Welcome to
The Social Sector Fund Initiative
We are advocating for a Social Sector Fund to create greater social impact in our communities.
Our concept has zero cost to the public and is just good policy.
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We are advocating for a Social Sector Fund to create greater social impact in our communities.
Our concept has zero cost to the public and is just good policy.
There are three related elements:
1. We are working towards the creation of an independent, sustainable, sufficiently-sized sector fund to empower and build capacity for the charity/social sector.
2. This fund requires a legal entity to receive and allocate the money. Therefore, we are advocating for the creation of a fit-for-purpose sector fund entity/agency.
3. To ensure the funds are allocated strategically, with the right priorities, we propose that the first action of the new entity should be to develop a dynamic strategic plan for the empowerment of the whole “for benefit” sector.
To be clear, the Social Sector Fund is envisioned to invest in sector-wide strategic issues to build the capacity of the sector as a whole sector. (Some initiatives which could be relevant are shared below).
Bob Iger, CEO, The Walt Disney Company
Millions of Canadians are struggling, and the quality of life in our local communities is under threat from many lingering social problems. Charities play a crucial role in addressing these challenges via activities such as service delivery, community engagement, resource provision, supporting new comers, setting up the next generations for success and contributing to the vibrancy and accessibility of cultural experiences. They are on the front lines in every community across the country.
However, charities are underfunded and understaffed. We have a growing “Charity Gap” between increased demand on charitable services versus a decline in resources to meet the demands.
The current ecosystem is unable to voluntarily collaborate to solve these problems, so systemic changes are required as a public good.
Recent research among sector thought-leaders (report links below) indicates a growing sentiment that things are approaching a crisis, and new solutions are urgently needed.
Doing nothing is not an option. The status quo is letting us all down.
Ginni Rometty, Past CEO, IBM
This 'ask' likely requires an act of parliament to amend the Income Tax Act. It requires the Federal Government to include this in a bill or budget passed in Ottawa.
We are working towards this new policy by engaging in discussions with sector thought-leaders and by advocating in Ottawa.
We need to present this 'ask' in smart, politically attractive language, supported by facts and data.
It should be one singularly-focused ‘ask’ to avoid dilution of efforts over many disparate priorities. Setting up this fund will empower subsequent initiatives.
We must show reduced risk and no dissention from within the charity ecosystem. General agreement is important (recognizing that full agreement is unlikely for any initiative!).
We need to build support by way of (social) media, formal media channels, word-of-mouth, published narratives from others, and by amplifying the voices of stakeholders (charities and taxpayers) via polling.
Funding is supported by GIV3, and a steering committee (see below) will do its best to bring this to fruition. They are volunteers.
This initiative arose from concerned individuals discussing the need for bold new innovations. These change-agents recognize that the biggest risk we face is doing nothing.
They have voluntarily stepped forward as a “steering committee" to help support the creation of a new Sector Fund which is a critical first step in fostering subsequent innovation.
Jonathan Kozol, American Writer
NOW. We must act with urgency.
Many Canadians are currently struggling and in need.
With each passing year, we have fewer donors to mentor the next generation of Canadians.
We need to target inclusion in the Federal Budget of 2025, and failing that, for 2026.
We understand that the first flow of funds to the newly created Sector Fund will lag behind the legislation, likely occurring after the end of the first full year following the policy implementation.
This provides time for the creation of the legal entity, its Membership + governance, and a sector Strategic Plan.
It is important to be evidence-based.
Recent research shows that that the majority of charities in Canada support this idea of a sector fund, as do the majority of Canadian taxpayers polled by Ipsos Canada.
Read the reports shared here.
For the Sector Fund
Each grant-making philanthropic foundation (perhaps of a certain size; $500,000+ assets) must make an annual grant to this new sector fund. This grant would be determined as a small percent of their capital ( proposed at 0.00025) . The grants would be made within 30 days of the filing of each applicable foundation's T3010, collected by the Charity Directorate of the CRA, and passed on to this new Sector Fund Entity/Agency. Such sector fund grants would qualify within the calculation of the Disbursement Quota, thus not adding any incremental financial burden on foundations, as they must make grants each year anyway.
For the Governance of the Agency
Charities do not have shareholders; instead, they have 'Members'. We propose that this new agency have a manageable number of Members (perhaps 30-50) representing a wide and diverse coverage of the sector. This would comprise current sector leadership organizations (e.g. Imagine Canada, Community Foundations of Canada, Philanthropic Foundations of Canada, Volunteer Canada, and so on), each province's nonprofit network (e.g. ONN, IONS, and so on), as well as leadership organizations from the social finance and business sectors. The Membership would vote for the Board of Trustee of the new agency. This Board would then be responsible for hiring the Executive Director of the agency, setting the strategic direction, and reporting back (ensuring accountability, with transparency) on the allocations and impact of the funds.
Examples of What the Fund Could Support
The Sector Fund is envisioned as a strategic allocation agency that assigns funds to relevant partners pursuing sector capacity-building initiatives. The allocations would be guided by a strategic plan aimed at enhancing the capacity of the sector and its evolution into a more complete social or "for benefit" sector.
Some examples of initiatives that might be considered include:
