Catalyst: Community Finance Initiative
Collaboratively scaling the place-based community finance ecosystem About usCollaboratorsThe Catalyst: Community Finance Initiative is a multi-year initiative to develop enhanced ecosystem and policy infrastructure to support the start-up and scale up place-based community finance organizations in urban, rural and Northern communities in Ontario and across the country.
Our Mission
- Collectively design relevant ecosystem and provincial public policy infrastructure to ensure that community finance institutions can successfully and sustainably start-up and scale their impact;
- Facilitate knowledge sharing amongst place-based finance and capacity organizations; and
- Engage existing and new community finance organizations that can serve organizations, projects, and enterprises in selected urban, rural and Northern communities, alongside mainstream leaders in philanthropy, public policy, and financial institutions.
- Learning Community of current and interested place-based community capital stakeholders;
- Community Capital Research Report including case studies, map, data, and comparative analysis of Canadian (federal and provincial), US and UK policies that support community capital institutions
- Action Plan including potential policy interventions to scale up community capital institutions in Ontario as well as potential ecosystem infrastructure interventions with an appropriately phased plan to scale up community capital institutions in Ontario and across Canada
- Tools and templates for community capital leaders.
Request for Proposal
Catalyst is seeking a service provider (firm, individual or collaborative) to support the development of knowledge products including case studies and feature articles or resources with technical knowledge for community finance intermediaries.
The work includes the following activities:
● Case studies of community finance intermediaries in Canada, as well as similar intermediaries in the United States and the UK. These case studies should be based on interviews from peer intermediaries as a means of capturing and sharing their insights and lessons learned.
● Feature articles and resources on community finance, including articles covering the insights and activities of this project. These resources may include a range of different formats including feature writing, podcasts, videos, or other media as recommended by the Knowledge Partner.
● Activities to help translate knowledge for partners and key stakeholders, derived from the products and programs of the Catalyst initiative, particularly our infrastructure development project and capacity building programs.
The project is expected to take place between July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. The deadline for proposals is Friday, June 3rd at 5 pm EDT.
All proposals should be submitted via email to info@catalystcommunityfinance.ca
Collaborators
Resources
Catalyst Community Finance Initiative Ecosystem Convening Summary
Catalyst Community Finance Initiative Stakeholder Engagement Report
Five must read resources on place-based impact investing
Place-Based Impact Investing: Catalyzing women-led enterprises in Ontario’s COVID recovery
Five Ways to Catalyze Community Capital in Ontario
Why Community Capital Institutions Could be the Key to Recovery
Place-Based Impact Investing: Three Briefs for Practitioners
