OVERVIEW

2021 has been another difficult year for everyone, with continued stress and uncertainty for small business owners, social entrepreneurs, and nonprofit organizations. However, the need for local social, environmental, and community impact has never been greater, and our investees once again demonstrated their resilience, perseverance, and relentless drive in overcoming countless challenges to prioritize the health and wellbeing of people and planet.

Across our two funds, VERGE approved investments of $977,500 this year to three non-profit and six for-profit social enterprises, helping to:

• Finance the purchase of two farms that provides fresh, affordable, locally-produced food to local communities

• Establish three local retailers (two with a bricks-and-mortar storefront) that supports underserved and overlooked markets and advances diversity and inclusion in different ways

• Expand a fast-growing company that’s replacing disposable takeout containers with reusable ones

• Support the creation of a new hi-tech hub and lab space for leading-edge synthetic biology startups

Unfortunately, one of these enterprises did not make it, joining another two from our Startup Fund portfolio that defaulted on their loans this year. These three write-offs totalled just under $129,000, a significant outlier for us; prior to this year, our one and only default was in 2019 for less than $5,000. This is the reality of the risks we take to support new or early-stage social enterprises, even without the effects of COVID-19.

Overall, the big picture was positive, with more ups than downs: four loans repaid in full, the rest of the portfolio in good standing, and our Breakthrough Fund generating higher than expected returns. We remain confident in our investees’ ability to adapt, overcome, and find new and better ways to serve their communities as we enter a new year.

OUR SUPPORTERS

Our deepest thanks, appreciation, and gratitude to the individuals and organizations who generously contributed their time, expertise, resources, and collaborative efforts this year to help VERGE Capital advance our work and achieve our mission. We truly cannot do this without you.

Volunteer review panel

Lori Atkinson, Ada Barlatt, Drew Beckett, Heather Cabral, Jeff Campbell, Lynn Davis, Frazier Fathers, Maya Gandhi, Chris Healy, Dale Holland, Joyanne Howell, Sigried Janzen, Melissa Jean, Jamie Kruspel, Tania Kwan, Alison Lobb, John Marshall, Mano Majumdar, Tamara Milidrag, Erik Ohrling, Prachi Oza, Dipesh Parmar, Alicia Samuel, Ariel Sharir, Randy Sheffield, Peter Shi, Sheila Simpson, Jennifer Slay, Beth Tonken, Janet Tufts, Garrett Vanderwyst, Laura Wimperis

Summer interns and sponsors

Sanchi Shah (Huron University College), Zoe Sun (Ivey Connects / Canada Life)

Partners and peers

Catalyst: Community Finance Initiative, Deshkan Ziibing Conservation Impact Bond Leadership Team, Inclusive Economy London & Region, Libro Credit Union, London Community Foundation, London Social Value Fund, Shorefast Community Economies Pilot, Table of Impact Investment Practitioners, The Atmospheric Fund, SETSI Solidarity Working Group, SVX

Funders

Cambia Development Foundation, Canadian Alternative Investment Foundation, Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, Ontario Trillium Foundation

Team

All of our dedicated colleagues, Board members, investors, and investees – former, current, and future – thank you for everything you do to make our communities a better place!