This document provides examples of how community impact investment models have been formed in British Columbia, Canada and abroad. The purpose of this document is to provide the BC Government with a highlevel overview of a variety of community impact investing models, and how they have contributed to local economies and social development. This document is for discussion purposes only and not for replication or circulation. As detailed below, community impact investment models are able to finance businesses or projects independently, or in partnership with other organizations, including levels of government (local, regional, provincial, federal).
Community Investment Funds (CIFs) are locally sourced and controlled pools of capital contributed to by individual investors within a specific geography or community. Enjoying an increased popularity across Canada and internationally in recent years as financing tools for community economic development, CIFs enable local people to direct their investments into local projects. This allows monies to re-circulate in a local or provincial economy, capturing all of the compounding economic, social and environmental returns that are realized. A CIF relies on a legal and organizational structure to guide its activities and can be incorporated as a corporation or a co-operative enterprise (some have used the non-profit model). The CIF’s elected Board of Directors or an Investment Committee then evaluate opportunities and make the decision to invest in local environmentally responsible and socially innovative businesses, co-operatives, community enterprises, renewable energy projects, or affordable housing developments.
Community Investment Funds (CIFs) have demonstrated success in helping provincial governments achieve policy objectives in job creation, small and medium sized business development, and affordable housing development. This is achieved by enabling local residents to form locally-controlled capital pools that provide a vehicle through which accredited and non-accredited investors can easily invest in their own communities.
CIFs can exist with or without supporting policy. Where an enabling policy framework exists, this usually includes investor tax credits and, in the strongest examples, the articulation of simplified regulatory environment that eases the process of registering and reporting for a community investment fund. In Canada, five Canadian provinces (Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Alberta) have established Community Economic Development Investment Fund (CEDIF) programs or similar enabling legislation and programmatic goals that direct CIFs towards investments in community economic development priorities.
Table of Contents
Document Overview
Community Investment Funds
Canadian Responsible and Impact Investment
British Columbia Case Studies
Creston & District Community Investment Co-op
Galiano Community Loan Fund
Knives & Forks Community Investment Co-op
Kootenay Co-op and the Nelson Commons
Peace Energy Cooperative
Rhiza Capital
Transition Salt Spring Enterprise Co-operative
Vancouver Island Community Investment Co-operative
Canadian Case Studies
Battle River Railway (BRR) Co-op
Sangudo Opportunity Development Co-operative (SODC)
Westlock Grain Terminals
Edmonton Social Enterprise Fund – Alberta (SEF)
Ethical Investment: The Jubliee Fund
The Centre for Social Innovation (CSI)
SolarShare
ZooShare Biogas Co-operative
Ottawa Community Loan Fund (OCLF)
Montreal Community Loan Fund (ACEM)
ChebuctoPockwock Community Wind
New Dawn Enterprises – New Dawn Innovation Fund
FarmWorks Investment Co-operative Limited
Saint John Community Loan Fund
Case Studies from Abroad
Forward Community Investments (FCI)
Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation (KHIC)
Plunkett Foundation
RSF Social Finance
NorthEast Investment Cooperative (NEIC)
Madonne Cooperative
Bristol Energy Cooperative (BEC)
The Black Cooperative Investment Fund (BCIF)
The NYC Real Estate Investment Cooperative (NYC REIC)
Craig Moffat Community Investment Cooperative
Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI)
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