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Mar 17

Resources for Raising Community Bonds

Par News

Sometimes organizations want to do a bit of their own homework on Community Bonds before they reach out to us. This is why we have launched our new resources page, to give you and your team the tools you need to explore and evaluate the option of community financing at your own speed.

“We want organizations to be able to self-select whether this is a good fit for them or not,” says Ryan Collins-Swartz, Co-Executive Director of Tapestry. “Through our experience helping to raise and manage over $70 million in community bonds, we have come to realize what works and what doesn’t. We want organizations to use these tools to say either, ‘yes, this is a great fit for my project’ or ‘no, we aren’t quite there yet.’

Community bonds are still a very new concept to most. This means there is often a good deal of educating that needs to take place at the Senior and Board level before organizations feel comfortable exploring this idea in greater detail.

“Once they dig into these resources and see how others have done it and succeeded, they walk away confident that they too can realize their visions with the help of community finance,” says Ryan. 

On our new resources page you will find two case studies that can be downloaded free of charge. These walk you through the amazing stories of how the Argonaut Rowing Club and The Mount Community Centre raised community bonds to transform community real estate. 

There is also an in-depth guide written by the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), who have now raised over $8 million in community bonds, that tells their story and shares their wealth of experience.

“We are very happy to have all these tools easily available online now, and hope that this will improve the accessibility, and general awareness, of community bonds across Canada,” says Ryan. 

For those that have explored these resources and wish to move further in their research, we offer a 3-hour workshop designed to bring your team together to further evaluate how community bonds can work for your project. 

Mar 01

Join our Board of Directors

Par News

In a time of exciting growth, our parent organization – TREC Renewable Energy Cooperative – is looking to expand its Board of Directors.

TREC has incubated and launched several organizations that solve environmental challenges and advance the power of community economic development in Canada, including WindShare, SolarShare, and Relay Education.

TREC’s most recent venture is Tapestry Community Capital. At Tapestry, we support social purpose organizations across Canada to raise and manage community investment. Our clients are cooperatives, not-for-profits, and charities engaged in developing renewable energy, and social purpose real estate such as: housing, arts venues, recreation facilities, community hubs, co-working spaces, and innovation centres.

We know that more diverse, equitable and inclusive leadership will lead to greater innovation and amplified impact. This is why TREC is actively seeking to improve the diversity of our Board of Directors. We are particularly seeking representation from people of colour, rural communities, Indigenous groups, and those that identify as LGBTQ2S++, and encourage applicants from equity seeking groups.

In our most recent episode of Café Tapestry, we had the opportunity to speak to Rebecca Black, long standing TREC Board Member, Co-Founder of Women in Renewable Energy (WiRE) and Designer & Communicator at Black Current Marketing. Rebecca shared her experience of being a Member of the Board, what she has learned over the years, and how this opportunity has helped her to develop new skills and shape her career.

Watch the full episode below to learn more about what it is like to be a Member of the TREC Board.

For those interested in applying, please read the full description here.

Fév 03

Join us for Café Tapestry

Par News

With pandemic restrictions and working from home, we are really missing our morning coffee chats about the social finance work that’s inspiring us. Grab a cup of coffee and join us for Café Tapestry! We will be meeting exciting minds working in community finance and hearing their amazing stories about communities rallying to finance social and environmental change.

This episode features our Co-Executive Directors at Tapestry, Mary Warner and Ryan Collins-Swartz. Mary and Ryan share how community bonds have performed over the past year (2020) and their outlook for making social finance more inclusive and more impactful.

 

Have an idea for the next episode of Café Tapestry? Get in touch with us.

Déc 17

Announcing our new Co-Executive Directors: Mary Warner & Ryan Collins-Swartz

Par News

We’re proud to announce Mary Warner and Ryan Collins-Swartz as the new Co-Executive Directors of Tapestry & our parent organization TREC

Mary and Ryan are stepping into their new roles as veterans of the organization, both having a deep understanding of social finance and its impact on communities across Canada. They played a central role in founding Tapestry and growing the organization from an idea to an incredible reality – an organization that has now raised over 70 million dollars in community investment for community owned assets. Mary, Ryan, and the entire team, imagine a future with clean energy, housing for all, inspiring spaces for the arts, and social services brought to life with community bonds.

Mary Warner is the longest serving member of our organization and a pioneer in the world of social finance. She joined TREC 11 years ago and supported the growth of leading bond issuers like SolarShare, ZooShare, the Centre for Social Innovation. As Co-Executive Director, Mary will oversee operations and finance. 

