Blended Financing for Impact:
The Opportunity for Social Finance in Supportive Housing

Jump to: Download Report, Slides, Toolkit, Further Reading

Driven by the work of the Turning the Key report [PDF] commissioned by the Mental Health Commission of Canada, a number of supportive housing providers in Canada struck a Social Finance Working Group in 2012 to explore social finance opportunities in the supportive housing sector. The objective of the Blended Financing for Impact project was to provide a clear pathway for supportive housing providers to learn about and engage in alternative methods of financing for improving and developing new dedicated housing units in Canada.

Overall, it is hoped that this project will support the minimum goal recommended in the Turning the Key report of developing and funding 100,000 supportive housing units and related supports over the next 10 years.  The project was coordinated by the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing and Housing Services Corporation (HSC) and led by a number of supportive housing providers and mental health organizations in Canada.

The Blended Financing for Impact: The Opportunity for Social Finance in Supportive Housing report identifies and outlines a number of social finance models, identifies principles for an effective social finance strategy for the supportive housing sector, highlights challenges to further adoption of impact investing, and offers recommended actions to increase the supply of supportive housing through the use of social finance strategies.

Read the Full Report [PDF]

Read the Executive Summary [PDF]

Read the Executive Summary (en française) [PDF]

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Toolkit

If you are interested in learning more about social finance and facilities financing for a supportive housing project, please read through and utilize the Blended Financing for Impact Toolkit.

Download Full Toolkit [PDF]

Section One: Primer [PDF]

  • Primer: Social Finance and Supportive Housing
  • Costs for Housing

Section Two: Case Studies [PDF]

  • In-Depth Case Studies
  • Short Case Studies

Section Three: How to Guide [PDF]

  • Assessing Readiness, Financial Capacity, and Risk
  • Sources of Capital
  • Key Financial Tools
  • Additional Innovative Financing Strategies
  • Glossary of Terms

Section Four: Supplementary Resources

Thank you to the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) for their generous contribution of resources for the toolkit.

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Further Reading

Blog posts on SocialFinance.ca:

A Home for Social Finance in Social Housing - Hadley Nelles and Adam Spence - May 17, 2012

Social Finance and Affordable Housing - Adam Spence - January 20, 2011

Resources on the MaRS CII Knowledge Hub:

Financing Capital Improvements and the Renovation of Social Housing in Ontario - Stewart N. Pearson - December 1, 2010

Home Ownership Alternatives: The Great Affordable Home Ownership Debate - Joe Deschenes Smith - November 1, 2009

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