Impact Conversations (Social Impact Advisors)

Bianca Caramento is the Manager of the Bay Area Climate Change Council, leading the collective impact initiative to advance and accelerate climate change action in the cities of Burlington and Hamilton.  She shares with us the structure behind this collective, with her “backbone” role housed in the Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk College, supporting a collective of 14 community organizations.  

We hear about their Theory of Change – the master plan for reducing green house gases in the community by 50% by 2030, towards becoming net zero cities by 2050, and how this work was informed by data and community consultation.  We see the power of this collective, supporting the work of the cities to address climate change while holding them to account.   

BACCC provides a model for catalyzing change that many seek to emulate in their own communities, be it for GHG reductions or for using a collective approach to address other local issues.   

Joanna joins our podcast as CEO of the newly named MakeWay organization. You might know it as Tides Canada. We hear about the journey and thinking behind rebranding.  It's about getting clear about the purpose of the organization and as a result, determining some fitting branding to go with it. We hear examples of projects MakeWay supports and a snapshot of an organizational design and leadership pilot the organization is undertaking.  Through this, we’ll see just how fitting “MakeWay” is for this organization.  

Along the way, we also hear a bit more about Joanna's background.  She came to MakeWay in the last year. Prior to that, she led Greenpeace Canada.  She had more international experience before that, particularly focused on women and tackling inequality. Along that line, we're also going to hear about her role as Board Chair of the newly formed Equality Fund. This is going to be a significant organization. It just received $300 million in funding from the federal government. We'll hear about the history and direction of the Fund.   

Finally, we hear about how all of these things fit together, that the issues we're facing in the world, affecting society and the environment, are not separate and distinct, but all overlapping. Joanna brings great perspective to the intersectionality of those issues and how we need to solve for all of these things together. There's a lot to take away from this. Have a listen. 

Resources 

MakeWay: https://makeway.org  

Joanna Kerr: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanna-kerr-bb011b71 

Teal/Reinventing Organizations:  https://www.reinventingorganizations.com   

Digital Justice Lab: https://digitaljusticelab.ca  

Northern Manitoba Food, Culture and Community Collaborative: http://www.nmfccc.ca  

Equality Fund: https://equalityfund.ca  

Jessica Houssian/Women Moving Millions: https://womenmovingmillions.org/about/team/  

Sophie Gupta: https://yaletown.com/team/sophie-gupta/  

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

As someone with lived experience, and as a person of mixed colour, Sonia brings a unique perspective to addressing eating disorders as a mental health issue, raising up the voices of people with lived experience and seeking more equitable access and support.   

Sonia explains the issues and challenges facing people living with eating disorders , particularly through a pandemic that creates additional stress. She also shares some of the solutions developed by the national Body Peace Collaborative, including developing an award-winning e-platform for those experiencing eating disorders and their families, as well as to educate and support health care professionals to be better equipped to offer support.  

Finally, Sonia shares some of her learning on the process.  Solving these bigger societal issues often can’t be accomplished by one organization and means coming together as a collaborative for collective impact.  This approach has its benefits and challenges, and Sonia shares both, concluding that it’s worth the effort.    

Resources 

Body Peace Collaborative/ Award-winning e-platform to access training, education and support: https://eatingdisordersu.org  

Body Brave website: https://bodybrave.ca  

Sonia Kumar: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soniaseguin  

Priority Health Innovation Challenge:  https://www.cfhi-fcass.ca/what-we-do/find-and-promote-innovators-and-innovations/priority-health-innovation-challenge 

World Eating Disorders Action Day: June 2 

Innoweave’s Collective Impact stream:  https://innoweave.ca/streams/collective-impact/    

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Thank you for listening to Impact Conversations with Lynn Fergusson & Sally Fazal

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

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Lee St. James founded Social Robots to apply her tech background to a social issue, close to home.  Not able to spend as much time with her father while seeing the effects of social isolation, she took action.

Through this social enterprise, and with help from an Investment Readiness Program grant from the Community Foundations of Canada, through the Oakville Community Foundation, Lee is piloting the use of a friendly robot, complete with a tablet for interactive apps and photos, to engage seniors in retirement homes and long term care facilities.  She’s addressing issues of social isolation and boredom while providing an interesting tool for Rec leaders to engage with their senior residents, and seeing positive results. 

