6th Annual Partnership Conference
Schedule:
8:00 am - 8:45 am
Main Room - Solarium
Breakfast
Sponsored by Spire Philanthropy
8:45 am - 9:00 am
Main Room
Welcome & Kick-off
Brad Offman
9:00 am - 9:20 am
Main Room
The Power of a More Connected Canada for the Benefit of All
Dive into the realm of social health with Pete Bombaci, founder and CEO of GenWell, Canada’s Human Connection Movement. Discover how meaningful connections can enhance our collective well-being and be good for business as well! Canadians have never been educated on the importance of social health and its impact on our mental and physical well-being, but as we continue to recover from the global pandemic and cope with the ongoing challenges we face in the world, human connection has never been more important for homes, streets, communities, workplaces and classrooms, and the people in them to thrive.
Pete Bombaci
9:20 am - 9:50 am
Main Room
Maximizing Social Impact: The Power of Sustainable Procurement
This panel will explore how procurement can drive corporate social impact goals through sustainable sourcing. Martha Hancock, Executive Director of CBSR, will discuss with business leaders how procurement and sustainability teams can achieve positive social outcomes by integrating sustainable practices into their sourcing strategies. The session will highlight best business practices for immediate and long-term impact, focusing on creating shared value and advancing corporate sustainability initiatives.
Martha Hancock
Monica Da Ponte
9:50 am - 10:20 am
Main Room
The Future of Impact Data:
As nonprofits adopt common Reporting standards and the ability to report outcomes, the world of social impact promises to provide more accessible funding for nonprofits, sector benchmarks, reduced burden, improved transparency, and finally learning what works.
Lauren Ott
Jason Saul
Leanne Nicolle
10:20 am - 11:00 am
Main Room - Solarium
Break & Networking
11:00 am - 11:30 am
Main Room
The For-Profit Approach to Social Impact:
Nonprofits are, at their core, for-profits in disguise. Embracing this narrative can lead to stronger partnerships between nonprofits and corporations. We will navigate the delicate balance between mission and margin and how being more transparent with our goals will deliver more impact.
Nathan Froelich
11:30 am - 12:00 pm
How to Leverage Your Company’s Unique Resources for Social Good
As a merchant bank, Intercap has so far invested in more than 40 technology companies. At the same, we spent years looking to invest in social purpose companies with sustainable business models. After searching for decades to no avail, we decided to launch our own. Through some early initiatives, we realized that the companies in our portfolio have unique resources that could be leveraged for social good—which would also benefit them from a corporate perspective.
Randi Myers
12:00 pm - 1:15 pm
Main Room - Solarium
Lunch and Networking sponsored by Meridian Credit Union
1:15 pm - 1:45 pm
Main Room
RBC’s Purpose Journey
In this compelling one-on-one conversation, Andrea will provide key insights into RBC’s purpose journey, and discuss some of the challenges a large and complex organization faces when it undertakes to embed purpose into its operations.
Andrea Barrack
1:45 pm - 2:15 pm
Main Room
The Evolution of Corporate Innovation in Social Change
Join us for a panel discussion as we explore the significant paradigm shift occurring as corporations increasingly move beyond traditional philanthropic models to develop their own strategies and solutions to tackle social issues. We'll delve into the complexities of this disruption and provide insights to help you rethink and revitalize your approach to corporate partnerships.
Niluka Kottegoda
Sabrina Ladha
Tanya Smith
2:15 pm - 2:40 pm
Main Room
Authentic Partnerships
Explore how Jamal had transformed traditional non-profit partnerships from transactional to community driven in a short period of time. Through a transparent look into his journey, think big as Jamal explores how these partnerships were built, and how all partners involved can win. Authenticity can result in new business when community is at the heart of our intentions — as Jamal opens up, be prepared to step into yourself, your brand and your community.
Jamal Burger
Wil Cramer
Abdul
2:40 pm - 3:10 pm
Main Room - Solarium
Break & Networking
3:10 pm - 3:40 pm
Main Room
Purpose is everyone’s business
In this provocative discussion, Kory McDonald, Head of External Affairs, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges will speak about her company’s transformation journey, including how it looks to partner with community organizations to achieve some of its purpose. In doing so, she will demonstrate that all companies, regardless of their core business, must become purpose-driven in order to address some of society’s greatest challenges.
Kory McDonald
3:40 pm - 4:10 pm
Main Room
Authentic Purpose: Deeper and More Impactful Than You Think
Many companies are embracing a social purpose, but how can they be mobilized to demonstrate authentic implementation to meaningful impact? Maureen Young, Coast Capital’s Vice President, Social Purpose discusses the exciting journey of strategically embedding social purpose into a company’s DNA and its transformative power in addressing the biggest social issues facing people, communities and the planet. At the helm of Coast Capital’s social purpose transformation, Maureen stands out as one of Canada’s most influential purpose leaders. Join her for an intimate look under the hood of an authentic social purpose company as she shares her vision on how more business leaders can embrace and drive the purpose movement forward.
