Work at CSI for the day with our new Lounge Pass!

VCIB Contributes $50,000 to CSI’s Community Resilience Fund

CSI

CSI

CSI’s goal is to ensure that no one in our community is left behind as a result of the financial impact of COVID-19. While our community was forced to lay off 27% of their staff in the first 3 weeks and another 44% are at risk, we know that the economy that they are creating is needed, now more than ever. We are committed to helping our community of changemakers thrive in the Next Economy. Now is the time for even more partnerships and creative solutions.

“As our financial partner, when VCIB called us to say that they are here for us now and in the future, I breathed a sigh of relief. When I told them of the impact on our members, they simply said, ‘We are in this together. Let’s build the Next Economy together.’ This is partnership. This is leadership. This is what change looks like! We couldn’t be happier or more grateful to be working with the amazing team at VCIB.”

— Tonya Surman, CEO of CSI

As Canada’s first and only values-driven bank, VCIB is committed to driving positive social, environmental, and economic change within the communities in which it operates. VCIB leverages the tools of finance to support social enterprises, non-profits, and purpose-driven organizations to innovate, grow, and spark change. Drawing on a shared vision for our world, VCIB and CSI have a strong bond: we are each working toward a sustainable and regenerative tomorrow – one that builds strong communities and healthy environments, and resilient people.

“Right now, VCIB is committed to focusing its resources on keeping Canadian communities and businesses financially resilient to the challenges of COVID-19. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our business landscape, and it’s through the support of social enterprises – like the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) – that these organizations have been able to grow and succeed.

That’s why VCIB is delighted to provide CSI with a $50,000 contribution. This donation will be used to offer rent relief and support to CSI member businesses, helping them to stay financially resilient, while also ensuring CSI can continue to create positive social change in its communities for the long-term.”

— Jake Stacey, Vice President of VCIB

With VCIB’s contribution, we can help support our members and community even more, ensuring that CSI can continue to catalyze, support, and inspire social innovation. This allows for a reinforced commitment to social mission programming, offered by CSI or by our members, which will help make the COVID-19 recovery swift, strong and heading in the right direction.

Restarting the economy — when it happens — will come in waves, a gradual reopening that will leave us all vulnerable for months ahead. Our Community Resilience Fund is an emergency measure to see us through this crisis. The fund describes what it truly means to rely on community: members helping members, and donors who believe in contributing to CSI to help us all get through this period. Help us match VCIB’s donation, because we’re in this together!

Keep Reading
CSI Spadina in the ground floor kitchen, looking out towards the lounge and meeting rooms. In the foreground is a kitchen counter, with waffles, toppings, and glasses of coffees and teas. In the background, CSI CEO Tonya Surman is speaking into a microphone on the left. In the middle and on the right, a variety of people stand and sit, listening to her speak.
One of the keys to CSI's magic is our Community Animator Program (CAP) and, specifically, the Community Animators themselves! Through this program, we've worked with more than 1,000 exceptional individuals who have each brought a little something different, and a little sparkle, to our spaces. And we're so glad to have had them in our community, because we've learned that each and every one of them has some exceptional talents, skills, and experiences to offer the world!  
Third floor lounge of CSI Spadina. In the foreground is a light blue loveseat sofa. In the background, we see two people working separately at coworking desks and tables. On the ceiling is a chandelier; to the right, a progress Pride flag.
The CSI staff team includes Pride veterans, newcomers, and everywhere in between! This year, as we celebrated Pride in our spaces and with our member community, we turned to our staff team to learn what Pride means to them. Some experienced it for the first time this year and were awash in the joy; others delighted in the fact that Pride remains such a fun celebration decades later. Others noted the increasing corporatization, which draws our attention away from the central premise of Pride - a protest.
whai header
CSI is many things - a coworking space, a non-profit organization, and a launchpad - but, first and foremost, we are a community. A community of innovators, of changemakers, of neighbours, of people putting people and planet first. And the awesome work that our members do, each and every day, never ceases to amaze us! So of course, we do our best to highlight our members whenever possible. Recently, we had the pleasure of sitting down with Molly Bannerman, Director of Women HIV/Aids Initiative (WHAI), a community-based response to HIV and AIDS among cis and trans women in Ontario. Below is an edited summary of our chat, where we discussed the work of WHAI and their latest Collective Action Community Change report.
Become A Member