Question Period Note: INVESTMENT READINESS PROGRAM

How is the Government of Canada implementing the Investment Readiness Program (IRP) as part of the overall Social Innovation and Social Finance (SI/SF) Strategy?

• The Government of Canada is helping social purpose organizations to grow so they can create jobs and address important social and environmental issues in their communities.

• The renewed, two-year, $50 million Investment Readiness Program supports these organizations to become investment-ready – so they can participate in Canada’s social finance market, including Canada’s Social Finance Fund.

• On July 18th, I announced the 26 national partners from across Canada who will deliver the program, including four national partners who will direct over $30 million in grant funding to social purpose organizations across Canada.

Funding partners of the Renewed Investment Readiness Program (IRP)

Announced in Budget 2021, the renewed IRP is a $50 million program over 2 years (2021 to 2023), designed to help advance social innovation and social finance (SI/SF) in Canada. The program builds on the work already accomplished during its pilot phase.

There are two categories of partners helping to deliver the program.

Readiness Support Partners

Four (4) Readiness Support Partners (RSPs) will receive a total of $35.5 million over 2 years and will redistribute up to $29 million directly to Social Purpose Organizations (SPOs) to build their capacity to become investment-ready. These funds will allow SPOs from across the country to gain skills and knowledge needed to access new forms of finance, like social finance, to advance their social and environmental missions. Tentatively, eligible SPOs can receive grant funding ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, depending on the RSP. The RSPs are:

1. Community Foundations of Canada (CFC)
   o Providing readiness grants to all types and diversities of SPOs across Canada
2. Le Chantier de l’économie sociale
   o Providing readiness grants to all types and diversities of SPOs in Quebec
3. Canadian Women’s Foundation (CWF)
   o Providing grants to SPOs led by women and gender diverse peoples
4. National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC)
   o Providing grants to urban Indigenous SPOs

In addition to the above Readiness Support Partners, the Foundation for Black Communities is leading a new initiative to direct further IRP funding to Black-led and Black-serving SPOs with support from Community Foundations of Canada.

Ecosystem Builders

IRP funding is being used to fill gaps in the ecosystem as they emerge, with a total of $10 million over 2 years being provided across twenty-two (22) ecosystem mobilization initiatives. These partners are:

1. Afro-Caribbean Business Network (ACBN)
   o Supporting Black-led SPOs to navigate the SI/SF ecosystem.
2. AJAH/Powered by Data
   o Analyzing IRP data generated by IRP delivery partners and sharing with the sector.
3. Buy Social Canada
   o Building SPO and ecosystem capacity for social procurement.
4. Canadian Community Economic Development Network (CCEDNet)
   o Connecting and convening the IRP and broader SI/SF ecosystem.
5. Canadian Worker Co-op Federation
   o Championing social acquisition as a viable pathway for equity-deserving groups (conversion of businesses to co-ops and other social economy models).
6. Carleton Centre for Community Innovation (3ci)
   o Building SPO and ecosystem capacity for impact measurement through the Common Approach to Impact Measurement.
7. Common Good Solutions
   o Growing the SI/SF ecosystem in the Atlantic.
8. Community Capital Initiative (CCI)
   o Building support and capacity for small community and place-based social finance intermediaries.
9. Congress of Aboriginal Peoples (CAP) / Le Congrès des peoples autochtones (CPA)
   o Increasing Indigenous representation in the SI/SF ecosystem.
10. Co-operatives and Mutuals Canada (CMC)
    o Building awareness of SI/SF and the IRP among co-ops across Canada.
11. EntrepreNorth
    o Ensuring the SI/SF ecosystem reflects the needs and perspectives of Northern Indigenous SPOs.
12. Imagine Canada
    o Building awareness of SI/SF amongst charities and non-profits by conducting case studies.
13. Inclusion Canada
    o Building SI/SF awareness and expertise in the disability community.
14. Native Women`s Association of Canada (NWAC)
    o Engaging SPOs led by Indigenous women, Two-Spirit and gender-diverse peoples in SI/SF.
15. New Power Labs
    o Supporting diverse SPOs to be able to access diverse social finance intermediaries.
16. Raven Indigenous Impact Foundation
    o Testing outcomes financing in Indigenous communities.
17. Social Economy Research Network of Northern Canada (SERNNoCa), Lakehead University
    o Creating a database of SPOs in Northern Canada.
18. Social Economy Through Social Inclusion (SETSI)
    o Supporting Black-led and Black-focused SPOs to access an inclusive and equitable SI/SF ecosystem.
19. Social Innovation Canada Institute
    o Supporting early-stage innovation.
20. Startup Canada
    o Connecting the IRP ecosystem through an internal and external website.
21. Territoires innovants en économie sociale et solidaire (TIESS)
    o Supporting social innovation for SPOs in Quebec.
22. United Church of Canada
    o Engaging SPOs in faith-based networks.

