Innovation Fund Update 2024

Introducing the Role of Philanthropy in South Georgian Bay

On December 3rd 2022, Anne Brayley, Barb and I were invited by Rosalyn Morrison, Chair of the Institute of Southern Georgian Bay https://tisgb.com/ to a gathering of community stakeholders at Collingwood’s Simcoe Street Theatre. The topic was Multi-Sector Partnerships for creating local sustainable economies. Our role was to introduce the role of Philanthropy in making South Georgian Bay an even better place to live, work and play for those who live in and visit South Georgian Bay. We were invited to introduce plans for our $1.1 million South Georgian Bay Innovation Fund. Our hope was that over time our initiative would foster others to make a similar commitment to create a South Georgian Bay model that would become a leader in Social Entrepreneurship in Canada.

The journey is well underway. As planned, we spent the first six months studying community issues that would yield significant results from Fund seed capital. We decided that our first focus would be programs to enhance the regenerative power of, and access to nature in South Georgian Bay. By the summer of 2023, we concluded that the Escarpment Corridor Alliance was a leader in protecting and enhancing nature and its contribution to the wellbeing of those of us in South Georgian Bay. We were excited to grant the Escarpment Corridor Alliance $75k over 3 years for three innovative projects.

About the Projects

Escarpment Corridor Alliance Partnership

The Escarpment Corridor Alliance and SGB Innovation Fund partnership is off to a great start with three focused projects. The first phase of exploring a Youth Environmental Stewardship Program was to complete a regional community scan of nature-based youth programs and activities across the region.

This scan was completed with the support of a ECA Youth Ambassador who led most of the research. While the findings are still being compiled, and will eventually become a community information resource, it was found that there was a youth program gap that the SGBIF may be able to help fill with future innovative program partnerships. Stay tuned for more on ‘youth in nature’.

ECA-SGBIF Conservation Economy White Paper

The ECA-SGBIF Conservation Economy White Paper is the second project and it will be complete and shared this coming June/July. This project explores the concept of shifting our local regional economy to consider the economic stimulation opportunities of investing in nature, instead of extracting from or building on it.

The Conservation Economy White Paper will be a key component of the third SGBIF-ECA partnership project, the Nature Corridor Summit coming to South Georgian Bay mid October 2024. The White Paper draft will be released later in June with final release just before the fall Nature Corridor Summit. SGBIF funding has allowed the ECA team to contract a Project Event Manager to ensure this event can be as meaningful and impactful as possible.

The event will feature national calibre speakers. The Summit will solidify the importance of ‘connected nature’ to human health, community, the economy and the ecological corridor concept as a nature-based solution to biodiversity loss and climate resilience. Watch for an event announcement with details in May/June.

Fund Focus in 2024

Youth Mental Health

Early in our 2023 research program, we identified Youth Mental Health as a pressing South Georgian Bay issue. Our study of Youth Mental Health programming led us to Jack.org and their peer-to-peer prevention programming. In 2024, we hope to help introduce Jack Talks to selected secondary schools in South Georgian Bay.

We also discovered the nearly three decades of Magic of Children in the Arts in Collingwood. We mused “Just think what we could achieve to improve youth mental health and quality of life if we found a way to do the same thing in music? Well, David Barrett, the current architect of the growth and expansion of Magic, agrees!

The Collingwood Music Festival, under the leadership of Daniel Vnukowski, has achieved remarkable results. Expanded, excellent Festival programming, new organizational strength, capacity and financial stability are among Daniel’s considerable achievements.

After this summer’s Festival, Daniel’s now expanded team will focus on a new 2024/2025 Festival Strategic Plan. Daniel has articulated that an expanded focus on youth music programs will be part of the new plan. Daniel and David Barrett have had initial discussions. Both have committed to continue collaboration.

Our SGB Innovation Fund has committed to receive a proposal from the festival for a grant for youth focused programming seed capital after the Festival’s Strategic plan is completed this Fall. Stay tuned!

Thinking Big

Since we introduced our Fund in December 2022 South Georgian Bay’s activity with Social Innovation has grown exponentially. Recently the Town of the Blue Mountains sponsored a Sustainability / Green Economy Summit that included topics like climate change mitigation, the circular economy / recycling, and the call for new leadership.

The Chair of The Institute of Southern Georgian Bay introduced a pilot project to explore the region’s capabilities to develop a Green Economy Hub that will bring together Business, Government, Non-Profits and Philanthropists to address sustainable/green issues and opportunities. The SGB Innovation Fund was highlighted as a potential partner in this initiative.

To fully activate the required role of Philanthropy, South Georgian Bay will require more Funds like ours!! What if community leaders could recruit 5 to 10 others — the new SGB Innovation Philanthropists – a group of SGB Innovation focussed leaders prepared to commit a minimum of a $1.0 million funding to an Endowment Fund of their own choosing and focus? Perhaps supported by a core of paid staff. A dream perhaps – but just think if we could!! Again, stay tuned!