Takeaways From the Social Finance Forum

By: Stephanie Robertson, Board Chair, Social Value Canada

This past November, over 600 investors, entrepreneurs and professionals from the world of finance, nonprofit and public policy, converged upon the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto, Canada. They were assembled for the annual Social Finance Forum (SFF19), which I attended as a participant; as well as, moderator of the Purpose & Impact panel in my role as Board Chair of Social Value Canada.

SFF19 brought forward a number of important takeaways and conversations which have given me much to contemplate. They're of particular interest to those of us organizing the upcoming Social Value International (SVI) conference in September 2020, Social Value Matters: 2020 Global Impact Week (SVM2020), and we anticipate continuing to advance these discussions at our international event.

At the end of the day, the biggest takeaway for me was the need to urgently act upon the promise of bringing a holistic perspective to everything we do; one that embraces social, environmental and financial value and returns. Without urgent action, available financial resources will continue to sustain a system of inequality, negate other more environmentally sustainable options and reduce the overall wellbeing of society. The promise of social finance will not be realized without a clear commitment to value social and environmental outcomes as equal in priority and financial return.

Click here to explore more key takeaways from the Social Finance Forum!