“I bring the spirit of facing new challenges by working collaboratively in my new role. It is not a leap I take lightly or alone, and with the support of my Co-Executive Director, Ryan, and with deep confidence in our entire team, I am eager to continue our tradition of thinking big and finding ways to further the social and environmental causes that are fundamental to our mission and values.”  – Mary Warner

Ryan Collins-Swartz has been an instrumental force in our organization and a champion for community bonds.. Since joining TREC to launch Tapestry 3.5 years ago, he’s built out our services, expanded our reach to new sectors and geographies, and worked closely with organizations to develop their bond campaigns for success. As Co-Executive Director, Ryan will lead the growth of Tapestry by working with partners, clients, and stakeholders. 

“It’s inspiring to support organizations to engage their community, increase their impact and empower everyday investors and institutions to align their investments with their values. I believe in the power of community bonds to change not only our relationship to finance, but prove that together, we can create the communities we want to live in.” – Ryan Collins-Swartz

Deb Doncaster, one of TREC’s founding staff and now a Director at the Greenbelt Foundation, shared the Board’s perspective on co-leadership:

“Our Board was thrilled to unanimously approve Mary and Ryan as our new Co-Executive Directors. Co-leadership provides stability for the organization as a whole as well as for the co-leaders themselves. Together, they can support each other in this pivotal role and model a more inclusive, co-operative and rewarding form of leadership. We’re excited for our organization to continue to evolve and grow under their leadership”  – Deb Doncaster, Board Member

2020 has proved the resilience of our communities and we are excited to support new ideas with the power of community bonds in 2021. We look forward to the year ahead with confidence in our team, energized to dream even bigger.

If you have any questions about Tapestry or community bonds, please get in touch! We’d love to hear from you.

Juin 30
Centre for Social Innovation 192 Spadina Location

Centre for Social Innovation Closes Raise of $1.9M!

Par Client Stories, News, Success Story

A huge congratulations go out to the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) for reaching their 2020 Community Bond goal of $1.9M in only 41 days! 

CSI has a successful history of using community bonds to support their work:

  • In 2010, CSI raised $2 million over the course of four months to own their first CSI Annex location at 720 Bathurst St.,
  • In 2014 they raised $4.3 million to purchase and renovate CSI Spadina at 192 Spadina Ave.

“I think the record success of this campaign to build the next economy, during this unprecedented time of hardship and activism, speaks to the moment: great challenges demand that we rise to meet them. We’re entering a new era and the potential we have today to reshape ourselves hasn’t existed since the post-war era. Our community of impact investors are some of the wisest most committed people in Canada. I think they saw the opportunity, and CSI’s track record of doing the work, and proving that big ideas are possible, and they wanted to be part of the solution.

We couldn’t have done this without the essential services provided by our long-term partners at Tapestry. From the sage advice, technology, process recommendations, and thorough knowledge of the regulatory dos and don’ts, to the careful, friendly, long-term investor management, we simply could not be in the Community Bond business without them.”

– Kyle Shantz, Director of Growth, CSI

With the help of Tapestry – and nearly 120 individual community investors like yourself – CSI was able to raise an impressive $1.9 M in under two months for their most recent bond project.

The CB 2020 bond offering was an invitation to their community of members and supporters to invest in the people, places, and programs that put people and the planet first. 

The funds from this raise will support a variety of programs that are in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals – Quality Education, Gender Equality, Decent Work, Reduced Inequality, Sustainable Communities, and Climate Action. 

We are proud to be a part of this great success and look forward to watching the future unfold for the Centre for Social Innovation! Click here to learn more about this project!

If you are interested in learning more about bringing your dream project to life through community bonds, find out more here or e-mail Ryan Collins-Swartz at ryan@tapestrycapital.ca.

Déc 11

What is the Investment Readiness Program?

Par News, Policy and Advocacy

At Tapestry, we speak with many not for profit organizations on a weekly basis. Over the last few months, the Investment Readiness Program (IRP) has been a part of that conversation. When we bring up IRP, we tend to get a variety of responses ranging from excitement to confusion. What is the Investment Readiness Program? How can it benefit nonprofit organizations? What does investment readiness even mean?

The idea of private capital being invested in the nonprofit sector is a new sort of conversation in Canada. In past blog posts, we’ve discussed the investment continuum and where community bonds sit in reference to traditional philanthropic tools. IRP is another piece in this financing conversation.

