10 - Challenging traditional philanthropy

The Impact Investing Podcast

Sharon Avery of Toronto Foundation joins us for today’s episode. Sharon is President & CEO of Toronto Foundation (TF); one of the 191 community foundations across Canada which holds nearly $500 million in assets. As a community foundation, Toronto Foundation is a charity but not a cause. It exists to contribute time, leadership, and money to support communities and causes across the city to make Toronto a better place for everyone. Toronto Foundation has made early forays into impact investing in affordable housing projects and recently just launched its first social investment fund. During the podcast, we discuss a wide range of topics such as how Sharon wants to redefine Philanthropy, the value of diversity and lived experience, TF’s ground-breaking Social Capital report, and it's brand new social investment fund.

If you’re interested in what Sharon has to say, you can follow her on Twitter. You can view the Vital Signs reports for any of the community foundations here and you can access Toronto Foundations Social Capital Study here.

Episode Sponsor: World Vision Canada

The Social Innovation Challenge, by World Vision Canada, is being held Wednesday June 19th at 6pm at Art Scape Daniels Launch Pad at 130 Queens Quay East, Toronto, Ontario. Learn more here. To join the event, register here.