{"id":50378,"date":"2025-01-30T08:00:48","date_gmt":"2025-01-30T13:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/definityfoundation.org\/?p=50378"},"modified":"2026-04-20T15:32:41","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T20:32:41","slug":"blog-mobilizing-capital-for-good","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/definityfoundation.org\/fr\/blog-mobilizing-capital-for-good\/","title":{"rendered":"Blog: Mobilizing Capital for Good"},"content":{"rendered":"

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We face a crisis of imagination. \u2018Building Canada Strong\u2019 gives us a shot at reinventing what comes next<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read the op-ed published in the Toronto Star<\/a><\/p>\n

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Budget 2025\u2019s \u201cBuilding Canada Strong\u201d agenda sets out more than $280 billion in investments over five years. With that, we have an opportunity to do things differently.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But the federal government seems to be slipping into old habits, pushing through large infrastructure projects without imagining new futures for the country or how we build toward them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Capital alone won\u2019t carry Canada into the future \u2014 we need imagination. We can\u2019t just leverage existing tools to fix what\u2019s breaking \u2014 we need new systems and new kinds of partnerships to build them.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The federal government has acknowledged that what once ensured Canada\u2019s stability and growth is now being disrupted. Yet we continue to invest in the very systems \u2014 the way we plan, fund and deliver solutions across infrastructure, economic and social systems \u2014 that created these vulnerabilities in the first place.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We are trying to navigate a new world with old maps.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If we want to build resilience, not just repair what\u2019s breaking, we need to harness creativity and innovation from all of Canada\u2019s great minds. We need spaces where non-profits, communities, philanthropy, business and governments can imagine \u2014 and build \u2014\u00a0the systems we need rather than reinforce the old.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The stakes are high.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Generational-scale investments are underway\u00a0\u2014 $51 billion for community infrastructure alone. If we treat this as a moment to reimagine, we can build something fundamentally better: a stronger, more equitable and resilient Canada.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Here are three shifts to get us there:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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First, create safe opportunities for testing new ideas where risk is shared.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Creating spaces where non-profits, philanthropy, government and private sector leaders can reimagine systems and create conditions for innovation\u00a0\u2014 such as in housing, clean energy and employee ownership\u00a0\u2014 can lead to solutions tailored for Canada\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It\u2019s not just about pilots, it\u2019s about learning, collaborating, thinking differently and building fundamentally new approaches.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In Denmark,\u00a0<\/span>the Bikuben Foundation<\/a>\u00a0created spaces where civil society and municipalities could explore long-term challenges, imagine new solutions and test them. The foundation funded the experimentation and shouldered the risk.<\/p>\n

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Second, involve non-profit leaders earlier as system designers, not just service providers.<\/p>\n

Non-profit organizations work on the front lines with communities and understand how current systems fall short.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Bringing them into policy design upfront, not after the blueprint is written, strengthens solutions and prevents costly course corrections later. Philanthropy can step in to support and convene.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Third, make it easier for philanthropic capital and public investment to work together.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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What if Canada built simple, repeatable pathways for governments and philanthropy to co-invest in solving big public challenges, creating shared risk-taking, faster testing and a pipeline of solutions ready to scale?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We have seen what\u2019s possible with models like Social Impact Bonds\u00a0in the U.K., where private and philanthropic investors fund new approaches to address a social issue and government pays for outcomes only when the model works.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In Denmark, the philanthropic Social Investment Fund was integrated as a central part of the Danish ministry of social affairs and housing\u2019s work; this involved collaborating with various stakeholders, including public actors, civil society, foundations and private investors to invest in social welfare solutions using outcomes-based contracts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We also have our own examples in Canada.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Indigenous-led funds like\u00a0<\/span>Raven Outcomes Fund have combined private and philanthropic capital<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>with public programs to scale clean-energy retrofits and create jobs in First Nations communities.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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These examples hint at what\u2019s possible, but they remain the exception.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Canada could use such models to address challenges facing the country, including housing, clean energy, workforce development and community infrastructure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Philanthropy can take early risk through first-loss positions, loan guarantees or proof-of-concept funding. Our governments could co-invest, mitigate risk and attract private capital.<\/p>\n

