Introducing SocialFinance.ca’s New Assistant Editors (Winter 2012)
It is through the collaboration of ideas and experiences that the team at SocialFinance.ca can bring thoughtful discussions to the social finance community each week. In this spirit, we recently brought on several new Assistant Editors to enhance our network with their passion for impact investing and diverse professional backgrounds. To introduce readers to our new contributors, each Assistant Editor was asked what, in their opinion, impact investing needs to move forward.
Becky Slater is a recent MBA graduate who is actively involved in the areas of environmental finance, social enterprise, and not-for-profit management. In addition to providing research support to the Canadian Director of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) around global climate finance developments, she is working on a variety of strategic initiatives at PLAN Toronto, an innovative not-for-profit social enterprise. Prior to her MBA, Becky spent several years working in the financial services industry and as a marketer, fundraiser, and researcher at UNICEF Canada. She graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University and has a Graduate Diploma in Nonprofit Management and Leadership from the Schulich School of Business.
What is the most important thing needed for impact investing to move forward?
In my opinion, what impact investing requires most to move forward is a strong, growing network of organizations and leaders from all sectors. This includes philanthropy, business, government, academia, social enterprise and communities, committed to working together to advance the field – exactly what the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing is offering. Through open, ongoing dialogue and genuine collaboration, this network can serve as a platform for addressing the key items required to move impact investing forward: establishing credible, comparable metrics and standards for measuring impact, increasing awareness, and achieving critical policy reforms, among others.
Sara LyonsSara Lyons is the Program Director for Community Foundations of Canada, a membership organization of over 175 community foundations across Canada (currently on leave). She was formerly a Program Officer for the Toronto Community Foundation and a Managing Coordinator for the Toronto City Summit Alliance, now Civic Action. She is particularly interested in the role of philanthropy in social finance. Sara has a BA in from McGill University and an MA in Political Science from the University of Toronto and is the mother of two young daughters.
What is the most important thing needed for impact investing to move forward?
For me, moving impact investing forward doesn't come down to perfecting the regulatory environment or developing the right financing model, although these things are important. Most critical is supporting and sharing early successes that inspire others and change mindsets around the possible. The details will get worked out when the demand and interest require that the path be cleared.
Bree GardnerBree Gardner is a freelance photojournalist based out of Calgary, Alberta. Having worked in the not-for-profit industry since she was 14, Bree has cultivated a deep passion for the nuanced industry that is development and aid. Her passion was lit when, at 16, she traveled to Ecuador to spend time with tribes in the Amazon. Two long years later, and she lost her heart to the small West African country of Sierra Leone. Still ravaged from the ten-year civil war, Bree saw the wisdom of the communities, the strength from hardship, and the hard-working desire to free themselves from poverty. It was then that she partnered with the local NGO and MFI Community Initiative Program, and has since been involved with a number of local and international efforts to give aid to those most desperate, be it in the beleaguered and war-torn countries of abroad, or the often overlooked poverty that dwells on the streets in North America.
What is the most important thing needed for impact investing to move forward?
Like anyone associated with social finance, I have a bucket list of legislation and adaptive policies I’d love to see pave a way for easier innovation and co-existence of blended values in traditional business models. But I’m not going to talk about that. More important than standards and policies (as those will inevitably progress and are likely already being addressed), is to value passion and involvement. To advance impact investing we need people - and not just accountants and investors. We need small business owners, grassroot organization directors and the general public to understand and trust the brand and impact of social investments. Being involved, be it talking to a friend, reading SocialFinance.ca or initiating and participating in organizations already with a foot in the door, is what will continue this path towards a more ethically and socially-minded financial world. As clichéd as all this sounds, we have everything we need to advance impact investing, and it’s already happening. All that is left is to keep that wheel turning....along with some forward-thinking policy changes.
Ryan MacLeanRyan is a graduate of the University of Toronto (International Relations and Political Science), and a MA candidate at the Institute of Political Economy at Carleton University. His research is about the rise of the social economy and its implications for the not-for-profit sector. Ryan previously co-authored a history of Canada's Industry Department for internal use and was a contributing editor for the Paterson Review of International Affairs. Ryan recently worked with a not-for-profit start-up that supports social enterprises creating jobs in developing countries. He currently lives in New York City, where he is completing his graduate research.
What is the most important thing needed for impact investing to move forward?
A lot of what is required to advance impact investing is common to any type of investing - standards for measuring performance are important. Organizations and products must be scalable to be ready for investment. Awareness must be cultivated among investors and entrepreneurs. Much of this good work is being by the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing. In my opinion, the most important and pressing need for impact investing to move forward is for governments to quickly adapt policy, legislation, and regulation. There are still barriers for corporate entities to harbor obligations other than profit, so it can be difficult to commit to social, environmental, or community-related missions. There are practical disincentives for nonprofit organizations to become more enterprising, to incorporate a business model or become profitable. For impact investing to thrive, governments must create accessible and secure conditions for participation.
Allison LangilleAllison Langille began her career working with a community-oriented group of businesses called The Uncommon Group, where she managed the day-to-day operations of two retail storefronts while contributing to strategy and product development. Recognizing a deep interest in both entrepreneurship and international economic development, Allison then worked as a Project Officer at CARE Canada, where she helped establish a social venture finance fund tailored to small enterprises in East Africa. Allison is currently focused on enabling microfinance institutions – she has worked with organizations in Canada, Kenya, Zambia and most recently in Kolkata, India where she spent 2011 building the social performance management practices for a growing MFI. Allison sits on the Board of Directors for the Toronto Friendship Center, the Board of Advisors for a Zambian-based micro asset financing company and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Saint Mary's University.
What is the most important thing needed for impact investing to move forward?
I believe that for impact investing to truly move forward in a meaningful way, industry players must work to best define the parameters of the term 'impact' itself. It is often difficult to merge the concepts of commercial and social returns; recognizing this is an important first step to identifying exactly where the impact should be - bottom line or in line with the social mission? While this may not necessarily mean developing rigorous and unified social performance indicators, it does mean developing clear organizational awareness of the desired social impact. Once impact investment organizations are able to carve out and commit fully to their stated social impact - the industry will undoubtedly evolve in a positive way.
