It's hard to believe a year has passed since I introduced myself to the SocialFinance.ca community. Our online community devoted to all things #sofinance has come a long way in the past twelve months.

Building on the previous work of Karim Harji, we’re now regularly postsing 4-5 articles per week. Unique visitors to the website have more than doubled to 3,000 per month. Our Twitter followers have tripled to 2,300+. We’ve made significant improvements to the design, stability, and content of SocialFinance.ca, including the introduction of Your Guide to Social Finance. In addition, SocialFinance.ca has served as a key platform for advancing the hugely influential work of the Canadian Task Force on Social Finance, and will soon play an important role in contributing to the launch of The SVX.

As a testament to the growth and accomplishments of SocialFinance.ca to date, SiG@MaRS is formally in the process of assuming full responsibility for the platform, and has plans to tightly integrate SocialFinance.ca into a growing cluster of social finance related initiatives housed at MaRS. 

Sadly, I will not be staying on as Managing Editor of SocialFinance.ca to help steer the platform into its next phase. I made the difficult decision to move on from SocialFinance.ca and my dear colleagues at SiG@MaRS, after my previous project, Social Actions, was acquired by GuideStar earlier this year. I am now on contract to assist with the integration of Social Actions into its new home. This is a big task. I want to make sure I am fully available to contribute to the process.

The past year has been a time of immense growth, personally and professionally. I have learned so much from my colleagues at MaRS, and from the wider social finance and social innovation community across Canada. Highlights include: finding myself able to talk somewhat coherently about quasi-equity, community bonds, and impact metrics among other things; working with an incredible team of office-mates, writers, assistant editors, and volunteers; getting comfortable wearing a button-down shirt to work, and sometimes even a jacket; and learning directly from a range of social finance and social innovation practitioners across Canada.

Details on the transition of the Managing Editor position will be sorted out over the summer. In the meantime, as of Monday, June 13th, please direct partnership and high level inquiries to my colleague, Joanna Reynolds, and content, volunteer, and writer related inquiries to our outstanding Social Finance Intern, Nabeel Ahmed, who has also been serving as one of the Volunteer Assistant Editors since January.

Stepping away from this exciting work is not a decision I’ve taken lightly. I see myself very much remaining in the conversation, blogging more (not less) on SocialFinance.ca, and continuing to advance the field of Canadian #socent and #sofinance in one way or another.

Thanks for a memorable and action-packed year at SocialFinance.ca and SiG@MaRS. I look forward to staying in close contact. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch on Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn.

Photo Credit: Adapted from http://www.flickr.com/photos/syume/4397427381/ (Sidney Crosby skates prior to the start of the Gold Medal match between Canada and the USA in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Over his left shoulder, SocialFinance.ca!)

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