Maureen Young
4:15 pm - 6:00 pm
Main Room - Solarium
Cocktail Reception
8:00 am - 8:40 am
Main Room - Solarium
Breakfast
Sponsored by Spire Philanthropy
8:40 am - 8:55 am
Main Room
Welcome & Kick-off
Brad Offman
8:55 am - 9:25 am
Main Room
The Year of the Impact Mindset: 5 Trends Shaping the Future of Social Change
Join Sona Khosla, Chief Impact Officer at Benevity, as she reveals powerful insights from the State of Corporate Purpose 2024 report. In this session, Sona will dive into how leading companies are driving change through purpose-led initiatives, with a strong focus on employee engagement, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility. She’ll highlight emerging trends in giving, volunteering, and environmental stewardship, and explore how businesses can align their values with impactful actions to address critical global issues. Discover how data-driven strategies and technology are empowering companies to scale their impact and become leaders in social change.
Sona Khosla
9:25 am - 9:55 am
Main Room
Moving the Needle on DEIA in Volunteering
How are organizations across different sectors bringing to life diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) commitments? Some have made monetary contributions, others have prioritized new hiring policies, and some are translating DEIA statements into actionable practices. At Taproot Foundation, a U.S. based nonprofit that partners with companies and nonprofits/charities across the globe to advance resource equity through skills-based volunteerism, we have been in deep discussions on how to embody our DEIA values. Our presentation will share how we are focusing on inclusion practices for our stakeholders and spotlight some examples of how companies have integrated DEIA in skills-based volunteering initiatives.
Archana Menon
9:50 am - 10:20 am
Main Room
Winning with Climate Solutions
David Luba, co-founder of tentree & veritree, takes us on an enlightening journey through the evolution of sustainable business practices and climate solutions. David will share invaluable insights gained from his experiences with tentree, a pioneering brand that has planted over 105 million trees worldwide.
10:25 am - 10:55 am
Main Room - Solarium
Break & Networking
10:55 am - 11:25 am
Main Room
Inspiring Innovation: Preparing Young Leaders for Tomorrow
This panel discussion will explore the unique collaboration between KPMG and The King's Trust Canda (TKTC), focusing on their joint efforts to engage and empower young people. The session will highlight the synergies between KPMG's 10 by 30 commitment and TKTC's goal of reaching 100,000 youth over the next decade, showcasing how their shared objectives led to the creation of impactful initiatives like the Young Women in Tech program. Panelists will discuss the multifaceted benefits of the collaboration, including why they developed a program series specifically targeted to young women in tech and how both organizations are leveraging their resources, knowledge and skills to advance the program. You will also hear about the broader impact programs like these can have on corporate culture and community engagement. The discussion aims to provide insights into creating successful collaborations that not only address social challenges but also foster an inclusive and supportive environment for the next generation of leaders.
Caroline Harvey
Kathleen Ko
Ariana Faye Penalosa
Anita Taleski
11:25 am - 11:55 am
Main Room
Retail Fundraising: Creating Valuable Community Partnerships
During this conversation we will highlight the work of The Home Depot Canada Foundation, how this campaign creates strong community partnerships and how we engage our employees to support this work. Our conversation will include Shannon Jackson, Executive Director from Durham Youth Services, who is a partner for The Orange Door Project campaign to outline how they work in their community with their local Home Depot Canada stores to increase dollars raised for their organization during this campaign. Join us for a conversation on how successful employee engagement is linked to engaging customers to give, and what more can be done to increase engagement for social causes in a retail environment.
Shannon Jackson
11:55 am - 12:25 pm
Main Room
Courageous brands breakthrough, so why aren’t you?
It’s harder and harder for brands to cut through the noise to get the attention of their desired audience. The multi-channel universe we live in today, combined with the natural default to living in one’s own echo chamber, makes it increasingly difficult to reach new audiences you care about. So what’s the solution? Courage. Having the courage as a brand to speak out, to show up in unexpected ways and take actions that may not be popular with everyone, is a recipe for attention and engagement. Phil Haid, Founder & CEO of Public Inc will share 5 lessons on how to be a courageous brand that you can apply to your own organization.
Phil Haid
12:25 pm - 1:30 pm
Mani Room - Solarium
Lunch and Networking
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm
Main Room
Delivering Purpose in Gaming: How OLG Seeks to Better the World Through Its Unique Mandate
In this session, Catherine Meade will discuss how a Crown agency with a unique mission fulfills its commitment to purpose. How can an organization with a focus on lottery and gaming contribute to a better society. What is OLG doing to create good? What is it doing to mitigate harm?
Catherine Meade
Vinod Rajasekaran
2:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Main Room
Disrupting Volunteerism
Volunteer Canada teams up with some of their corporate partners to Disrupt Volunteerism! What does that mean? Disruptive innovation is an information exchange designed to energize, inform, and empower social impact practitioners and non-profit organizations to think differently about the future of volunteerism. What’s meeting the moment today may not be what carries us forward tomorrow. The “Disrupt” style presentation moves fast and delivers a cram-session of lessons into a handful of minutes.
Renata Rusiniak
Grace Jin
Ian McCann
Olivia Fernandez
2:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Main Room
A Call to Purpose
The Canadian Purpose Economy Project exists to reshape the role of business in Canadian society by encouraging more businesses to take up social purpose as the reason they exist. A popular narrative persists that purpose comes at the expense of profits, but the data clearly show this is untrue: purpose is in the best interests of the corporation. The closing panel of 2024 The Partnership Conference will share insights from some of Canada's most recognizable and successful social purpose businesses. Hosted and moderated by Canadian Purpose Economy Project co-founder Mike Rowlands, this energetic dialogue will highlight the powerful impact purpose can have on customer loyalty, employee retention, and game-changing innovation.
Jill Schnarr
3:00 pm - 3:00 pm
