with making energy efficiency improvements.

Efficiency Nova Scotia Corporation (ENSC) is a non-profit organization with a mandate to help all Nova Scotians use energy better. ENSC provides expertise, guidance and financial incentives to assist households, businesses and large institutions like hospitals and universities improve their energy efficiency and reduce their energy costs. ENSC is also dedicated to raising awareness about the value of energy efficiency in our schools and communities, and to fostering the growth of Nova Scotia’s energy efficiency industry. Since 2008, energy efficiency programs have reduced Nova Scotia’s annual electricity load by 4.3 per cent – enough electricity to power more than 46,000 households. Thanks to this work, Nova Scotians are saving $52 million in electricity costs every year.

Space is limited. REGISTER NOW!

Webinars are free for CHRA members.
For non-members, the cost is $40 + tax.

1:30 PM - 3:00 PM ET

Affordable housing represents an infrastructure investment like any other real estate opportunity, with one demonstrable difference: social impact. With the potential for scale, proven debt investment and stable returns, affordable housing has become a key sector of the social finance marketplace – an investment approach based on mobilizing private capital that seeks to deliver a social impact while producing a financial return.

Broadly defined, social finance has been evolving in Canada over the past decade, and has revealed financing opportunities in support of the development of new affordable housing projects. We will hear from two Ontario housing providers - Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation and St. Clares Multifaith Housing - who will discuss their experience in employing a blend of financing strategies to leverage equity for their recent builds.

SPEAKERS

Jon Harstone is the Executive Director of St. Clares Multifaith Housing Society and a consultant with Ganesh Community Development Co-op, a non-profit consulting firm that assists non-profit housing organizations to develop affordable housing. For more than thirty-five years Jon has been assisting in the development of affordable and supportive housing, and has been directly involved in over 45 affordable housing projects.

Ray Sullivan is the Executive Director of Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation (CCOC), a mixed-income private non-profit with 1595 units in downtown Ottawa. Ray has worked in the sector since 1999, but his proudest achievement was in helping to create 254 new homes at CCOC’s recent Beaver Barracks development –there were times when he wasn’t sure it would happen at all.

Space is limited. REGISTER NOW!

Webinars are free for CHRA members.
For non-members, the cost is $40 + tax.

Join NNSP and CLASP for a free webinar:
Sector Initiatives and Career Pathways

Thursday, January 23
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific / 2:00 - 3:30 PM Eastern

As the U.S. economy continues its slow recovery from the Great Recession, stagnant employment growth has resulted in ongoing high unemployment, leaving millions without jobs. Those with the lowest levels of educational attainment are hardest hit, experiencing the highest levels of unemployment. At the same time, businesses report having difficulty finding employees with the skills they need, and many job-postings go unfilled.

How can education and workforce development systems be best configured so workers can attain the skills they need for good jobs and employers can satisfy their workforce needs?

[ register here ]

In this webinar co-sponsored by the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and the National Network of Sector Partners (NNSP), participants will learn about two successful and complementary approaches that states and communities have adopted to help individuals attain skills and credentials, help meet employers’ workforce needs, and strengthen the economic vitality of communities.  Sector initiatives (regional industry-focused workforce partnerships) customize solutions for multiple employers and increase access to good jobs for low-income individuals. Career pathways connect progressive levels of basic skills and postsecondary education, training, and supportive services to optimize the progress and success of individuals.

Webinar participants will learn about the characteristic strengths of each approach and how they can be combined for the benefit of both workers and their potential employers. Participants will also hear from one sector initiative, Instituto del Progreso Latino, about how it has implemented a sector-based career pathways approach to help workers get jobs and advance in healthcare and manufacturing.

Panelists:

• Vickie Choitz
  Director, Alliance for Quality Career Pathways
  CLASP
• Tom DuBois
  Director of New Initiatives
  Instituto del Progreso Latino
• Jim Torrens
  Program Manager, National Network of Sector Partners
  Insight Center for Community Economic Development