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• Innovations in Unexpected Places: The Tale of Aji Sai
• Champion needed for innovative education business!
• A Green Submarine Company?
• Day 1: The Journey into the Light
• Returning to Toronto, Canada
• The Case for Business Schools: Is There a Prominent One in Canadian Social Entrepreneurship?
• Catalyst in Canada: A cheeky start

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I had the pleasure to have lunch last week with Tonya Surman, the Director of the Center for Social Innovation (CSI).  I will try to write more about them and what they do in an upcoming post.  Apart from providing fabulous and interesting company, I have Tonya to thank for a powerful lesson regarding innovation and where one can find it–in this case, she enabled me to discover it at the Aji Sai restaurant.
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If this blog is about anything it should be about helping social entrepreneurs to succeed, at the same time as it learns from them and tries to communicate aspects of that knowledge.  Heather MacTaggart is an impressive social entrepreneur who needs just a bit of help from a fellow Canadian.  Like all social entrepreneurs she could probably also use some cash, but also really would like to find a more senior “champion”–someone that cares as much about reforming and thereby improving education as she does, but could open a few doors for her in the process.  She has achieved a considerable amount already over the last ten years–would anyone like to step forward and help?
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Earlier today I had the chance to meet with Andrew Heintzman, President of Investeco, a venture capital investor in early stage environmental businesses (get it? invest-eco).  They are a bit like Impax Asset Management in the UK, with both private and listed equity arms.  Perhaps I will write about them at some point this trip–but this post is about one of their clever investments–Triton Logging.  As businesses go it is cute, shrewd and delightfully simple–like all the best ideas.
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Okay.  I hate melodramatic titles as much as the next person, but in this case it just seemed so suitable.  Today is my first day back to Toronto, Canada since my visit here in December 2007.  The overwhelming message from the meetings I had today is of people of varying ages looking to do something “more meaningful with their lives”.  More than half my meetings today (and there were seven!) involved this theme, which in fact is a key underpinning to the growth of the social business and investment area worldwide–let’s explore.
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In December 2007 I had a delighteful time meeting with a wide variety of participants form the social enterprise and social business scene in Toronto.  I will be returning to Toronto between 16 and 24 July and would welcome the opportunity to meet with (active or prospective) social investors and social entrepreneurs during the course of that trip.  If you would like to meet up or are aware of anyone whom you feel I should meet, please email me at rod@catfund.com.

 Rodney Schwartz

This is a blog post, the first part of the title of which I would never have expected to write–ever!  My own experience at business school (name of school withheld to protect the guilty) felt like a complete waste of time, although much of my recollection has been lost in a beer induced (largely Molson and Genessee Cream Ale) haze.  I remember something about markets being efficient, something called dynamic programming and a wonderful class in venture capital–but much else remains untouched since it entered the recesses of my brain three decades ago.
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This year, Catalyst commenced an activity which began just out of a wild idea. The “Catalyst in” series reflected my own desire to do something special to celebrate my 50^th birthday (and my 20^th year in the UK and Catalyst’s 10^th anniversary), which led me to travel to the Balkans over the summer (see www.catfund.com/balkans). My colleague Jessica Shortall also visited Thailand earlier this year (see www.catfund.com/thailand) and our friend Gus Poston journeyed to Sri Lanka (www.catfund.com/srilanka.htm). There are now several other trips planned for 2008 and we seem to have entered the field of what we are calling “Engaged Tourism”, where people aim to visit interesting countries but have had their fill of churches, beaches and art galleries and “get under the skin” of a place and interact with people in the local community.

The theme of these trips, social business, makes this very easy. There is a shared ethos, Read more

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Other Catalyst in Blogs

• Catalyst in Argentina
• Catalyst in Georgia and Armenia
• Catalyst in Mozambique
• Catalyst in Micronesia
• Catalyst in the Balkans
• Catalyst in Thailand
• Catalyst in Sri Lanka

