Innovation Works Community Bond

In June 2015 Lina Bowden, chair of the Innovation Works Finance Committee (Finance Committee), needed to finalize a plan to raise an additional $1,000,000 of capital. The capital would primarily be used to fund renovations to a building that had become known as Innovation Works, a novel coworking space and social innovation hub located in London, Ontario, Canada. The building was already secured; however, significant renovations were required before all floors could be rented. The Innovation Works project was spearheaded in 2009 by Pillar Nonprofit Network, a member-based organization comprised of nonprofit organizations. Members of the Innovation Works Project Team (Project Team) expressed a strong desire to launch London's first ever community bond to finance the renovations. The Project Team tasked the Finance Committee, lead by Bowden, with the job of providing a recommendation on the viability of the community bond financing strategy. If it was determined that a round of community bond financing was indeed viable, Bowden would need to recommend bond structure details as well as report how much capital would be needed in a second round of financing. If she concluded that community bond financing was not viable, she would need to present a convincing case for pursuing another strategy given the team's strong desire to make a statement in the community.

• Innovation
• Social entrepreneurship
• Cash flow
• Financing