Title: Businesses Reducing Poverty
Organizer: The Tamarack Institute
Date: July 19, 2023
This webinar recording examines the case for for-profits in the changemaking space and highlighted unique levers businesses have for reducing poverty.
We shared insights from our 2023 partnership with Toronto-Dominion (TD) Bank in convening a multi-sector Working Group to identify solutions to increase the financial inclusion of the working poor.
Speakers:
• Natasha Pei, Tamarack Institute ([ Ссылка ])
• Samantha Estoesta, TD ([ Ссылка ])
• Ana Fremont, Prosper Canada ([ Ссылка ])
• Misty Schonauer, United Way Bruce Grey ([ Ссылка ])
Have questions? Contact Natasha Pei (natasha@tamarackcommunity.ca)
Learn about upcoming webinars at [ Ссылка ]
Overview of webinar:
0:00 Introduction to webinar and land acknowledgement (Natasha Pei)
01:25 Context for the working group the Tamarack Institute established with TD to increase financial inclusion and reduce working poverty (Natasha Pei)
05:46 Introduction to speakers (Natasha Pei)
08:28 Question 1, for Sam: We know that many people who earn pay cheques end up at payday lenders and often wind up with debt that’s difficult to ever pay back and can end up taking on more debt to pay off the original debt/interest. There’s a stake here for banks, but banks aren’t the typical partners we see at the poverty reduction roundtable. Why does TD Bank feel it’s important to invest as a funder and partner in this work, and what might other poverty roundtables consider if approaching local financial institutions as partners? (Natasha Pei, Sam Estoesta)
12:25 Question 2, for Sam: Can you tell us a bit more about the human-centered design process? What was different about it this time? (And briefly, why that was important for the bank) (Natasha Pei, Sam Estoesta)
18:07 Question 3, for Misty: Misty, you have first-hand experience of what it’s like to live on low-income as a working single mom. Why did you feel this project was important for you to join and has it changed your perspective about the bank’s role/responsibility in financial inclusion? (Natasha Pei, Misty Schonauer, Sam Estoesta)
28:11 Question 4, for Ana: With Prosper Canada, as another national non-profit, you’ve worked on many financial inclusion projects with partners from various sectors. What’s your sense of the role of banks in increasing financial inclusion and how was this project different from the ones you’ve worked on or are working on? Is there anything you see is a must-have in all collaborations with FIs, non-profits and partners? (Natasha Pei, Ana Fremont)
39:10 Question 5: Any aha’s you’ve had about increasing the financial inclusion for people in working poverty? (Or about collaborating together?) (Natasha Pei, Sam Estoesta, Misty Schonauer, Ana Fremont)
46:57 Question 6, from a participant: With so many different people in the room, how did the working group manage language? (Natasha Pei, Sam Estoesta)
51:52 Question 7, from a participant: Has there been any federal, provincial regional, or municipal government representation in this process? If not, where do you see a role for governments in this kind of collaboration? (Natasha Pei, Ana Fremont)
55:47 Closing remarks
