Social Venture Institute (SVI)

September 18-22nd 2024

SVI 2023 was officially sold out and we were overwhelmed by the incredible response! Don’t worry if you missed out because SVI 2024 is just around the corner! We encourage you to register now for September 18-22nd 2024, set your goals, start budgeting for the trip or submit your scholarship application and prepare for another transformative experience. SVI is all about elevating your impact, connecting with like-minded leaders, and fostering innovation in the world of social entrepreneurship.

Stay tuned for updates on SVI 2024, as we’re gearing up to make it even more inspiring as we near the milestone year of nearly 30 years of SVI gatherings.

Register now for SVI 2024! Together, we’ll continue to create positive change and make a difference.

Speakers

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Meet Your Team

2024 SVI Producer team: 

Practical Feet Advisors CEO, Pamela Chaloult

Pamela Chaloult

SVIW Advisory Circle & SVIW Co-Founder
Founder & CEO, Practical Feet Advisors

SVI 2023 was SOLD OUT! Here is why:

  • True Confessions presentations from social venture leaders
  • Interactive case studies featuring real strategic challenges
  • Skill building workshops
  • Opportunities to get business advice from 1:1 advisors
  • Peer mentoring and networking
  • Fun! Evening parties, campfires, and connection time
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2023 True Confessions Speakers

2023 True Confessions speakers – stay tuned for 2024 announcements!

  • Hli Haykwhl Ẃii Xsgaak, Melanie Mark

    Born of Nisga’a, Gitxsan, Cree and Ojibway ancestry, HLI HAYKWHL ẂII XSGAAK, Melanie Mark, is a former Canadian politician and the first First Nations woman to be elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia and serve in B.Cs Cabinet. Melanie is working on strategic plans for emerging First Nations’ lead economic and business opportunities focused on the green tech, low carbon and renewable energy business sectors.

  • Ahmed Rahim, Numi Organic Tea

    Ahmed is Co-Founder, Board Chair & Chief Alchemist behind Numi Organic Tea, one of the largest premium, organic, Fair Trade Certified tea companies in North America. Ahmed creates all of the unique Numi blends and travels the far corners of the world building partnerships with farmers.

  • Social finance panel featuring:

    Esther Park, Cienega Capital Esther is the CEO of Cienega Capital, a regenerative investment firm utilizing an integrated capital approach to systemic change in the areas of soil health, regenerative agriculture, and local food systems.

    Kristin Hull, Nia Impact Capital Kristin is a conscious investor empowering individuals, families and organizations to invest in alignment with their values, for the world they want to see. Kristin launched Nia Global Solutions in 2013 to bring activism and impact investing into the public markets.

    Dawn McGee, is the CEO of Goodworks Evergreen, Goodworks Ventures, and Goodworks Development.  As President of the High Stakes Foundation, her mandate is to provide support to visionary people and organizations that are leading and implementing changes to create a sustainable future for Montana.

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Interactive Case Studies & Business Problem Solving Sessions

At SVI we will feature three enterprises that have identified a specific strategic challenge to a panel of experts. The format of SVI is highly interactive and experiential. Participants present their business problems to a panel of experienced business leaders and fellow participants. In return, they receive advice, tools, and resources to strengthen and grow their enterprise in a socially conscious way.

SVI 2023 Case Study Presenters: 

SVI 2023 Business Problem Solving Sessions: 

Smiley students from the SVI Hollyhock program on the ground
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Skill Building Workshops

Agile Strategy for the Social Venture with Mike Rowlands, Junxion Strategy

How do you translate ideas into impact? How do you hold to your values, while competition and opportunities try to push you off course? And how do you decide what’s most important now—compared to what you thought was important during your last planning retreat?

Today, effective strategy integrates culture and brand, embraces the change that’s all around us, and is captured in a living document that empowers leaders through change, growth, and organizational development.

