The Solution Finance Accelerator, whose first cohort ran from 2020-2021, contributes to a vision of a vibrant social finance marketplace with efficient and effective investment capital flowing to social and environmental development at scale. The SFA aims to expand the Canadian social finance marketplace by supporting a group of impact investing intermediaries to develop and […]
Learn moreThe McConnell Foundation’s Impact Investing Report 2020 is now available for download. The second edition of this annual report provides an overview of our impact investing approach, as well as an update on our efforts to align our investment strategy with our organization’s mission and vision. Our systems approach to impact investing keeps growing, as […]
Learn moreThe systemic racism against Black and Indigenous communities and people of colour (BIPOC) has taken on renewed significance for everyone working at the Foundation since the senseless deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Chantel Moore in New Brunswick, and so many others. These tragic incidents are representative of a brutal history and centuries of injustice […]
Learn moreIn view of the critical nature of the period through which society is passing, the Board has decided to increase its granting activities. We have joined the Give5 initiative, which calls upon foundations to disburse at least 5% of their endowments instead of the statutory minimum of 3.5%. The Trustees of the McConnell Foundation have […]
Learn moreEDMONTON, May 14, 2020 – Many communities are looking for ways to support local businesses that are struggling to survive the COVID-19 lockdown and the reopening of the economy. In response, Community Wealth Sharing, an initiative of the McConnell Foundation, is launching a pilot project to support Alberta businesses by working with ATB and its […]
Learn moreOTTAWA, April 29, 2020 – The COVID-19 crisis is putting thousands of small owner-operated merchants and restaurants in jeopardy. Having to pay fixed costs while revenues dwindle — in some cases to zero — they risk having to shut down and declare bankruptcy. That’s why the Wellington West Business Improvement Area (BIA) and Crowdfund Canada […]
Learn moreCommunity Forests International is a New Brunswick-based environmental non-profit, working to connect people and their communities to the forests that sustain them. This interview with two of the co-founders, Daimen Hardie and Zach Melanson, has been edited for length and readability. You operate in rural Africa (Pemba Island, in the semi-autonomous region of Zanzibar in […]
Learn moreFoundation Director of Solutions Finance, Erica Barbosa Vargas, recently sat down with Lynn Fergusson of the Impact Conversations podcast to discuss Canada’s growing impact investing sector. She also shares what the Foundation is doing to address the bottleneck they see in financial intermediaries, so that more funds can be directed into impact investing, to ultimately […]
Learn moreThe Foundation is seeking a Development Manager for its Solutions Finance Department. Open to professionals with seasoned experience in impact investing or development finance, this full-time position is designed to support strategic investment development and partnership management across Foundation programs and help advance the Foundation’s overall Solutions Finance activities. Location: Montreal, with some travel. Closing […]
Learn moreThis fall, the McConnell Foundation, La Caisse d’économie Solidaire, Chagnon Foundation and Saputo Foundation introduced a brand new financial tool designed to help Quebec’s social economic and organizations working for the betterment of their communities. The new initiative, Garantie Solidaire, injects $15 million into the community sector through a loan guarantee program that is open […]
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