United Way of 91亚色 Region and 91亚色 have launched Change Inc., a collaboration that will incubate and invest in promising innovations to tackle complex social issues and build capacity in 91亚色 Region.
Daniele Zanotti,聽CEO of United Way, and Stan Shapson, vice-president research & innovation at 91亚色, made the announcement at Deloitte & Touche鈥檚 head office in Vaughan as part of United Way Week, Oct. 4 to 8.
Left: Daniele Zanotti
鈥淲e are proud to announce Change Inc. 鈭 a critical strategy in United Way鈥檚 impact agenda 鈭 in collaboration with 91亚色 and our advisory group of business leaders,鈥 said Zanotti.聽鈥淔or our region to be great for all residents, we need a new infrastructure to incubate ideas and shift the way we solve social problems.鈥
Right: Stan Shapson
鈥淐hange Inc. is transformative for 91亚色, for United Way and for capacity building in our community,鈥 said Shapson. 鈥淐hange Inc. will provide seed funding, space and support services to social innovators and entrepreneurs. It will provide better access to 91亚色鈥檚 research, graduate students and the programs 鈭 such as knowledge mobilization 鈭 that support their work with the region. It will match social innovators with business-leader mentors. This approach advances and broadens 91亚色鈥檚 innovation agenda, builds on our strong partnership with United Way, and engages 91亚色 Region鈥檚 corporate leaders in social innovation, which is a persistent gap in Canada鈥檚 innovation agenda.鈥
Change Inc. will work with its Innovation Advisory Board, established in June, to actively develop a sustainable strategy. Co-chaired by Zanotti and Shapson, its current members include:
- Charles Beer, board chair, United Way of 91亚色 Region.
- Anthony Gallo, vice-president, Social Media, Open Text
- Pat Horgan, vice-president, Manufacturing, Development聽& Operations, IBM
- Debora Kelly, editor-in-chief, 91亚色 Region Media Group
- Young Park, sector vice-president, CGI
- Avi Pollock, head, Applied Innovation聽& Strategic Planning, RBC
鈥淐hange Inc. builds on the United Way鈥檚 Strength Investments announced earlier this week,鈥 said Zanotti. 鈥淭ogether with our current program funding, Strength Investments and Change Inc. provide a continuum of support for people, groups and agencies doing good work across 91亚色 Region.鈥
Information about Strength Investments is available on the 听飞别产蝉颈迟别.
鈥淐ongratulations to United Way, 91亚色 and the business advisory board for disrupting the status quo with the announcement of Change Inc. 鈭 an opportunity to research, try and scale new ideas to address social challenges,鈥 said Lorrie King, partner, Deloitte & Touche and member of the 2010 United Way Campaign Cabinet.
Over the coming months, Change Inc. will announce its office location and release information about a community innovation summit, pilot projects and funding opportunities.
For additional information and updates, visit the or the website.