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Together, these coalitions could create a system that channels resources into solutions that are scalable, sustainable and community-driven.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Canada needs multi-sector coalitions where non-profit organizations, policymakers, funders, academics and the private sector can co-create entirely new systems rather than perpetuate the old.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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If we take these three simple steps, Budget 2025 becomes more than a spending plan; it becomes the spark for reimagining the systems Canada needs to build a resilient, thriving future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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We face a crisis of imagination. \u2018Building Canada Strong\u2019 gives us a shot at reinventing what comes next Read the op-ed published in the Toronto Star Budget 2025\u2019s \u201cBuilding Canada Strong\u201d agenda sets out more than $280 billion in investments over five years. With that, we have an opportunity to do things differently. But the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"It is 2025\u2014the start of a new calendar year brings forth sentiments of new possibilities, resolute action to improve our wellbeing, and hence new beginnings! However, the actual news reels in the first weeks of January have already been dominated with wildfires scorching West Coast neighbourhoods. Hardly new beginnings, it rather feels like haunting and tragic memories from last summer in Alberta. Indeed, the damages due to severe weather in 2024 were historic and far dwarfed all previous recorded years in terms of the $8+ billion in insured losses compared to the previous record of $6.2 billion in 2016, then caused by wildfires in Fort McMurray.[1]<\/a>\n\n\"\"From escalating climate emergencies and deepening economic inequality to geopolitical instability, a worsening housing crisis, and the ongoing need for reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, the challenges we face demand a radical rethinking of philanthropy. These problems require more than just philanthropic dollars\u2014they call for a transformation in how we mobilize and deploy all forms of capital.\n\nIt has been a decade since the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted and we have only five years to go; yet today, only 17% of the targets are on track. Progress on half of the goals is weak or insufficient, and alarmingly, more than one third have stalled or even reversed.[2]<\/a> Meeting these ambitious goals will require an estimated $6 trillion in annual investments.[3]<\/a>\n\nGlobally, the financial system manages a staggering $100 trillion[4]<\/a> in assets under management. Worldwide, 260,000 foundations manage $1.5 trillion in assets. In Canada, approximately 11,000 foundations oversee $135 billion in assets[5]<\/a>.\n

\u201cthere\u2019s a plumbing problem in our financial systems\u201d<\/strong><\/blockquote>\nThe issue isn\u2019t a lack of capital\u2014it\u2019s how that capital is deployed. As someone aptly put it, \u201cthere\u2019s a plumbing problem in our financial systems\u201d. The flow of capital is not being channeled effectively toward creating meaningful impact. This is where catalytic capital plays a crucial role. As a subset of impact investing, catalytic capital addresses gaps left by mainstream finance, enabling outcomes for people and the planet that would otherwise remain out of reach.\n\nPhilanthropy holds a unique position in the capital landscape. It has the power to unlock far greater financial flows by leveraging its assets strategically. Philanthropy can catalyze larger investments, de-risk bold initiatives, and amplify both government funding and private capital. By doing so, it enables the kind of large-scale, systemic change needed to tackle the world\u2019s most pressing challenges.\n\nIf we\u2019re to harness the potential of markets to solve global problems, we must move beyond celebrating incremental progress. We need to think bigger, act faster, and collaborate more effectively. The scale and urgency of the challenges we face demand nothing less than a reimagined financial system. Philanthropy must act as a powerful lever to accelerate impact and drive meaningful systems change.\n\nWe draw inspiration from leading philanthropic organizations in Canada that are paving the way in innovative approaches\u2014from McConnell Foundation's<\/a>\u00a0initiatives to build intermediary capacity for a thriving social finance ecosystem, to Inspirit Foundation\u2019s<\/a> 100% impact portfolio commitment and use of 0% loans to equity-deserving groups, to Dragonfly Ventures\u2019<\/a> grants for development capital to emerging social finance initiatives. Building on these and other leaders\u2019 efforts, the Definity Foundation is exploring how to strengthen the ecosystem by providing grants to social finance intermediaries, enabling them to develop and scale creative financial solutions, such as the creation of new funds like the Raven Indigenous Outcomes Fund<\/a> (RIOF) and the African Canadian Farmers Fund<\/a>.\n\nOur thesis is that through innovative approaches to utilizing capital, we can collectively achieve systemic change at scale. Strategies for scaling transformative capital include:\n