In this blog post, we’ll seek to:

  • Provide clarity about the program
  • Give some insight into the idea of investment readiness
  • Point you in the right direction for learning more about the program

Social Finance Fund

On November 22, 2018, the federal government announced the establishment of a $755 million Social Finance Fund. The Community Foundations of Canada CEO, Andrew Chunilall suggests that the goal of the fund is to “attract increased investment to help vulnerable people and to solve pressing challenges like climate change, housing affordability, technological disruption of jobs, and other national and local priorities.”

Full details about the fund are still forthcoming, however, it is expected that the $755 million will be distributed in the form of a matching investment over the next 10 years, starting in 2021. In other words, like the funds from private investors, the social finance fund be a repayable investment into social purpose organizations.

In recognition of the fact that private investments and social finance are new concepts for many social purpose organizations, there has been $50 million earmarked to help get organizations ready for the planned release of the Social Finance Fund. These funds are being distributed as the Investment Readiness Program.

Investment Readiness Program

The Investment Readiness Program was launched in July 2019. The funds are being distributed in the form of grants through readiness support partners. These partners include:

Starting in 2020, these readiness support partners will put a call out to social purpose organizations (both for profit and not for profit), that are interested in becoming investment ready. In fact, the Canadian Women’s Foundation has already put out its first call out for applicants.

In practice, investment readiness refers an organizations ability to successfully participate in the social finance market. This means generating revenue through a new social enterprise, or scaling existing social enterprise activities. The capital earned through investment will allow organizations to increase their social impact, and being “investment ready” means the organizations will have the capacity to repay that investment.

There are different financial vehicles that allow organizations to accept financing, including community bonds. What is common amongst these social finance vehicles, is the expectation of a financial return in addition to a social return.

How can Nonprofit Organizations benefit from the program?

For not for profit organizations that have only ever relied on grants and fundraising, the Investment Readiness Program presents an amazing opportunity to think differently about financing. In leveraging this opportunity to establish a Social Enterprise, or grow existing revenue generating activities, organizations can both position themselves for social investment, and create long-term sustainability that could come in the form of:

  • Investing in social purpose real estate
  • Addressing food insecurity and clean energy generation
  • Providing equitable jobs and training opportunities
Argonaut Rowing Club President - Investment Readiness Post

The Argonaut Rowing Club leveraged community bonds to raise $1.2 Million for their club revitalization project.

Organizations that we work with, like the Argonaut Rowing Club (ARC), are a great example of how private capital can enable a greater social impact. By leveraging community bonds, ARC was able to increase their clubs membership capacity, make the club accessible, and make essential improvements to the revenue generating events space. To learn more about how the Argonaut Rowing Club leveraged social finance, click here.

 

What’s Next?

We will be working with Innoweave to host an Investment Readiness and Ideation session on Thursday, December 18 at 1:30pm. The session will be hosted by Tapestry at the Foundation House (Foundation House Board Room, #300-2 St Clair Ave East, Toronto, ON) and facilitated by Wayne Miranda the Social Finance Investment Readiness Lead.

If you’re interested in participating, signup through the link below:

In addition, before the end of the year, the Community Foundations of Canada will be announcing more information on the Investment Readiness Program. They will be one of the best resources to stay up to date on program developments, and gain access to program funds through community foundations. And, as we learn about funds being released through the different Investment Readiness Partners, we’ll be sure to let you know through the Tapestry Community Capital newsletter, on our Twitter account, or through LinkedIn.

Sep 16

Argonaut Rowing Club completes $1.2 million community bond raise

Par News

Media Advisory

Historic Argonaut Rowing Club completes $1.2 million community bond raise to fund the ARC Next club revitalization

Toronto, ON, September 16 – The Argonaut Rowing Club, announced that their $1.2 million-dollar community bond campaign goal has been achieved. As a part of the club’s 5-year revitalization project called ARC Next, the club’s volunteer board of directors worked with Tapestry Community Capital to launch the bond campaign in March 2019, with a goal of raising the funds by September 15, 2019. The bond raise was well received by potential investors, with interest in purchasing bonds, exceeding the amount of bonds available. The bond raise goal was reached on September 13, 2o19.

When complete, the ARC Next club revitalization will support the next generation of rowers by offering a fully accessible space with a renovated event venue, new elevator, extended docks, new change rooms, enlarged weight room and an increased capacity for both membership and youth programming.