With a heightened awareness of the issue of social isolation due to COVID-19, Lee is seeing growing interest, and particularly from post-secondary institutions looking to embed this in their curriculum to prepare the next generations for better supporting our seniors populations.  

Resources 

Social Robots: https://socialrobots.ca  

Investment Readiness Program through the Oakville Community Foundation:https://www.theocf.org/initiative/irp/  

Lee St. James: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leestjames  

Sheridan College – Centre for Elder Research:  https://www.sheridancollege.ca/research/centres/elder-research  

PARO Therapeutic Robots/Baby Seal:  http://www.parorobots.com  

Pepper - Canada's first talking, dancing, emotionally sensitive robot:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6aDHtRFZJ0  

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

In this episode, we are speaking primarily about the challenges facing the arts sector and also the philanthropic sector more broadly, in addressing racial and other systemic inequities, in granting and beyond.  Our guest, Jordan Baylon (they/she/he) is a queer, non-binary second generation PhilipinX artist, critic and community worker imagining justice and abundance for equity-deserving peoples.

Jordan brings a decade of experience working as a grantor in the non-profit arts sector in Calgary and is currently the General Director of Chromatic Theatre, which is focused on supporting the incubation and amplification of racialized voices and stories within theatre. Jordan is also a proud associate of the Anti-Racist Organizational Change program at CommunityWise, and co-author of RE-Tool, a handbook on equity-driven grantmaking as part of Equity in the Panel Room working group.  

Though not always easy to hear, we think you’ll appreciate Jordan naming some of the issues the sector faces, along with some steps that need to be taken, and a vision for the future.  Have a listen. 

Resources 

RE-Tool handbook: https://mapfundblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/re-tool-2018.pdf  

CommunityWise Anti-Racist Organizational Change project: https://communitywise.net/aroc/  

35 50 initiative: https://www.theatrealberta.com/2021/06/16/announcing-a-new-partnership-with-the-35-50-initiative/  

COCo, White Supremacy Culture:  https://coco-net.org/white-supremacy-culture-in-organizations/ 

COCo, The “Problem” Woman of Colour in the Workplace:  https://coco-net.org/problem-woman-colour-nonprofit-organizations/  

Eve Tuck, decolonizing:  http://www.evetuck.com/bio  

Edgar Villanueva, Decolonizing Wealth: https://decolonizingwealth.com  

“gaslighting” definition: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaslighting  

Critical Race Theory: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/writing_in_literature/literary_theory_and_schools_of_criticism/critical_race_theory.html  

Chromatic Theatre: https://chromatictheatre.ca  

 Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation raises funds for the work of the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, the centre addressing some 200 types of cancer for people in the GTA.  With 1 in 2 Canadians touched by cancer in their lifetimes, you likely know someone who has used PMCC or has raised funds, through one of the PMCF’s signature events, such as the Home Lottery or the Ride to Conquer Cancer.   

Currently, the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation faces not only the challenges of raising funds without in-person events, but is making another shift within the organization, bringing in a focus on impact and accountability, with its newly formed department.   

Hear in this episode the thinking behind PMCF’s renewed impact focus, and the plans Miin Alikhan is developing to implement such a change, four months into her role as VP Impact & Accountability.  We hear about the importance of co-designing and partnering in determining what measures will add value to their work and are realistic to implement.

We also hear that this is as much about a change initiative within the organization, as it is about identifying the “right” impacts to focus on, as PMCF looks to shift from output measures, such as number of patients served and number of research projects, to the difference this work is making.  As we often find, story telling becomes an important component to sharing the impact. 

As Miin says, it’s a marathon not a sprint, and we’ll hope to catch up with her again down the road to check in on the progress they’re making, as they move from the current planning stages to implementation.  

Resources 

Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation:  https://thepmcf.ca/Home  

Miin Alikhan: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miin-alikhan  

Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors:https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

In this episode, Trevor McAlmont, Executive Director of the Macaulay Child Development Centre, shares the importance of providing affordable, universal child care to change the system in Ontario, and Canada.

While directly serving 7000 children and 6000 parents through the multi-service agency, Trevor also invests in areas to strengthen the outcomes for these clients.  He sees a need for nonprofits to be able to pivot to address emergency needs, as they did in providing food to their families through COVID, thanks to the emergency relief funds granted through United Way.

