By Ryan M. Prendergast

Two resources are now available for charities and not-for-profits in Ontario to become better informed about community impact investing. The Cooperation Council of Ontario, Ontario Trillium Foundation, and Canadian CED Network partnered together to produce Community Investment in Ontario: Status and Prospects (the “Report”) as well as Start-up and Operations Guide: Ontario Community Investment Co-operative (CIC) (the “Guide”). The two resources adopt distinct yet complementary perspectives about community investment organizations, with the Report providing helpful contextual information about community investments, and the Guide providing generalized, practical information for groups interested in developing their own community investment cooperative.

The Report considers what the literature reflects about the state of the current ecosystem in Ontario for community investment organizations. In addition, it considers issues such as what type of legal structure (as a business, non-profit, or cooperative) a community investment organization could adopt. For added context, the Report goes through a comparative analysis of the different kinds of engagement with community investment organizations that individuals across Canada have had.

The Guide sets out the phases an organization should expect to go through in the development of a community investment cooperative. For example, it prompts individuals to consider the community needs and opportunities, to create a development timeline, to establish partnerships, and to keep records of necessary legal documents. The Guide also includes 31 appendices consisting of templates, surveys, and manuals anyone looking to create a community investment cooperative can use.

Read the November 2021 Charity & NFP Law Update