A little while back, I was at a wonderful webinar about social procurement and social innovation (right up my alley, I know). At the end of the webinar, like how I end most webinars, I was left with this sense of awe and energy from the people in the virtual room. As usual, I had connected with several individuals and promptly followed my trend that ended with an exchange of an email and a promise of a coffee that never happened. However, this time it was different. The desire to continue the conversations and pick the brains of such outstanding innovators was spurred forward by a new creation; the “Let’s Treat You to Coffee!” connector movement from ABSI Connect. Because, let’s face it, all those coffee meetings were starting to get a tad pricey.
So what Is It?
“Let’s treat you to coffee” is a new social connection tool that removes barriers for awesome humans to connect about social innovation, change-making, social finance, or just darn well getting inspired to make the province a better place.
Who can I take for a coffee?
ABSI Connect will pay for you to have the first coffee with anyone who will help spark an awesome conversation! By talking about the significant messy issues of today, we move closer to solving them. And the best way to meet fellow change-makers, social entrepreneurs, and innovators? Through ABSI Connect and their partners’ events and connection points, change-making and social innovation conversations are at the forefront of what they do and who they are. If you have yet to go to one of their amazing events, you will leave inspired and empowered by the fantastic group of people in the virtual or real room.
So they just pay for me to have coffee with a cool person? What’s the catch?
There’s no catch here; knowing those connections sparked through ABSI Connect’s ecosystem would warm any heart! Filling out the form for your coffee chat is simple. You are asked to attach your receipt and answer a couple of questions about what interesting topics you discussed with your fabulous new connection, if anything super cool came out of your coffee conversation, and whether you felt like your coffee was successful. After, ABSI Connect will connect the themes and data from all the answers they receive, anonymize them, and share what trends are coming from the coffee connections.
So, I went for a coffee
I reached out to Diana Grant-Richmond, a fantastic connection I had made last week at an Engaging the Ecosystem (check out the next one here) webinar. Diana works in the Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Mount Royal University as the Entrepreneur Development Officer. We connected about what amazing things are happening in the world of innovation and social impact. We drank our coffees, and I was able to leave with a passion reignited and some great new connections to some of the incredible things happening at the institute and in Alberta. The biggest takeaway from our conversation was around the idea of mentorship for social entrepreneurs and the ways processes and systems thinking have changed over time. This conversation led us to conclude that mentorship must move past the didactic application that many social mentors get stuck in and offer a more reflective approach to taking on newer changemakers.
Through this time spent chatting with Diana, I felt welcomed into a safe space where we could talk about the significant issues and dream of a world where the barriers in place were no longer there. I felt excited to be able to go back to the office and start, refreshed, on making the world a better place by conquering those “messy” problems that Diana and I had just spent an hour discussing and challenging the solutions to issues, such as renewable energy, data privacy, and equitable access to technology, head-on. But most importantly, I left with an amazing connection that I can call on in the future who shares my passion for social innovation, and I know that it won’t be our last coffee for sure!
Connecting through ABSI Connect’s new coffee initiative created a way for me to experience new and innovative ideas and broaden my networking circles without breaking the bank. So I challenge you to step out of your comfort zones, have coffee and get chatting! And hey, maybe you might just be my next coffee buddy!
Author of this article, Megan Davidson, is a Criminal Justice major at Mount Royal University. She’s working on content for ABSI for the summer, keep an eye out for more quality content by her!