Mobilizing Private Capital for Public Good - Launch Event Recap
Last night, the MaRS Discovery District auditorium was packed with people from all sectors, interested in the launch of the report from the Canadian Task Force on Social Finance, entitled Mobilizing Private Capital for Public Good.
The event kicked-off with an introduction by Task Force Chair and MarS CEO, Ilse Treurnicht, followed by an overview of the seven recommendations, presented by Task Force members Tim Jackson and Tim Brodhead.
Following these presentations, the lights went down for the screening of an inspiring video montage featuring high praise for the Task Force on Social Finance delivered by some of the field’s pioneers and leading thinkers, notably Jed Emerson, Geoff Mulgan, Judith Rodin, Katherine Fulton, Rt. Hon. Paul Martin, and Sir Ronald Cohen. (See below.)
The video montage was followed by a panel with Antony Bugg-Levine of the Rockefeller Foundation, Bill Young of Social Capital Partners, and Janice Abbott of Atira Property Management, and moderated by Andrew Willis of Brookfield Asset Management, also a seasoned journalist. A few choice quotes from the panel discussion were captured by @socialfinance, @adamspence, @helenyung, and others on Twitter.
By any measurement, the launch event of Mobilizing Private Capital for Public Good was a huge success. To top it off, a number of social finance bloggers responded swiftly to the publication of the final report. Below are excerpts from several of the blog posts that were published yesterday and today.
Community Foundations of Canada, The Canadian Task Force on Social Finance Releases a New Report on Mobilizing Private Capital for Public Good, Dec. 1, 2010
"If you’re a foundation, and your goal is to help build a vital community or address a set of social and/or environmental challenges in Canada, mission-related investing is a tool you should be looking at. Foundations around the world and increasingly in Canada are making a bigger difference when they use some of their assets and not just their granting dollars."
Al Etmanski's Blog, Shooting the Rapids - Ballast from the Social Finance Task Force, Dec. 1, 2010
"Their report is a classic example of 'do it yourself public policy'. They want to protect existing non profit financial resources but they want to lever them to attract new monies. They want to do more with the precious, collective assets we already have. They want funding and expenditures to have more measurable impact. They want everyone, ever sector, to participate in resolving our social and environmental challenges. They want to mobilize private capital (all $3 trillion!) for public good, blurring the lines between making money and making a difference."
Ashley Hamilton Consulting's Blog, A Path Forward for Social Finance, Nov. 30, 2010
"In Canada, despite a number of notable pension fund leaders that have embraced the concept, the average pension administrator or trustee in Canada continues to be hesitant about the idea of responsible or impact investing. And they continue to cite the fiduciary issue. Enormous effort will be needed to raise awareness and educate these key decision-makers about the value and benefits of participating in social finance mechanisms. Government incentives will help make the risk more palatable, but are not likely to erase the psychological barriers that continue to exist in the minds of pension decision-makers."
Young Social Entrepreneurs of Canada (YSEC), Announcing the Release of the Social Finance Task Force Report, Nov. 30, 2010
"As these recommendations are implemented, it will be necessary to create funds specific to the needs of young social entrepreneurs, who represent a sizeable portion of the social entrepreneur demographic in Canada, including the over 3,000 in YSEC’s current network. As future task forces and reports are commissioned, it will be necessary to include the perspectives of young social entrepreneurs."
SRI Monitor, Mobilizing Private Capital for Public Good, Nov. 30, 2010
"As a retail advisor, I see the demand for community bonds every day. But product, simple accessible vehicles with minimums far below accredited investor thresholds, is almost non existent. A significant amount of capital from foundations and individual investors is ready to move into this market, and is snapping up the limited offerings that appear. What is required is, as the report says, ‘clear legislation and oversight mechanisms to govern the public sale of Community Bonds by non–profit organizations."
For a full list of blog and media coverage, see the press coverage section of the Task Force on Social Finance website.
