t’s 
been quite a month for us and our key collaborators, especially for Joel Solomon and Carol Newell at Renewal Partners / Endswell Foundation (new, Communicopia re-designed sites coming in early 2008). Joel and Carol have been absolutely essential to our success – as a business and my personal success as a social entrepreneur – from the first moment we met 8 years ago they have backed me, my business, and my values to the core.
And it’s nice for them to get some recognition for their incredible work! In late October, Carol was in Ottawa for her inaguration as an Order of Canada recipient, one of the highest honours in the country. And this week, Vancouver Magazine’s "Power 50"list of the most powerful people in the city came out, with Joel and Carol listed at #30.
#30. Carol Newell & Joel Solomon, Endswell Foundation & Renewal Partners
In the year of Giustra and his gift of many millions, it’s easy to forget that some Vancouverites have been quietly working the "social investment" angle for over a decade. Take Carol Newell: the New York-born heir to the Newell Rubbermaid fortune established her Endswell Foundation in 1992 as a way of assisting local environmental causes, including Sierra Legal Defence Fund, Western Canada Wilderness Committee, Raincoast Conservation Society, and the Sierra Club of B.C.
To date over $20 million has been handed out. In 1994, Newell and business partner Joel Solomon-himself a multimillion-dollar heir-launched Renewal Partners, which provides seed money to local green ventures. Their success stories include Capers, Happy Planet juices, Salt Spring Coffee, Jorg & Olif bicycles, and the Hollyhock Retreat on Cortes Island. Next year, the pair plans to launch Renewal Two-their first attempt at bringing outside investors into the business.
It’s been pretty amazing to see all of the recent energy and interest in our work – which has always been about sustainability and social change / social innovation – become such hot topics in today’s world. Congratulations Joel and Carol for inspiring me and leading the way!
