Uncharted Territory - Essential Skills Ontario

GLOSSARYBenefit Corporation (B Corp)For-profit companies incorporated under specific laws that explicitly recognizethe organizations’ social purpose and benefit beyond the financial gain of itsshareholders. As a B Corp, such organizations must publicly report on theirsocial and environmental performances using established third-partystandards.Blended Value Investing (BVI)The use of capital and market-based approaches to address social andenvironmental challenges. This investment strategy uses capital to createsustainable, long-term solutions for social and environmental issues. BVIrecognizes that financial incentives can create various forms of impacts thatcannot be viewed as separate components of the value proposition within anygiven investment.Community InvestingFinancial investments that address the needs of low-income communities byproviding capital for affordable housing, small business and non-profitdevelopment. Commonly made through community development banks,loan funds and credit unions, they often take the form of loans, checking,savings and money market accounts.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)The way in which companies integrate social, environmental and economicconcerns into their values and operations in a transparent and accountablemanner.Creative DecommissioningThe process and act of challenging existing service models and structures toradically innovative and invest in new approaches that achieve more effectiveand efficient results.MicrofinanceThe provision of financial services to micro-entrepreneurs and smallbusinesses or groups of individuals, who lack access to traditional banking orother financial services. Financial services include microcredit (loans), savings,insurance and remittance.Open DataA philosophy and practice that makes data free and easily available in orderfor citizens to use, re-use and distribute in new innovative ways.Outcome-based GrantsDriven by investors’ effort to increase accountability and achieve greaterimpacts and social return on investments, outcome-based grant making usesoutcome measures as the basis for investments. This approach uses researchand data to learn from past investments and to increase accountability andeffectiveness of the intended outcome.28 • Uncharted Territory: Can Social Innovation Revitalize Literacy and Essential Skills Programs?