Past Events
Social Enterprise: Opportunities and Challenges
We have arranged for a stimulating panel of Toronto experts:
- Allyson Hewitt, Director of Social Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Generation at MaRS
- Tonya Surman, Executive Director, Centre for Social Innovation
- Anne Jamieson, Program Manager, Toronto Enterprise Fund, United Way of Greater Toronto
- Andrew Macdonald, Eva's Phoenix, (founder Eva's Phoenix Print Shop--SVPT investee)
During this session, we will be discussing various models of social ventures, both non-profit and for-profit, that sell goods or provide services in the market for the purpose of creating both a social and financial return. We will look at issues related to the funding and policy environment and what types of support is needed to help these organizations succeed and grow. This is an exciting and growing area and we are fortunate to have some of Toronto's thought-leaders and social entrepreneurs joining us for the session, both as guests and on the panel.
This will be a perfect event to which to invite others whom you think might be interested in joining SVP. Please pass this on to colleagues and friends.
Annual General Meeting
Join us for our Annual General Meeting! More details coming soon.
How Microphilanthropy is Changing Giving
Discover how smaller, more direct contributions to causes are changing how, why and where people give.
Microphilathropy is an approach to philanthropy based on smaller, more direct interaction between those who are in need and those who can give. Platforms such as Kiva, DonorsChoose and Facebook Causes have the ability to aggregate thousands of relatively small donations to make a big difference. To date, Kiva has distributed over $119 million to 297,000 small business entrepreneurs in developing countries, with an average loan size of $400 and a 98.27% repayment rate.
Come hear from three Canadian leaders as they describe how their initiatives are changing how, why and where people give:
- Peter Deitz is the founder of Social Actions, a social enterprise that curates open source and collaborative projects to make it easier for people to take action on the causes they care about.
- Ruth Richardson is the co-founder of the Small Change Fund, which enables social change at the grassroots level and helps Canadians invest in local actions that make a difference for the planet.
- Anil Patel is the Executive Director of the Framework Foundation, which empowers Canadians to ‘get in the picture’ to participate in volunteering and philanthropy.
The Colour of Poverty with Uzma Shakir
Many immigrants and refugees coming to Canada do so precisely because they find life untenable in other parts of the world, but they are finding themselves impoverished, marginalized, subjected to racism and victimized further in Canada. The fact that these ethno-racial immigrants are facing higher rates of poverty at a time when they are entering Canada with higher levels of education than ever before is particularly troubling. Uzma Shakir will lead us in a dialogue on the unique challenges these groups face and raise potential solutions. This topic is particularly relevant given the focus of our most recent investee, Skills for Change.
What is Capacity Anyway?
Join us for a participatory workshop to unpack capacity & learn about how we help investees become stronger organizations. More details coming soon!
