Centre for Social Innovation - Where Change Happens!

Community bonds, public lands, RRSP's, tax incentives and preferential mortgages... this is what will strengthen social enterprise in Ontario... CSI is looking for some quick and easy wins to move social enterprise forward. What do you think?

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Have you ever wondered just how we might build a culture of action in our communities? what might our cities look like if they were designed to foster citizen innovation? how might we generate more social entrepreneurship? these are questions explored in "Creating the Conditions for Social Innovation Emergence" - a Social Innovation Thought Piece.

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Enterprising Nonprofits Program has just released the new Canadian Social Enterprise Guide. This fabulous resource gives you everything that you ever wanted to know about starting and operating your social enterprise. Download your free copy here.

A great article in the Economist about the evolution of social entrepreneurship as a way to address pubic challenges. It is worth a read.

http://www.economist.com/node/16789766?story_id=16789766&CFID=145057759&...

Bill 65, An Act to revise the law in respect of Not-for-Profit Corporations, will apply to all charities and nonprofits that are incorporated under the Province of Ontario and most Ontario organizations are provincially incorporated. This is important legislation that impacts you!

Does your nonprofit organization care about:

•    Calling your organization a public benefit corporation so the public can easily know your intent is to provide for the public good?
•    Limiting the liability of your volunteer Directors?

This is exciting news for the nonprofits in Ontario as Bill 65 recognizes commercial activities and uses the much desired phase 'public benefit' sector to describe the work that we do. But there are a couple of changes that still need to be made.... read below to get the ability to issue 'Community Bonds' made into law....

This week the City installed bike racks for 16 bicycles in two parking spots on Spadina Ave. This is a Toronto first. What an exciting moment to see infrastructure built for cars be adapted to the growing demands of bicycles. Although just a pilot, this project exemplifies how we can share the roads. This is what social innovation looks like!

Cities are the embodiment of collaboration, acting as a platform for exchange, a place where culture meets economics meets education meets health meets planning. Cities demonstrate just how connected we all are and how the issues that we are working on fundamentally connect to each other in ‘place.”

A pioneering social innovator, Peter Nares created SEDI in 1986, an organization that has been instrumental in developing financial tools that improve the lives of people living in poverty. Peter's work bridges the gap between what works in communities to effective policy development and ultimately, large scale results. Learn more about Peter and SEDI in the press release below!

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