On Social Impact

This is a repost of a conversation which took place in July 2019 Imagine you work in Toronto, and need to move a package across the city - who are you going to call?   Imagine if there was a business that had their social impact front and centre.  Which made a difference to people's lives and which was competitively priced. Well, imagine no more!   Check out this fabulous conversation with Ada from Good Foot Delivery to find out who you should be using to send your next package across the city! Keep the conversation going: Website - www.GoodFootDelivery.com Twitter - www.twitter.com/Good_Foot Facebook - www.facebook.com/GoodFootDelivery/ Instagram - www.instagram.com/goodfootdelivery/

This is a repost of a discussion that took place in June 2019.   Does every piece of technology have its day? Perhaps - but it shouldn't have to! Free Geek Toronto are part of an international coalition of Free Geeks, who are breathing new life into unwanted technology. Not only are they making a positive environmental impact by diverting this tech from landfill, but they're making a huge social impact as well. How? Listen in to their story with Executive Director Ryan Fukunaga to find out! For more info and to keep the conversation going: Website - www.freegeektoronto.org/ Twitter - twitter.com/FreeGeekToronto Facebook - www.facebook.com/FreeGeekToronto Instagram - www.instagram.com/freegeektoronto/

This is a repost of an episode originally published in May 2019 Meet Hanna & Morva - fierce founders of CommuniHelp and leaders of a team who are on a mission to change the world of volunteering. I'm really excited by what they're building. Not only because it's so scaleable, but because it's helping to meet a huge number of personal and social needs in one slickly designed package. In a great conversation, we touch on: - The founders' personal stories - What makes CommuniHelp different - and why it's needed by a diverse range of audiences - Why the business is structured in the way that it is - The importance of the mission statement Once you've listened, why not sign up to CommuniHelp to start revolutionizing the world, one volunteer relationship at a time? Website: communihelp.ca/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/pg/communihelp/about/ Twitter: twitter.com/communihelp LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/communihelp/

This is a repost of an episode originally shared in December 2018 Elephant Thoughts is not an obvious name for an education company but, after hearing how it came about, I think you'll agree that it's absolutely perfect. Elephant Thoughts describe themselves as 'Education for a changing world', and the projects that they are involved in are varied, vital, and very exciting. Listen in on this great conversation as Abby & I discuss Elephant Thoughts' history, the power of creating community capacity and what granters really look for in an application. And don't forget to keep the conversation going! Website: www.elephantthoughts.com Twitter: twitter.com/Elephantthought Facebook: www.facebook.com/elephantthoughts/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/elephant_thoughts/ Music by Shane Ivers - www.silvermansound.com

This is a repost of an episode originally released in October 2018 Imagine running an agency which specialises in helping social impact entrepreneurs achieve more. Then imagine being a B Corp and holding yourself up to the highest exemplar standards in the social impact space. This is Hypenotic and I was privileged to get founder Barry Martin on the podcast for a chat about the company, about the opportunities and challenges in today's social impact space in Ontario and the value of external certification. Enjoy - and don't forget to keep the conversation flowing: Twitter - twitter.com/hypenoticbam LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/barryalexandermartin/ Website - hypenotic.com/ Music as always by Shane Ivers, www.silvermansound.com

This is a repost of an episode originally published September 2018 Building Up is a fantastic social impact business which exists to help individuals with barriers to employment to get into apprenticeships and careers in the construction trades. I've been fortunate to be connected to Marc Soberano (Founder & Executive Director) through social media for some time, so it was a real privilege to interview, discovering more about Building Up and the difference they're making throughout Toronto. There's plenty to take away in this episode, as well as a really clear invitation from Marc to connect directly with him to find out more and spread the impact ever further! Don't forget to continue following the story, even after listening to the episode! Website: www.buildingup.ca/ Twitter: twitter.com/BuildingUpTO Facebook: www.facebook.com/buildingupTO/  

This is a repost of an episode originally shared in August 2018 Lawrence Alvarez is one of the co-founders of Toronto Tool Library - a business whose name really doesn't cover half of the amazing stuff they offer. In this podcast. Lawrence talks about the growth of the Tool Library, the very real change it has been set up to make in the world, and the reason why tool libraries need to exist in the first place. We also ponder the question - "how many hammers does the world actually need?" Keep the conversation flowing! Website - torontotoollibrary.com/ Twitter - twitter.com/TOToolLibrary Facebook - www.facebook.com/TorontoToolLibrary/ Instagram - www.instagram.com/torontotoollibrary/ Youtube - www.youtube.com/user/TorontoToolLibrary Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - www.silvermansound.com

This is a repost of an episode originally shared in August 2018 Andre Vashist is the Director, Social Enterprise and Social Finance at VERGE Capital. Iv VERGE Capital's own words, they catalyze "an ecosystem of impact investing that redirects wealth to help tackle our region’s most challenging social and environmental issues." Andre describes VERGE Capital as a social finance intermediary, matching investors and capital with the social impact projects which need support. In this wonderful discussion, we dig into social impact investing, talk about the power of storytelling, why we need to be human in business and talk a philosophical detour as well. Have fun listening in - and don't forget to keep the conversation going: Website: www.vergecapital.ca/ Twitter : twitter.com/VergeCCapital Facebook: www.facebook.com/VERGECCapital/ LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/verge-capital/ Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - www.silvermansound.com

This is a repost of an episode originally recorded in July 2018 Park People are a Canada-wide NGO which uses the power of parks to improve the quality of life in cities across Canada. Jodi Lastman, Park People's Manager, Communications, Skypes into the podcast to talk about the organization's work, community mobilization and why parks are a "neat gateway drug" for all sorts of really, really good things. On the way through, we namecheck Jane Jacobs, Shawn Micallef and Jutta Mason (links below!). Enjoy - and don't forget to keep the conversation going! Web: parkpeople.ca/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ParkPeopleCA Twitter: twitter.com/Park_People Instagram: www.instagram.com/parkppl/ People we namecheck: Jane Jacobs - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Jacobs Shawn Micallef (especially his book Frontier City): twitter.com/shawnmicallef Jutta Mason of the Dufferin Grove Park Group: www.dufferinpark.ca/aboutus/wiki/wiki.php Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - www.silvermansound.com

This is a repost of an episode originally shared in June 2018 Peter Deitz has been drawn to startups and involved in internet culture since the age of 13. For the last 10 years, he has worked almost exclusively on entrepreneurial projects that he founded or co-founded—all of which have had a social purpose. Peter joins ON Social Impact to talk about his life's work, as well as the growth of GrantBook and UnWrapIt. There's some fantastic advice to help entrepreneurs focus, be successful and consider how trust is a vital currency in social impact business. Once you've listened in, don't forget to continue the conversation with Peter: Twitter: twitter.com/peterdeitz LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/peterdeitz/ Details for UnWrapIt: Website: unwrapit.com/ Twitter: twitter.com/UnWrapIt_ Details for GrantBook Website: www.grantbook.org/ Twitter: twitter.com/GrantBookorg Music: Higher Up by Shane Ivers - www.silvermansound.com