Supporting Social Partnerships in Budget 2011
A small mention in Budget 2011 could mean big things soon to come in the area of social enterprise or social innovation. Supporting social partnerships such as the ones proposed by a task force that issued a report entitled “Mobilizing Private Capital for Public Good” is on the agenda for the Minister of Human Resources and Skills Development. While Canadians are waiting for further details, the report can be found at http://socialfinance.ca/taskforce where it is stated that “the recommendations will aim to benefit non-profits, charities, co-operatives and for-profits that achieve their primary social or environmental mission using business methods”.
Members of this task force include Tim Brodhead, President and CEO of The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, the Rt. Hon. Paul Martin, Former Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Founder of Cape Fund and Bill Young, President of Social Capital Partners. It is anybody’s guess as to what, if any, of the task force’s 7 recommendations might be on the Government’s Agenda arising out of Budget 2011, but if we were to hazard a guess it would be Recommendation number 2 i.e. “To mobilize new capital for impact investing in Canada, the federal government should partner with private, institutional and philanthropic investors to establish the Canada Impact Investment Fund.” We will monitor this new development closely.