Gena Rotstein's blog
When Stars Align: Social Capital, Venture Capital and Philanthropy Collide
Posted September 8th, 2011 by Gena Rotstein- charity
- Eleos Foundation
- fund advisor
- John Duffy
- Kevin Starr
- MaRS Toronto
- Mulago Foundation
- philanthropy
- Sand Hill Road
- Seed Capital
- Seed Money
- SOCAP2011
- Social entrepreneur
- social investor
- social venture
Today I have been focusing on the language issues between the social entrepreneur, charity, social investor and fund advisor market... And man is there a disconnect!
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Why Place2Give
Posted September 7th, 2011 by Gena Rotstein- Benevity
- philanthropy
- Place2Give
- SoCap 2011
- Social Enterprise
- social venture
In preparing for the SoCap Conference I was thinking about the direction that I want to take my company and the opportunities for social capital growth and investing in Canada. I'm not going to lie, raising capital for a social venture is tough... This is due in large part to the nature of the space I work in. Social ventures, as a defined type of business is an emerging market. Therefore part of the task of the entrepreneur is educating the market about what a for-profit social venture is, then it is sourcing out the non-traditional investors who understand the multi-line reporting of how investment success will be measured, then of course you have to sell them on your idea (which in new spaces is always a challenge) this all culminates with quickly taking your concept to market. Phew! That's why they call it the five-year over night success story.
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The Attic Dwellers - Tax Deductible Non-cash Charitable Donations
Posted August 30th, 2011 by Gena RotsteinGuest Blogger: Holli Dawson is a freelance writer in the fields of personal finance and real estate, and writes on behalf of a number of different publications and sites (most recently on behalf of a major moving services provider). She lives in Ontario with her two sons and four dogs, which is about as chaotic as you can imagine.
The coming of a new school year tends to bring the "cleaning out of the closets." This blog post talks about those treasures that you find in the attic while looking for the box of winter clothing...
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Blessings & Curses
Posted August 28th, 2011 by Gena Rotstein- A Star Studio
- Canadian Women's Foundation
- cancer
- Perez Hilton
- SVI Hollyhock
- Tatiana Smith
It's been a strange week.
It started off with a funeral and is ending with a wedding. Throw in a baby shower, an acceptance into the Social Venture Institute at Hollyhock and you see why it's been strange.
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Crowdsourcing a Political Brief - Presentation to the Finance Committee - Final
Posted August 17th, 2011 by Gena RotsteinThe brief was submitted to the Finance Committee last week. Thanks to all who submitted comments, shared their knowledge and voiced their opinions on the direction of how Canada's financial policies should be drafted as we move forward in this social venture space.
Crowdsourcing a Political Brief - Presentation to the Finance Committee - Part 3
Posted August 11th, 2011 by Gena RotsteinThe latest revision of the briefing to the Finance Committee of the House of Commons is below. I have included references to the Manitoba Corporate Tax Credit for Social Enterprises and the British Columbia's advisory committee on Social Entrepreneurship.
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Crowdsourcing a Political Brief - Presentation to the Finance Committee - Part 2
Posted August 9th, 2011 by Gena RotsteinThank you to those who have shared their thoughts, research and ideas on what should be included in this brief to the House of Commons Finance Committee. Attached is a draft version of the document. I have not completed the bibliography and it needs to be tightened up but your feedback is most welcome, especially on the recommendations that are being presented to the committee (page 5).
If you have written a brief for a House Committee before, please share how you think this document should be laid out.
Thank you for your contributions!
Crowdsourcing a Political Brief - Presentation to the Finance Committee
Posted August 2nd, 2011 by Gena RotsteinI am submitting a brief to the Finance Committee of the House of Commons addressing the following as they relate to for-profit social ventures and non-profit social enterprises:
- How to achieve a sustained economic recovery in Canada
- How to create quality sustainable jobs
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Flies on Eyes Poverty Marketing - Famine Relief Fundraising and Your Donation
Posted July 26th, 2011 by Gena RotsteinAnother natural disaster has struck. Except in this case, it was one that was preventable and could have been planned for. I am talking about the famine in Somalia and the Horn of Africa. Do you watch TV on Saturday morning or late at night? Ever see those celebrity endorsed ads for international aid organizations with the flies buzzing around the kids with dirty faces and distended bellies? Ever wonder, how international NGO's can support kids on $30/day and still afford TV production ad time? Perhaps you also look at those kids and ask how effective is my sponsor-a-child?
Summer Time is Planning Time - Update on Dexterity Consulting and it's Parent Company - Dexterity Ventures Inc.
Posted July 15th, 2011 by Gena RotsteinDexterity Consulting is just going through its annual strategic planning review and stakeholder engagement. As a reader of this blog your ideas, suggestions, input is welcome so that we can provide even better service to our clients.