In this session Mike Rowlands will share insights into Junxion’s Turning Point™ approach, which blends Agile methodologies, Appreciative Inquiry, stakeholder engagement and systems thinking in an integrated model that’s been implemented by many SVI alumni in their ventures—and a long list of visionary, social purpose organizations.

Authentic and Actionable ESG in a Social Enterprise Context with K. Alison Fraser, KAF Consulting Group

  • Why ESG and DEI are the only business objective any social enterprise should prioritize.
  • How equity is good business.
  • Explore the difference between equality and equity.
  • Shift belief systems to make decisions using Cognitive Reframing.
  • Take a pragmatic approach to build Equity into a corporate strategy’s DNA.
  • Exploration of a new ESG-centred enterprise structure.

Finding Center in Uncertain Times with Alima Ali, North Star Visioning

In an increasingly VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) world, it is common to feel fearful and become reactive. This workshop draws on timeless wisdom practices from India to help participants find and return to their center when faced with uncertainty. Participants learn practical techniques to ground themselves and align their will center with their heart center, which they can use in moments of fear or when triggered by a difficult situation. Instead of getting stuck in a reactive negative spiral, these practices help build resilience and open up intentional choices about how to respond in the moment.

The Lens of Permaculture with Amy Moroni, Long Table Grocery + Consulting

This workshop will explore how to apply Permaculture principles, ethics and systems to business as a framework to build sustainable and efficient models. Using a case study of Long Table Grocery, a small grocery store and catering company in northern BC, and drawing from permaculture best practices, learn how to simply audit your business systems in a way that helps align them into a more sustainable and efficient operation.

Messaging and Marketing Strategies for Purpose-Led Leaders & Brands with Shannon Emmerson, Forge & Spark Media

It’s not easy to deliver effective marketing you actually take pride in. The balance between expressing what’s in your heart and building your business is a tricky one to strike, and to maintain. In this session, looking at a few stellar brand examples, I’ll walk through a framework my agency has developed for crafting your brand marketing messaging, while breaking down exactly where purpose, values, positioning, story pillars, and key messages fit in your overall marketing equation. This will serve as a working session for you to create or fine-tune your messaging, whether for your brand or for yourself as a leader.

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Stress-Free Travel on the SVI Mobile!

Embrace stress-free travel by booking our all-inclusive charter package for $325, which covers transportation, ferry rides, a water taxi adventure across the Salish Sea, and a shuttle service to and from campus. Departing from downtown Vancouver, our chartered bus, ferry, and water taxi will provide you with a scenic and hassle-free route to the Hollyhock campus.

Pricing

A group of people cheering in the garden of Hollyhock, during SVI Women.

Tuition: $1200 CAD

Organizations: Contact [email protected] for special group pricing and partnership opportunities.

Meals & Accommodation: Campus stay rates are in addition to tuition, and range from $750-2000 depending on your accommodation choice. Campus rates include accommodation, 3 gourmet meals a day, unlimited drinks, daily movement activities, hot tubs, and campus facilities.

Scholarships: Hollyhock recognizes that economic opportunity is not currently equal. Our scholarship program is one of our key strategies to expand program access to underrepresented and marginalized communities. A limited number of scholarships are available per program with awards ranging from partial to full tuition. We encourage applicants from those whose identities intersect with, but are not limited to: Black, Indigenous, People of Colour, 2SLGBTQIA+, people with disabilities, newcomers, youth, and elders. Learn more and apply here

Getting to Hollyhock is easy! Take the stress out of travel and ride the SVI-mobile. For your convenience, Hollyhock organizes a charter to take you directly to Cortes Island with pickups in Vancouver and Nanaimo. Enjoy comfortable air conditioning, and an extra opportunity to connect with your fellow participants on board. Top your trip off with a 30-minute boat ride across the Salish Sea, keeping an eye out for whales, seals, and eagles!

Our Partners

Thank you to our community partners for helping support, uplift, and work together to eliminate barriers to equity and economic access!

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Community Amplifiers

Thank you to our community amplifiers for helping support, uplift, and work together to eliminate barriers to equity and economic access!

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