Funded by the Government of Canada, the Investment Readiness Program (IRP) supports social purpose organizations as they contribute to solving pressing social, cultural and environmental challenges across Canada. Its goal is to help social purpose organizations prepare them to be ready for investments and participate in Canada’s growing social finance market. The latest IRP round was overseen in Alberta by the Banff Canmore Community Foundation (BCCF) in partnership with Red Deer Community Foundation (RDCF). BCCF and RDCF utilized a jury of 14 community members to deliberate on the applications and Dan Overall, Executive Director of the Trico Foundation, was honoured to be part of that jury. Recently, BCCF sent Dan five questions about IRP. Some of his answers formed the basis of a BCCF blog that is available here. You can see the entirety of the questions and answers below.

As Catalyst 2030 acknowledges, its approach is not a one-size fits all. We will use their principles and suggestions in a way that fits the work we do while continuing to reflect upon the assessment results, learning, and receiving ongoing feedback from the community we serve.

Co-Founder Bronwyn Bridges of PragmaClin talks about their mission, selling into healthcare, perseverance, and next steps.

Happy New Year! The start of 2023 gives us the opportunity to reflect and learn from 2022. Although 2022 came with its challenges, the past twelve months were busy, historic, and made great progress in advancing both social entrepreneurship and Calgary's role as a hub for social entrepreneurship.