Under Trevor’s leadership, the organization has also been setting the foundation for being able to measure impact – and identify areas for improvement to have better results for their families.  We also talked about the importance of finding time for advocacy work, to ensure government and other decision makers could understand the implications on children and their families in making decisions.  All of these investments are considered “overhead”, and require an organization to have flexible funding to be able to carry them out – an ongoing challenge for the sector.  All of this and more in this episode.  Have a listen. 

Resources 

Macaulay Child Development Centre:  https://macaulaycentre.org 

Canada Early Learning and Child Care Plan:  https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2021/04/budget-2021-a-canada-wide-early-learning-and-child-care-plan.html  

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In this episode, Sally speaks with Alexandra Hoeck Murray, the new Executive Director of Community Living Oakville (CLO). Alexandra talks about the impact the organization and larger community is making in the lives of people with developmental disabilities.  

In our conversation, Alexandra talks about when the COVID crisis first started and how CLO addressed the potential isolation and disruption that the shutdown of their day services and central building could have caused, and how their rapid transition to online programming has kept people connected.   

CLOs employment team has been hard at work through the pandemic: Alexandra explains how CLO helped people find Pandemic Support Specialist work and other positions at the Oakville Trafalgar Hospital, and how the crisis helped CLO and the hospital forge a new partnership that will continue and be a model for the community of inclusion and the contribution people with developmental disabilities can make.  

The COVID crisis has forced some new thinking in inclusion and diversity. A new CLO program, funded by United Way Hamilton Halton Roots initiative, is working on systemic change, making links with business champions and institutions in the community, educating people about inclusion, and building and strengthening networks.  

Resources

In this episode, Mojdeh Cox, Executive Director of London, Ontario’s Pillar Nonprofit Network, shares a new lens she is bringing to the organization:  radical accountability.

She believes the organization (and everyone) needs to first look at ourselves, and hold ourselves accountable for our roles in today’s hot issues including systemic discrimination, reconciliation, and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI).  She shares that we also need to take a hard look at the nonprofit or social impact sector itself, to see the role it plays in continuing to support systemic issues, such as through an ingrained belief in low overhead costs being worthy of celebration, even at the expense of our human resources not having retirement plans, benefits, competitive pay, and overall decent work. 

As Mojdeh points out, some of this may not be what funders and nonprofits want to hear, but that’s all part of radical accountability – calling out truths.  

In this episode, Social Impact Advisors Partner Lynn Fergusson interviews Jean-Marc Mangin, CEO & President of Philanthropic Foundations Canada (PFC) about the state of the philanthropic sector, particularly in light of the challenges of COVID.  We hear how many nonprofits are in a dire situation as our society faces both the healthcare and economic effects of COVID.  The pandemic has highlighted the important work done by the charitable sector, the need for collaboration across sectors to address societal issues, and the transformational opportunity it presents.   

COVID is the “great revealer”, according to Jean-Marc, as it has highlighted the inequities in our society – based on race, income, geography and more -  and caused the philanthropic sector to reassess its history, role, and approach in looking to address those inequities.  We hear about funders collaborating in these challenging times, applying an equity lens to their granting, and engaging in trust-based philanthropy.  These challenging times present an opportunity to modernize and transform the sector.   

Resources 

PFC: https://pfc.ca  

PFC Virtual Conference Nov 17-19 2020: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/harnessing-the-power-of-philanthropyactiver-le-pouvoir-de-la-philanthropie-registration-116931149215?utm-medium=discovery&utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&aff=estw&utm-source=tw&utm-term=listing  

Jean-Marc Mangin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/jean-marc-mangin  

Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) COVID-19 impact survey: https://theonn.ca/our-work-covid-survey-2020-infographics/  

As you might imagine, Paintbox Catering and Bistro in Toronto’s Regent Park has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.  Without gatherings, there have been no big corporate events to cater, to generate revenue for their social enterprise, which intentionally hires people from the local community who face barriers to employment.  But Allison Gibson, Director of Impact & Operations, has ensured that they’ve made use of their space and model of doing good while making a profit. 

Alongside running the catering and bistro, Paintbox has been incubating local business start-ups, and Allison shares how, in light of the changing COVID-19 world, they have pivoted (or perhaps completely changed), to support one of their incubation businesses, taking on the operations of Nibbly, an online grocery service offering same day delivery.  They’ve incorporated their B Corp ethos, and are hiring from the community.  They offer special pop-up sales to the local Regent Park community at a discount and are providing places for neighbours to leave what they can and take what they need. 

