With over ten years of expertise in strategic planning, facilitation and capacity building for environmental and social change issues, Hollyhock Leadership Institute is  available to support organizations with collaborative projects, coalition-building and campaign development.

The current state of the capital markets and the U.S. financial system have left many investors paralyzed in fear, but this community, like us at Renewal, is choosing hope over fear.  Hope that these times will inspire us to invest smarter and with a broader purpose than just having money make more money.

Ocean Robbins, founder and director of YES! and 2008 recipient of the Jefferson Award for outstanding public service, went to the Obama inauguration and made a 10 minute film profiling the voices of young leaders.

The Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation is pleased to announce the fifth call for applications for its Water Policy Fellowships.  Through the Fellowship program, the Foundation seeks to support emerging leadership, and promote better links between research and Canadian public policy by enabling partnerships between young researchers and non-governmental organization (NGO) mentors to address water policy issues.

We are excited about the upcoming Social Change Institute (SCI)  at Hollyhock, May 27- 31, 2009.

A great resource for non-profits is now available in Canada.  TechSoup Canada provides nonprofits, charities, and libraries inexpensive access to technology through product donations, learning resources--and community.

Over the coming three months the Renewal2 team will be traveling to meet with prospective investors in advance of our fund’s first closing – targeted for March 31, 2009.

We welcome your suggestions and referrals of people to connect with in the cities we will be visiting:

• San Francisco/Bay Area – Feb 9-11 and twice in March
• Los Angeles – Feb 12
• New York – Feb 17-19
• Nashville and Chattanooga – March 4-10
• Calgary, Ottawa, Seattle, Toronto - various dates.

If this graph is vaguely accurate, the scale of wealth evaporation represented in this one industry sub sector alone, has ramifications we are going to have a hard time seeing before it hits us much harder.

Who's the greenest of them all? Send your nominations for the Green Toronto Awards, the City of Toronto's annual awards for environmental leadership. Individuals, organizations and companies are eligible to win an award - in multiple categories - plus $5,000 to donate to a registered charity of their choice.

I just read Emira’s new blog, “We’re Moving!”  We are thrilled to welcome SVIers Emira Mears and Lauren Bacon of Raised Eyebrow Web Studio as our new neighbours in the Tides Renewal Centre.