Engage!
The Financial Post
Nov. 26, 2005
Mary Teresa Bitti
Posted with permission from the author.
Coralie
Lalonde and Debi Rosati are on a mission to help launch the next
wave of social entrepreneurs.
Ms. Lalonde is chief executive of Katsura Investments, a group
of angel investors who co-invest in Ottawa-based tech startups.
Ms. Rosati is president of RosatiNet Inc., a consulting company
that develops financing strategies for tech startups. Together,
the savvy entrepreneurs are bringing enthusiasm -- and their wide-ranging
contacts -- to the not-for-profit world.
Along with the Community Foundation of Ottawa, which manages a
growing endowment on behalf of donors, Ms. Lalonde and Ms. Rosati
co-founded and launched Engage!
"Engage! is about asking entrepreneurs and investors to make
a commitment today that when they are successful they are going
to give back to their community," Ms. Lalonde says.
"Right now they are focused on making their own companies
work. So they may not have the time or resources to commit to
philanthropy. With Engage!, they sign a statement saying when
they can, they will invest in their community. What we are really
trying to do is provide people with the support they might need
to get involved."
The two women started recruiting two months ago and officially
launched Engage! at the Ottawa Venture and Technology Summit,
hosted by the Entrepreneurship Centre of Ottawa, in September.
They now have more than 100 members, and they will be working
with other foundations to help bring Engage! to communities across
Canada.
"These are the people who are going to be the next social
entrepreneurs," Ms. Lalonde says. "They are the startup
guys, the guys with the skills to solve problems, build an organization
and be successful. We want them to start thinking about giving
back now."
For more information about Engage!, log on to www.engageottawa.ca.
© National Post 2005
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