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• Across Borders
  Films that promote the missions of values-based businesses and organizations
• Altrushare Securities
  Offers institutional clients a brokerage platform based on an agency-only model free of traditional conflicts of interest, which ensures clients’ interests are always put first
• Canadian Alternative Investment Co-operative
  CAIC is mandated by its members to make mortgages available to non-profits or charitable organizations working to provide social services in their communities (i.e. youth group homes, non-profit, homeless shelters).
• Canadian CED Network
  Member-driven organization that seeks to increase the scale and effectiveness of community economic development
• Canadian Crossroads International
  Not-for-profit organisation promoting voluntary action and co-operatives within Canada
• Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research
  Organisation aiming to end AIDS through research
• Canadian Social Entrepreneurship Foundation
  Organisation that educates, recognizes and funds existing and emerging Canadian and Global Social Entrepreneurs
• CARE Canada
  International relief and development program
• Centre for Social Innovation
  Centre with mission to spark new ideas and tackle social change
• Classroom Connections
  Not-for-profit organisation providing educational resources for Canada’s youth
• Communicopia
  Firm developing branding and technological solution for non-profit organisations
• Corporation de Developpement Economique Communautaire des Trois-Rivieres
• Coyuchi
  Organic Cotton & Bedding
• Crannog Ales
  Certified Organic Microbrewery
• Ecotrust
  A nonprofit charitable organization whose purpose is to build a conservation economy
• Enterprising Non Profits
  a unique partnership that promotes and supports social enterprise development and growth as a means to build strong non-profit organizations and healthier communities
• Envision
  Interactive regional planning tools
• Exit West
  Exit West delivers organizational development within the context of international development
• Fair Trade Clothing Co Op
  Fair Trade clothing company
• Francophones for Sustainable Development
  FSE is the first bilingual not-for-profit Toronto based organization dedicated solely to the protection of the environment.
• Good Capital
  Investment firm specialising in initiatives that create sustainability
• Green Enterprise Toronto
  Network helping local businesses ‘vote with their dollars’ for the planet
• Happy Planet
  Organic Produce
• Harrop-Procter Community Forest
  Development of public forests in the Harrop-Procter area according to site-sensitive ecologically based forestry practices
• Horizon
  Distribution of organic and natural foods
• imp
  Media platform
• Inner City Development Inc.
  Residential non-profit housing
• Jane Finch Centre
  Community based organisation seeking social justice, community engagement and collaboration
• Jantzi Research
  Firm engaged in evaluating and monitoring the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance of global securities
• Jorg & Olif
  Bicycles for ethical living
• JUMP Math
  Math learning and tutor volunteering program
• Just Us!
  Canada’s first Fair Trade coffee roaster
• La Siembra
  Fair Trade Certified and certified organic Cocoa Camino products
• Lunapads
  Natural Menstrual Products
• MaRS
  MaRS is a non-profit innovation centre connecting science, technology and social entrepreneurs with business skills, networks and capital to stimulate innovation and accelerate the creation and growth of successful Canadian enterprises.
• MaRS Discovery Distribution
  Organisation which connects the communities of science, business and capital and fosters collaboration among them
• Maytree Foundation
  Charitable foundation reducing poverty and inequality, and building strong communities in Canada
• McConnell Foundation
  Organisation building better communities through philanthropy
• New Radicals
  A network of people who choose to to give something back to a world that is in desperate need of help
• New Society Publishers
  Publisher of several books on topics such as Conscientious Commerce, Green Building, Renewable Energy and Sustainable living
• Nimble
  Video based creative content and delivery via multiple platforms
• O’Naturals
  Organic food outlets
• Ontario Association of Youth Employment Centres
  Through supporting the work of local youth employment centres across Ontario, OAYEC aims to help young people find and maintain meaningful employment that will help improve the quality of their lives.
• Ontario Trillium Foundation
  Grantmaking foundation helping to create vibrant communities throughout Ontario by strengthening the capacity of the voluntary sector, through investments in community-based initiatives
• Options for Homes
  Socially responsible housing developments
• Renewal Partners
  Investment in Social and ethical businesses
• Roots of Empathy
  Emotional Litercay Program for youths
• Salt Spring Coffee
  A 100% CERTIFIED ORGANIC micro roaster located on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia
• Small Potatoes Urban Delivery
  A natural and organic web based home food delivery company serving Vancouver, BC
• Social Capital Partners
  Invests in social enterprises that employ populations outside the economic mainstream in Canada
• Sounds True
  Audio courses, books, videos, and music for personal and spiritual transformation
• Stratcom
  A full-service communications, opinion research and fundraising consulting firm
• Student Vote
  Citizenship program for young people
• Tamarack Institute
  An institute for community engagement
• The Big Carrot
  Organic produce store
• Tides Canada Foundation
  Canadian charity donation portal
• Toronto Artscape
  Somali women’s and childrens support network
• Toronto City Summit Alliance
  A multi sector coalition working to meet the Toronto region’s challenges
• Toronto Community Housing Corporation
  Largest social housing provider in Canada
• Turnaround Couriers
  Bicycle courier in Toronto employing at-risk youths
• University of Toronto Social Economy Centre
  Research alliance that aims at enhancing capacity for ongoing research and development for the social economy of Southern Ontario
• Vancity
  Canada’s largest credit union, guided by a commitment to corporate social responsibility, and to improve the quality of life in the communities in which it operates
• Village Real Estate
  Socially-conscious, community building real estate
• Zinc Projects
  Development of science and technology education projects in not-for-profit and educational organisations