After a successful kidney transplant in November from my old friend and Hollyhock co-founder, Shivon Robinsong, I have returned healthier than ever to a plethora of activities at Renewal.

We are launching Renewal2, our social investment fund for outside investors. Our goal is to raise $30-50million to place in some of the most dynamic and positive impact entrepreneurial businesses in North America. BC and Canada will naturally provide unique opportunities for our continental investor base. Likewise, our 20 year history at the heart of mission based investing networks give us tremendous reach in this emerging sector. Renewal2 will be designed to welcome investors in both Canada and the USA, as well as have a special structure to allow charitable Foundations to take part. We welcome inquiries and leads of great partners who share our vision that making money can be an essential component of social and environmental sustainability.

Our Tides Renewal Centre at the Flack Building on Victory Square in the heart of Vancouver, will be one of the first leasable LEED spaces in the country. 30,000 feet of social entrepreneurs, broadly defined. Endswell is the investor as limited partner with the Robert Fung and his Salient as General Partner. Robert is reknowned for his commitment to quality adaptive re-use of historic buildings, with careful attention to neighbourhood stability and integration. Endswell's profit margin is dedicated to charitable social entrepreneurs in the building and Downtown Eastside via MakeWay's Social Justice Fund.

Hollyhock's 45 partners have agreed to donate the $5m of value in the land and buildings and brand, into the new non profit Hollyhock Foundation, awaiting CRA registration as a charity. We'll move towards a capital campaign after that.

MakeWay had a blockbuster year, has recruited some outstanding senior personnel, and is well advanced as an important values based philanthropic advisor and administrator in Canada. Tides USA is now managing over $250m of progressive impact charitable volume. Im the new chair of the Foundation entity board. We are helping launch what is hoped to be $100-200m green non profit shared location office buildings financing and development enterprise that will be majority charitable ownership.

SVI Toronto in mid-April is an exciting evolution of the always memorable Social Venture Institute at Hollyhock each September. SVI is a great non-virtual social networking and skill building gathering for those leading entrepreneurial organizations dedicated to making the world better.

Play BIG, the gatherings founded by Carol Newell with Marian Moore, where we tell the Renewal story of "whole portfolio activation towards social change". They are growing due to the real need for high net worth purpose driven individuals to hear each others' stories and develop their own strategies and professional resource teams. There will be five gatherings this year in Canada and USA, with partner organizations including Tides USA, Investors Circle, Canadian Women's Foundation, and MakeWay.

To top it all off, my best pal Gregor Robertson, founder of Happy Planet is running for Mayor of Vancouver.

But the very best news is, my kidney is working perfectly!