A celebration for club members and investors is being planned for early October.

About the Argonaut Rowing Club (ARC)

Founded in 1872 and located on the Western Beaches of Toronto, the Argonaut Rowing Club (ARC) is one of Canada’s oldest and largest clubs with a history of supporting Olympic and Paralympic champions. ARC provides programs for athletes, coaches, umpires and volunteers based on the Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L)/Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model. Members at ARC include rowers of all ages, skill levels and abilities. They are supported by the ARC vision to inspire lifelong passions for the sport and to help their members achieve their personal level of excellence. For more information about the Argonaut Rowing Club, please visit www.argonautrowingclub.com.

About Tapestry Capital

Tapestry Community Capital is a not-for-profit co-op that supports other co-ops and non-profits in raising and managing community investment. Since 1998, the Tapestry team has supported some of Canada’s largest organizations across multiple sectors in successfully raising and managing $61 million from over 3,900 community investors. From investment structure, to branding and back-office support, Tapestry ensures each campaign and investment is managed reliably and professionally. Tapestry, and each one of their clients, strive to leave the world a better place. For more information about Tapestry Community Capital, please visit www.tapestrycapital.ca.

-30-

Interviews, photos or more information:

Judy Sutcliffe
arcnext@argonautrowingclub.com
Argonaut Rowing Club

 

 

Août 21
community bonds

Future of Good: What’s a Community Bond, Anyway?

Par News

On August 14, we published a blog post in collaboration with the Future of Good, giving a primer on Community Bonds!

In the post, we explored why not for profit organizations need to diversify their funding sources, and the advantages/disadvantages of some of the financing tools available to not for profit organizations.

Here are the key takeaways from the article that we wrote:

Grants are essential but inconsistent

As one of the tools most readily available to not for profit organizations, we discuss grants quite a bit. While essential and hugely valuable, there are drawbacks to relying on grants. One of the main disadvantages is the relative lack of flexibility and stability.

In all cases, it’s the granting body that defines how a grant can be used, and typically, a not for profit organization will have to find a project that fits the granting parameters. Furthermore, it’s the granting body that decides when and under what circumstances the grant is available.

While organizations should pursue grants, caution should be taken in relying solely on grants for funding. In particular, for major capital development projects, relying on grants will likely be insufficient.

Using a range of tools provides a more secure funding base

In considering how to establish a secure funding base, organizations should seek to diversify their funding sources. This could include any range of funding vehicles including: fundraising, crowdfunding, social entrepreneurship, community bonds and grants.

A range of purpose specific funding tools like grants or community bonds, and flexible funding tools that can be used for anything, like donations or social entrepreneurship, will provide your organization with the ability to escape the endless granting cycle and plan for growth!

We’re strong believers in leveraging the entire investment continuum when reviewing how to effectively plan for long-term financing. Much like you wouldn’t hammer a nail with a screwdriver, you should consider the tool being used when considering what you’re trying to fund.

Community Bonds are an effective tool to finance your next capital development project

Whether you’re seeking a tool that can help to reengage existing supporters, or looking for a new tool that can jumpstart your capital development ambitions, Community Bonds are an effective resource for organizations of all sizes. They provide your community to feel a sense of ownership over the project being funded.

The full article is available on the Future of Good website. If you’re interested in reading click here:
What’s a community bond, anyway?

If you’re interested in learning more about community bonds, or signing up for our Community Bonds 101 webinar, to see if this innovative financing solution is right for your organization, click the link below:

Juil 22
White Pencil

The Thread: Tapestry Community Newsletter

Par News

Last week, the Tapestry Team launched the first edition of The Thread, Tapestry’s bi-monthly community newsletter.

The Thread Newsletter Header

We’re excited to be able to bring you news and events related to community bonds, social impact investing and not for profit organizations, engaging their community to do amazing things all around the world. If you haven’t viewed the newsletter and don’t want to miss out on future editions, click the link below:
View Newsletter ButtonIf you find an interesting piece of community bond news, have an event you want to feature, or just have questions/comments about the newsletter, please get in touch. We will review every comment and take it under consideration when designing the newsletter.

Take the next step and bring your project to life

If you are interested in using Community Bonds to finance your next project, our Tapestry team can help you. We have the expertise, staff and technology to make your bond campaign a success.

Get In TouchTake the Qualifier

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Join The Thread.

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