Executive Director of Social Innovation Generation (SiG) - Chair, Causeway Social Finance
Tim Draimin is the Executive Director of Social Innovation Generation (SiG) and the Chair of CAUSEWAY Social Finance. SiG is a partnership between The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, Toronto’s MaRS Discovery District, the University of Waterloo and Vancouver’s PLAN Institute. By fostering social innovation, SiG enables the creativity of social innovators to tackle the profound social and environmental challenges facing Canadians. As Executive Director, Mr. Draimin supports SiG’s growing network of academics, field practitioners, entrepreneurs, allied institutions and partnerships in activating high impact innovations that improve the health and resilience of our linked and vulnerable social, economic and environmental systems.
CAUSEWAY is a collaborative initiative (including SiG plus Carleton University, University of British Columbia, Wellesley Institute, and Canadian Co-operative Association) dedicated to enabling the accelerated development of "social finance" capital instruments in Canada.
A leader in the non-profit sector, Mr. Draimin was the founding CEO of Tides Canada Foundation, which focuses on the environment and social justice. Mr. Draimin guided the Foundation’s expansion, established Canada’s first national support system for social entrepreneurs – Sage Centre, now Tides Canada Initiatives – and supported a world-renowned model of integrated conservation: BC’s Great Bear Rainforest initiative.
Tim is the author of Canada's first national study of social entrepreneurship and a frequent advisor to government, as well as to non-profit associations and leaders. Tim Draimin brings to SiG over 30 years of international career experience. He has worked for or consulted in Canada and abroad with the Canadian Council for International Co-operation, the International Development Research Centre, Synergos, and Ford Foundation. He has served on many international delegations and participated at UN prepcoms. He was a member of Canada's official delegation to UNCED.
He is an advisor to Community Foundations of Canada's Responsible Investing Pilot Project and a past board member of the Social Investment Organization (SIO), Canadian Environmental Grantmakers Network (CEGN), IMPACS, and past member of the Voluntary Sector Forum's Finance Action Group.
