Community-Financed Nonprofit Spaces with Tonya Surman

In this inspiring episode of Agents of Nonprofit, I sit down with Tonya Surman, CEO and co-founder of the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI), to explore her decades-long mission to redesign how nonprofits operate, collaborate, and finance their futures. As the conversation unfolds, Tonya challenges traditional ideas around ownership, scale, and capitalism, offering a vision of a regenerative, relationship-centered economy built on circular design principles.

Topics We Cover:

• Tonya Surman’s journey from grassroots activism to nonprofit innovation
• The founding vision of the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI)
• How shared resources evolved into a thriving social impact ecosystem
• The power and mechanics behind community bonds as financing tools
• Stories of unlikely investors—from new Canadians to 25-year-old Gen Z women
• The challenges of scaling a nonprofit vs. a for-profit structure
• The impact of COVID-19 and interest rates on nonprofit-owned real estate
• A bold vision for “exit to community” and reshaping capitalism with circular design

To Learn More and Connect with Tonya:

SocialInnovation.org

E-mail Tonya

Support the show