103 episodes
Impact Conversations Social Impact Advisors
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- Business
Impact Conversations is a show about change makers getting things done. Sally Fazal and Lynn Fergusson of Social Impact Advisors talk to NGO leaders, philanthropists, social entrepreneurs and environmental innovators about their goals and how they're reaching them.
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Constant Strategic Innovation at the Centre for Social Innovation, or CSI at CSI.
In this conversation with Tonya Surman, CEO of the Centre for Social Innovation, or CSI, we hear about the effect of COVID on their core social purpose coworking space and significant strategic changes happening at CSI. We see the value of CSi (and other nonprofits) owning real estate, unpack SI Canada’s new role, learn about their leadership on an Impact Dashboard with a Common Approach, and a pilot social enterprise in Muskoka for healing, connection and learning for impact leaders…and much more.
Resources
Tonya Surman : https://socialinnovation.org/team/tonya-surman/
Centre for Social Innovation (CSI): https://socialinnovation.org/
Social Innovation Canada (SI Canada): https://sicanada.org/
CSI Community Living Room, Regent Park: https://socialinnovation.org/space/locations/community-living-room/
TechSoup Canada : https://socialinnovation.org/about/techsoup-canada/
Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN): https://theonn.ca/
Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB): https://vancitycommunityinvestmentbank.ca/
Climate Ventures : https://climateventures.org/
Tapestry Community Capital: https://tapestrycapital.ca/
Wasan Island: http://www.wasan-island.de/
Breuninger Foundation: http://www.breuninger-stiftung.de/en/
Community Foundations of Canada (CFC): https://communityfoundations.ca/
McConnell Foundation: https://mcconnellfoundation.ca
Common Approach: https://www.commonapproach.org/
Adopting Common Measures with the Common Approach: https://socialinnovation.org/offering/adopting-common-measures/
Impact Dashboard: https://impactdashboard.org/
Thank you for listening to Impact Conversations with Lynn Fergusson & Sally Fazal
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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca -
Evolving Social Impact Planning in Uncertain Times
How the world has changed! There are a lot of new challenges and opportunities these days as organizations look to clarify their purpose, strategy, and evaluation of their work to create social impact in these uncertain times. The work is more complex and challenging than it was say three years ago, the stakes are higher, and success is less certain. In this podcast, Andrew Taylor, Co-Founder of Taylor Newberry Consulting and Lynn Fergusson, Partner at Social Impact Advisors let you in on some insights from the kind of conversations they often have to better understand the sector and how to support it.
Resources
Andrew Taylor: https://taylornewberry.ca/our-team/andrew-taylor/
Taylor Newberry Consulting: https://taylornewberry.ca
TNC and Centre for Evaluation Innovation : https://taylornewberry.ca/what-it-takes-to-learn-during-crises-reflections/
McMaster research – Nonprofit resilience in context of COVID-19: https://resilience.degroote.mcmaster.ca/home/non-profit-resilience-in-the-context-of-covid-19/
Thank you for listening to Impact Conversations with Lynn Fergusson & Sally Fazal
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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca -
Loosening the Reins on Funding to Enable Impact: The General Operating Support pilot
Laura Manning, Executive Director at the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation (LSHF) shares the journey and lessons learned from a bold Canadian pilot started in 2018, granting significant additional, unrestricted General Operating Support (GOS) to known grantees. We hear about the time it takes to get boards comfortable with this approach and what’s behind that. We also hear how Laura and the Foundation see advocating for this approach as part of their work, to help shift the sector. Now issuing more than 70% of the Foundation’s grants in unrestricted General Operating Support, LSHF provides insights and a framework in a Canadian context, and encouragement to Canadian funders to take a closer look at unrestricted giving as a way to enable impact.
Resources
Lyle S. Hallman Foundation: http://www.lshallmanfdn.org
General Operating Support pilot reports: http://www.lshallmanfdn.org/Pilot-Projects.htm
Laura Manning on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-manning-3b052718/
Ford Foundation Unrestricted Giving: https://www.fordfoundation.org
Thank you for listening to Impact Conversations with Lynn Fergusson & Sally Fazal
.
Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca -
Paulina Cameron: A changemaker supporting women entrepreneurs, individually and systemically
In this episode, we talk to Paulina Cameron, a Globe and Mail ’22 Changemaker and CEO of The Forum, a Vancouver-based charity teaching, mentoring and supporting women entrepreneurs across Canada to take their businesses to the next level. We hear about the challenges and opportunities the organization and women entrepreneurs faced through COVID. We also hear about the systemic issues women entrepreneurs face, and work The Forum is doing in both supporting women to overcome these barriers, while at the same time providing training to banks to address systemic biases. We’re encouraged to learn that more and more, younger generations of women entrepreneurs incorporate a social purpose in their business.
Resources
The Forum: https://www.theforum.ca/
Thank you for listening to Impact Conversations with Lynn Fergusson & Sally Fazal
.
Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca -
Catalyzing Social and Environmental Change: a conversation with SI Canada’s Andrea Nemtin
Our guest today is Andrea Nemtin, Executive Director of SI Canada.
Sally and Andrea talk about what Social Innovation is, the history of the field in Canada, and how Social Innovation Canada (SI Canada) came to be.
Andrea talks about the priorities of the organization as our country emerges from COVID, and how solutions to the complex challenges of social justice and climate change can be catalyzed and aligned through education, intentional networking at local and national levels across all sectors, and storytelling.
Resources:
Social Innovation Canada:
https://sicanada.org
hello@sicanada.org
Post Event Check-in with our National Gathering Design Team
Igniting Local Actions for an Inclusive Economy
Andrea Nemtin LinkedIn
White Fragility Subscription Box: https://www.edmontonshiftlab.ca/shift-lab-2-0-prototype-the-white-fragility-subscription-box/
Report: Unfunded: https://www.forblackcommunities.org/reports/
Foundation for Black Communities: https://www.forblackcommunities.org/
NFB film The Children of Fogo Island: https://www.nfb.ca/film/children_of_fogo_island/
SiG – Social Innovation Generation: https://thesigstory.squarespace.com/
MaRS Discovery District https://www.marsdd.com
Tonya Surman: https://socialinnovation.org/team/tonya-surman/
Darcy Riddell: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/darcy-riddell-11153a52
Alex Ryan: https://www.marsdd.com/bio/alex-ryan/
Radius: https://radiussfu.com/
Manitoba's Social Enterprise Centre: http://www.secwpg.com/
Boldness Project: https://www.winnipegboldness.ca/
Alberta's ABSI Connect: https://www.absiconnect.ca/
Quebec's MIS – Maison de l'innovation sociale: https://www.mis.quebec/
Atlantic Canada's Inspiring Communities: http://www.secwpg.com/
Democracy Collaborative: https://democracycollaborative.org/
Resource Productivity and Recovery Authority. https://rpra.ca/
Circular Economy Act: https://rpra.ca/the-circular-economy/
Michael MacMillan: https://www.samaracanada.com/about-us/board-of-directors
The Samara Centre for Democracy: https://www.samaracanada.com/home
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Thank you for listening to Impact Conversations with Lynn Fergusson & Sally Fazal
.
Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca -
Successfully bringing Indigenous ways to a traditionally science-based culture at Sierra Club BC, with Executive Director, Hannah Askew
Hannah Askew started as Executive Director at Sierra Club BC in late 2018 with a mandate to bring an Indigenous lens to the work of Sierra Club BC, alongside the traditional scientific lens. As a lawyer, prior to this role, Hannah practiced public interest environmental law and was deeply involved in learning from Indigenous communities about their systems of law and governance.
You’ll hear that Hannah is a big proponent of the McConnell Foundation’s Innoweave program “Impact and Strategic Clarity”, which they completed in 2019. It’s how they developed a Theory of Change (see the podcast resources), building clarity around what the organization aimed to achieve and how they would do it. While it was a difficult process, coming in as a new Executive Director and with this big change mandate, they've come through the other side and landed in a strong position to face the challenges of COVID-19. They’re able to leverage their clarity of purpose, shared values, and bonds as a team as they work remotely. They have greater direct participation from Indigenous peoples in the work. This clarity has also led to a stronger funding position.
Sierra Club BC’s experience highlights the need to check our biases and identify things we may take for granted. It also shows how challenging it can be to question our values, and change, but it also highlights the great value in doing so.
Resources
Sierra Club BC: https://sierraclub.bc.ca
Sierra Club BC’s Theory of Change: attached
Hannah Askew:
2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report: https://www.ipcc.ch/2018/10/08/summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments/
Thank you for listening to Impact Conversations with Lynn Fergusson & Sally Fazal
.
Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca