Assessing the feasibility of a new social finance model in Ontario

The Ontario Trillium Foundation’s Partnership Investments program is pleased to announce a new partnership to assess the current state of local community finance and feasibility of a new social finance model in Ontario.

In other provinces, Community Investment Organizations raise capital locally to pool investment into non-profits, businesses and projects that provide a social, economic, and environmental return to the local community. This social finance model bridges the gap between local, small-scale investors and ventures, especially in rural or devitalized areas.

To better understand if the Community Investment Organizations model will work in Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Foundation is collaborating with the Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet), Employment and Social Development Canada, and Le Conseil de la Coopération de l’Ontario on a new Community Investment Organizations research project.

This project aims to learn from the national model, collaborate with stakeholders across regions, and make recommendations on the feasibility of using the Community Investment Organizations model to create an innovative locally driven social finance model in Ontario. 

“The Community Investment Organization model will benefit local communities across Ontario. This is a unique and timely opportunity to learn from and connect Ontario to a model that is growing in other regions and has particular benefits for rural and underrepresented communities,” said Tracey Robertson, Lead, Innovation, Ontario Trillium Foundation. “The project links Ontario's place-based social finance intermediaries to national leaders to establish a broader learning opportunity and set the stage for potential development of this model”.

By engaging with Community Investment Organizations across Canada, this collaborative will learn and better understand the synergies and connections needed to advance locally driven social finance in Ontario.

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