New Programming to Strengthen IMM Across Canada 

March 2025

In 2024, we launched IMM programming for Social Finance Intermediaries (SFIs). In 2025, we are expanding our suite of IMM programming for the Canadian social finance market with new offerings to support Social Finance Intermediates (SFIs) and the Social Purpose Organizations (SPOs) they invest in:

• IMM Fundamentals for pre-investment SFIs
• IMM Programming for SPOs

These programs are designed to provide SFIs and SPOs across Canada with essential tools and resources to measure and manage their social and environmental impacts effectively.  

What gets measured gets managed: Strong impact measurement and management (IMM) practices improve impact overall and empowers data-driven decision making. This in turn enables SFIs and SPOs to attract mission-aligned investments with ultimately more capital flowing to impact.

IMM Fundamentals: A Self-Guided Online Resource for SFIs

Developed by global IMM leaders at Impact Frontiers, IMM Fundamentals is a self-paced, online resource designed specifically for SFIs. This resource is tailored to the SFF context to support SFIs to measure and to demonstrate the outcomes of their investments and to prepare them for impact-focused due diligence.

Open to SFIs across Canada, this resource responds to a current gap in the market and is a key addition to our existing suite of programming for SFIs in the SFF. Impact Frontiers, our IMM program partner for SFIs, also leads IMM for the SFF, a cohort program opened to all SFIs who have received investment from any of the three wholesalers (Realize, Boann, and CAP Finance). This program provides tailored support and one-on-one coaching from our team at Realize to apply the tools and resources in context.

“We are so pleased to share this resource with SFIs across Canada. Completing this resource and putting learnings into practice will position SFIs to effectively measure and manage their impact, and to articulate their intentions and practices to investors, including SFF wholesalers. Alongside the team at Realize, we are proud of this contribution to the social finance market in Canada, which is advancing with the support of the Government of Canada’s Social Finance Fund.”
– Mike McCreless, Founder and Executive Director, Impact Frontiers

Special thanks to our partners at Common Approach, and Cathy Clarke and the team at the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University for providing critical inputs in this resource.

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IMM Programming for SPOs with LIFT

This new partnership with LIFT Impact Partners (LIFT), a recognized leader supporting the growth and effectiveness of SPOs across the country, marks a significant milestone in supporting SPOs in the SFF.

Under this partnership, LIFT will lead IMM capacity-building programming for delivering cohort programming with peer-to-peer learning and one-on-one coaching to help SPOs establish robust IMM practices aligned with the SFF’s requirements.

Thanks to LIFT’s proven IMM approach and expertise, SPOs will gain clear insights into their performance, enabling them to make evidence-based decisions that drive continuous improvement and sustainable impact. By strengthening IMM practices, SPOs will be better equipped to measure the tangible outcomes of the SFF, fostering their long-term success and advancing the overall impact of the fund.

“We are thrilled to be working with the team at Realize to deliver critical programming that supports SPOs in the SFF. SPOs across Canada are achieving remarkable social and environmental impacts, and we look forward to supporting them in strengthening their ability to measure and communicate these outcomes to investors and SFIs in meaningful ways. As we expand our role in the social finance market, we are pleased to share our expertise and support the growth of this impactful sector in Canada.”
– Bruce Dewar, President & CEO, LIFT Impact Partners.

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