Valerie Chort, vice-president of corporate citizenship for RBC, presented the bank’s impact investment vision at the Social Finance Forum held in Toronto at the end of October. Novae had the chance to speak with her.

Her remarks at the Oct. 27 Social Finance Forum were brief, but what lay behind them is one of the most significant social finance commitments in the country.

Valerie Chort is the new vice-president of corporate citizenship for RBC, far and away Canada’s biggest bank by net income. The investments themselves are extraordinary: $50 million over 10 years for a nation-wide water project called the Blue Water Project; $10 million for RBC Generator, a social finance fund focused on social and environmental enterprises; $6.7 million for the arts; and, by their own estimate, a total of $4.3 billion in “socially responsible investments under management.” RBC donated $1 million to help start up the MaRS Centre for Impact Investing (photo) in Toronto where the forum was held. But speaking with Ms. Chort a few days after her talk, it becomes clear that there’s something else at least as valuable, and perhaps more so.

“I think the view is that societal issues are complex and organizations need to apply their collective wisdom to the issues, she said. With respect to financial institutions, we can bring our philanthropic dollars, the power to convene, the intelligence and skills of our employees, our products and services, and our ability to contribute through the various assets that we have. When an organization does that, you’re really using the power of the organization to affect meaningful change and contributions.”

Valerie Chort

For a corporation as woven into the fabric of the nation as its biggest bank, by definition, must be, the operative term there is “the power to convene,” which Chort defines as “the ability to use reputation, connections, and presence of an organization to forge multi-sectional partnerships, to build scale by collecting and convening different actors in society to drive systemic change.” During her talk, Chort announced that RBC had in fact provided travel bursaries for social entrepreneurs from across the country to attend the event. “Our sponsorship will help these entrepreneurs gain access to important networking, educational and business development opportunities, as well as positive brand exposure”, she said.

RBC’s chief investments through its Generator fund include $1 million of equity in Renewal Funds, which invests in “early-growth-stage companies focused on organic and natural food, green products and environmental innovation,” another $1 million of equity in Endurance Wind Power, $700,000 of equity and debt in Social Capital Partners , a recruitment and training company, and a stake in the Cape Fund, a $50-million pool focused on investing in Aboriginal businesses.

“Our overall corporate citizenship strategy is anchored in our purpose : to help clients thrive and communities prosper”, said Chort.

Looking to the future, RBC has hired a director of citizen impact, who is in charge of measurement and reporting. Portland, Oregon native Benjamin Miller, the former manager of Price Waterhouse Cooper’s sustainable business services practice, and senior manager of Ernst and Young’s climate change and sustainability services, will be in charge of providing RBC with a framework for their social finance efforts and other investments in the bank’s three stated areas of specific interest: helping young people “navigate the journey from education to employment,” the environment (specifically water), and the arts, with an emphasis on emerging artists.

Health Minister Jane Philpott was also at the forum, and announced Canada’s first health-related 3.5-year social impact bond to encourage medical responses to hypertension. RBC invested $200,000 into the bond, the only major financial institution to do so.