Bill Young is the Chairman of Social Capital Partners. In the late 1990s and early 2000s Bill was a successful tech entrepreneur who wanted to use his success and business acumen to tackle large-scale social challenges in Canada. To do this, he founded Social Capital Partners in 2001 and since then, has been shaking up the way training and employment is provided to people who face employment barriers.
In 2000, Bill’s mother Joyce donated $40 million to the Hamilton Community Foundation to create the Young Fund, established to strengthen and support charitable organizations in the Hamilton community. At the time, Joyce’s donation was one of the largest in Canada’s history. The Young Fund later made a $500,000 donation in support of City School by Mohawk College. Bill is also a strong supporter of the college’s Challenge 2025 initiative, serving as co-chair of the Challenge 2025 Task Force from May of 2019 to November 2022, with Mohawk College President & CEO, Ron McKerlie.
By demonstrating that community hiring is good for business, Bill is forging a new relationship between the private sector and the non-profit sector—and changing both in the process. In 2013, Bill was appointed as a member of the Order of Canada for his achievements as a social entrepreneur and philanthropist.