Key Definitions

Social innovation is about developing new solutions to social or economic challenges. It can improve people’s quality of life through collaborating with new partners, testing creative ideas and measuring their impact. It often involves collaboration across different levels of government, charities, the not-for-profit and private sectors to act on a common social issue. Social innovation is particularly needed in times of crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Social finance is a tool that seeks to mobilize private capital for the public good. It creates opportunities for investors to finance projects that benefit society as well as for charities, non-profits and other social purpose organizations to access new sources of funds.

Social Purpose Organizations (SPOs) play a key role in tackling socio-economic and environmental challenges. These challenges include addressing food insecurity, the lack of affordable housing, and the transition to a low-carbon economy. SPOs include charities, non-profits, social enterprises, co-operatives and businesses with a social mission. SPOs are important economic contributors. That is why the Government of Canada has established the Social Innovation and Social Finance (SI/SF) Strategy.

Examples of Social Purpose Organizations funded through the Investment Readiness Program Pilot

1. Iron & Earth is developing a social enterprise to generate revenue for their non-profit. The social enterprise will offer short term training in renewable energy for fossil fuel sector and Indigenous workers. To get to the point where they can generate steady revenue, Iron & Earth used IRP funds ($83,000) to conduct a viability study, market analysis, and to develop a business plan. These tools will allow them to reach the next stage of investment readiness.

2. Based in Nunavut, Kaapittiaq is the first earned income source of the Kitikmeot Heritage Society. “Kaapitiaq is a company dedicated to creating Inuit employment and training, and Indigenous-to-Indigenous business networks. It’s the first Inuit coffee.” The IRP allowed them $100,000 to build an online store, create advertising, and open a warehouse. They will use financing to expand into the wider Canadian market.

3. Elizabeth Fry Society Kamloops District received $50,000 from the IRP to conduct a social enterprise feasibility study and business development planning. The purpose of this initiative was to create a food-based social enterprise for women facing barriers to employment. This planning process identified viable business opportunities to pursue in the next phase of the initiative with a well-grounded approach for success.

“Our Government sees great potential in growing social innovation in our communities. More Canadian organizations and businesses are offering smart solutions to reduce poverty, reach social equality and fight climate change. The Investment Readiness Program will help them scale up and become investment-ready, so that they can create impacts for Canadians for years to come.” – Karina Gould, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development, July 18 2022

“This renewed investment is welcome news, especially at this critical time. Social purpose organizations led by diverse women and Two-Spirit, trans and non-binary people are doing impactful work. They’re innovating to address major social and environmental concerns in Canada today, and these funds will help them keep moving forward. When the return on an investment is greater equity, well-being, justice, and economic prosperity for all, it’s always a smart investment to make.” – Paulette Senior, President and CEO, Canadian Women’s Foundation, July 18 2022

“The Chantier applauds the renewal of the Investment Readiness Program, an essential lever for the emergence and acceleration of numerous entrepreneurial projects that respond to needs in their communities, and bear witness to the commitment of actors that support these projects to work together to ensure its deployment in Quebec.”– Béatrice Alain, Director General, Chantier de l’économie sociale, July 18 2022

“Social purpose organizations from coast to coast to coast continue to uplift and support their communities following the pandemic. The Investment Readiness Program supports their purposeful ventures while growing Canada’s social finance market. At CFC, we are thrilled to once again be part of this program through this new funding opportunity. We look forward to working alongside community foundations to support the incredible efforts of social purpose organizations.”– Andrea Dicks, President, Community Foundations of Canada (CFC), July 18 2022

“The NAFC is excited to continue its role as a readiness support partner for this iteration of the Investment Readiness Program. Having supported Friendship Centres in developing, starting and growing their social enterprises in the first years of the Investment Readiness Program, we are eager to continue this work as well as to expand the Program’s impact to other urban Indigenous social purpose organizations from coast to coast to coast. Urban Indigenous community organizations are leaders in the social economy, and we hope to facilitate the growth of these institutions and the collective intergenerational wealth of urban Indigenous communities.”– Jocelyn Formsma, Executive Director, National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC), July 18 2022