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A Special Edition of Making Waves magazine - Winter 2009-10
For community-based initiatives - whether nonprofits, social enterprises, or co-operatives - capital is an age-old dilemma. Like square pegs and round holes, what capital is available is often the wrong type for communities to use, or too expensive, or contingent on unmanageable conditions. In the last 20 years, new models of community investment and community enterprise have arisen to help get capital to communities. They in turn have raised still more questions, especially about the ability of communities to put capital to work, responsibly and effectively. Now, a combination of recession and rapid change in energy, food, and climate has elevated community capital from a "chronic" issue to an "acute" one. How then is capital to be packaged, delivered, and applied in the next 10-15 years if communities are to preserve, or improve, their quality of life? What local and regional capacity must we develop so that communities can benefit from powerful but complex financial tools? It is time to determine how capital might play a catalytic role in Canadians' response to a portentous future. Available now in PDF, a special and final edition of Making Waves - "Capital for Communities." (Print copies to follow in May.) Sponsors We sincerely thank the Canadian Community Investment Network Co-operative and Assiniboine Credit Union, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Vancity Savings Credit Union and Vancity Community Foundation, Nova Scotia Co-operative Council, and the Canadian CED Network for supporting this publication. (Banner photo courtesy of Inner City Renovation, Winnipeg, MB) Contents Download the Cover & Table of Contents. Capital for Community ... What? We've come a long way since the previous special edition on capital (1998). We've also come to realize that the only future worth capitalizing is one that is low carbon and environmentally sustainable. (Mike Lewis, Canadian Centre for Community Renewal) Read it now. Aussi disponible en français. Delivering More Capital to Canada's Communities A supply-side analysis of the social capital market reveals that there is not so much a lack of social finance, as a plentiful supply of it misaligned with a plentiful demand for it. (Karim Harji, Social Capital Partners) Read it now. The Financial Ecosystem of Canada's Social Economy By what interplay of sources, intermediaries, and transactions does money enter the Social Economy? What returns close each of these loops? Read it now. Aussi disponible en français. "That's a Great Idea! How can we finance it?" Five things that social entrepreneurs, bankers, and investors can do to resolve financial bottlenecks. (Derek Gent, Vancity Community Foundation) Read it now. Equity Tax Credits as a Tool of CED Two provincial tax credit programs; two very different results. What enables Nova Scotia's to mobilize so much more capital than Manitoba's in the service of social change? (Stewart E. Perry, CCCR, and Garry Loewen, Garry Loewen Consulting) Read it now. The Triple Bottom Line and Community Development Finance How one community development corporation is making triple-bottom line investment part of its own practice, and advancing this transition across the community sector. (Keith Bisson, Coastal Enterprises Inc of Maine ) Read it now. Engaging Institutional Investors in Social Finance Building intermediary networks to channel investment monies from private financial institutions to Canadian communities. (Tessa Hebb, Carleton Centre for Community Innovation) Read it now. Aussi disponible en français. Towards Fair Trade Banking: A journey from Market Freedom to Mutual Liberty How do we make the banking sector "people-worthy"? In the U.K, Community Banking Partnerships integrate the resources and skills of multiple sectors in order to balance economic regeneration with financial inclusion. (Pat Conaty, New Economics Foundation) Read it now. Aussi disponible en français. Financing the Social Economy in Québec Which factors enable Québec to channel more and more patient capital into diverse, complex projects of social economy? (Margie Mendell, School of Community and Public Affairs, Concordia University) Read it now. Sweden's JAK Bank Here is a banking system that divorces local and regional finance from compound interest and all that implies about long-term indebtedness and short-term, high-yield investment. (Pat Conaty and Mike Lewis) Read it now. Supplementary Contents
The following valuable articles on this subject have also been contributed, but will not appear in the print edition: Financial Literacy and Community Banking Projects When they work together, inner-city organizations and banks can create effective venues for fundamental financial skills as well as services. (Jerry Buckland, Menno Simons College, and Rick Egan, St Christopher House) Read it now. Partnerships for Community Banking Partnerships between banks and community organizations work best when there is sustained, cross-cultural dialogue to resolve the differences in their interests, to improve services, and to build friendship and trust between current and future leaders. (Jerry Buckland, Menno Simons College, and Rick Egan, St Christopher House) Read it now. Strategic policy initiatives What federal actions could help funnel financing and investment towards the Social Economy, and encourage its expansion in the service of all Canada's vulnerable populations? (Jessica Notwell, CCEDNet) Editorial Committee Our thanks to the following for bringing their experience and expertise to the planning and promotion of this edition:
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