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Did you know that MaRS was a registered charity? It's true. Look us up on the Canada Revenue Agency's website.

Allyson Hewitt, Practice Lead for the social innovation practice at MaRS, talks about leadership in the nonprofit sector. Find out what makes a leader great.

Charity Village interviews Allyson Hewitt, Director of Social Entrepreneurship at SiG@MaRS.

Jorge Clair's blog mentioned that My Charity Connects is part of Net Change Week.

Can the private sector and market-based models play a bigger role in the traditional turf of charities and government, tackling issues like youth unemployment and childhood obesity?

U.S. companies have too often viewed the social sector as a dumping ground for their spare cash, obsolete equipment, and tired executives, but that mind-set, says HBS Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter, has hardly created lasting change. In this excerpt from an article in the Harvard Business Review, she issues a call for corporate social innovation, an approach, says Kanter, that's more R&D than it is charity.

McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine - 2009 Golf Town Invitational benefit will raise funds for its groundbreaking research toward the treatment and cure of diabetes.

Lisa Torjman's blog on Net Change Week happening June 8-12, 2009 which is designed to explore how social technology can bolster social change.

If you are starting out as a social entrepreneur or re-vamping your company, this book is for you. It holds insights on how to think like an entrepreneur, how to start an enterprise as a business not a charity. This book will teach you how successful social entrepreneurs: * Focus on community wants and needs * Match those with core competencies to provide the quality services * Assess risk and gauge opportunity * Develop new project ideas and test their feasibility * Write a business plan * Project finances in the plan * Tap into new sources of funding * Develop the idea of social entrepreneurship throughout the organization * Make sure that mission, not money, is the bottom line

"The Centre for Social Innovation is a place-based hub of ideas, people, services and strategies. In partnership with Urbanspace Property Group, they provide 18,000 square feet of shared workspace in downtown Toronto. The Centre for Social Innovation is home to a community of nonprofits, charities, social enterprises, artists, green businesses, and individual innovators. Working together, they lower costs, create synergies, and spark new ideas for advancing their shared interests. The Centre for Social Innovation explores new ideas in collaboration, social entrepreneurship and systems change. These interests guide their work. Their website only offers a subscription to their email newsletter, Social Innovator's Update. Join to receive information on news and events in this space."

Christine Ho and Kevin Tsoi came up with the idea for Well of Change last summer when they wanted to volunteer, but were ill-equipped to build houses or work in soup kitchens. They figured people who wouldn't normally donate their time or money might use a marketplace of skills where all proceeds go to charity.

Brent MacKinnon consults with non-profits on using social media tools to effect change. Met through STT (Social Tech Training), he's based in Toronto.

Michael J Fox introduced his Parkinson's disease foundation at the MaRS Centre in Toronto Sept 24, 2009.

Daniel Patricio's take on Net Change Week at MaRS. Net Change week is a city wide event designed to reduce the divide between digital professionals and social change-makers.

CanadaHelps.org is hosting a two-day conference for non-profit/charitable groups to learn how to utilize Web 2.0marketing and fundraising ventures. This event is being held at MaRS June 8 & 9.

An interesting Toronto-based social-purpose business. PUBLIC is a for-profit, social-purpose business focused exclusively on advancing the public good. We are an innovation company, generating positive social impact through the creation of scalable programs, products and campaigns that: * raise money for charitable purposes * increase civic and community engagement * advance social causes and issues * create new social norms We bring an integrated, impact- driven approach to mobilizing and advancing the public good by aligning brand awareness, policy influence and fundraising. For us, "advancing the public good" is about motivating people (and organizations) to behave in ways that benefit society while recognizing and appealing to their self-interest.

Christine Egger's blog about the event re: Social Actions that took place in Toronto March 12 and Allyson Hewitt, Director, Social Entrepreneurship, MaRS Discovery District was a participant and shared her views on the issue.

Christine Egger's blog talks about the event re: Social Actions that took place in Toronto March 12. Allyson Hewitt, Director, Social Entrepreneurship, MaRS Discovery District was a participant at the event and shared her views on the issue. March 12, 2009