Clients with compromised health have benefitted from the same day deliveries since the early days of COVID when traditional grocery stores’ delivery schedules were booked a month out.    

 You’ll hear how purpose and contagious passion have driven Allison to take on this challenge, dedicating long days to learn a new industry and figure it all out, to help people in Regent Park gain food security in a difficult time.  Thank you, Allison! 

Resources 

Paintbox Catering and Bistro: http://paintboxbistro.ca  

Nibbly: https://nibbly.ca  

Allison Gibson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alliegib  

B Corp Canada: https://bcorporation.net/about-b-lab/country-partner/canada  

Additional B Corp Impact Conversations Podcasts: 

https://socialimpactadvisors.ca/podcast-kasha-huk/  

https://socialimpactadvisors.ca/building-better-communities-the-b-corp-model-with-craig-ryan-bdc/  

Tim shares insights into Socially Responsible Investing – about people looking to do less evil and perhaps more good with their investments. Even more importantly, we look beyond that, to his business model aimed at helping one million Canadians invest intentionally, because of the difference he sees that will make in the world.  He’s creating a movement and shares how he’ll accomplish this,based on his Theory of Change or Change Theory. 

This approach has Tim acting as a coach, helping empower people to invest in line with their values.  We see how, by having a big goal of helping one million people, it’s driven his activity, including realizing that a move to making his offerings virtual, is a powerful path to get there. 

Resources 

Good Investing:  https://www.goodinvesting.com  

Tapestry Social Capital (Community Bonds): https://tapestrycapital.ca  

Social Innovation and Social Finance Fund: https://sisfs.ca  

Tim’s Blog: https://www.sustainableeconomist.com  

Good Investing You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/goodinvesting   

This is very short episode, given where we are in Canada (and around the world) with the CoVid19 pandemic.   

Good information is really important in an emergency- we have been relying on many of our partners and friends and clients, and our leaders in Canada, for information.   

The following are some of the great sources of information and inspiration we have been relying on:  

 Ontario NonProfit Network: Supporting Community Response to Covid-19 

Canadian Network for the Health and Housing of People Experiencing Homelessness 

Social Planning Council of Toronto: city, provincial and national sources of information and mental health supports in Toronto and Ontario.  

Public Health Agency of Canada 

Washing our hands: Why soap kills coronavirus: explainer 

Some inspiration:  

McMaster Healthcare Student COVID-19 Response Team 

Registered Nurses Association of Ontario: 3000 nurses come out of retirement to help 

 #caremongering 

Thank you to these community leaders and everyone we work with both outside and inside Social Impact Advisors for your spirit of generosity, your empathy for one another, your offers of help and your amazing flexibility and adaptability at this challenging time. Our very best wishes to you.  

Julia shares her insights three months into her role as President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Canada.  She shares her thoughts about priorities for the organization and how they make a bigger impact particularly given COVID-19 and the impact it has had on them, as a retail organization, construction organization,  community developer, while counting on volunteer engagement, corporate and government support - all facets that are affected by the crisis.

Yet she thinks it's time to be collaborating and making a bold contribution towards the National Housing Strategy; and not just addressing housing issues but also issues such as climate change, in how they build those homes and create an example from Canada for the rest of the Habitat world, and perhaps others, to learn from.

Hear what it means to be a leader through crisis, listening for new ideas from anywhere.   

Resources 

Habitat for Humanity Canada:  https://habitat.ca  

Julia Deans: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliadeans  

Canada’s National Housing Strategy: https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/nhs  

Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

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Foreseeing COVID negatively impacting women’s ability to stay and thrive in the workforce, Pamela Jeffrey, Founder and lead of The Prosperity Project was concerned about the impact this would have on not just the women themselves, but Canada’s prosperity.  So, she took action, focusing on women, and particularly women of equity-deserving communities, including Black, Indigenous, racialized, LGBTQ2S+, and physically challenged.   

Pamela shares how this project came to be and the unique seed funding approach, with 60+ senior professional women committing to the cause – personally and financially.  She breaks down the 5-point plan laid out from the start, aligned with 5 marketable programs including a goal-focused professional volunteer program supporting charities that focus on women and girls, and a Rosie the Riveter inspired initiative to get more women and girls into skilled trades and STEM for good, well-paying jobs.   We uncover an important adjustment to the plan along the way, after recognizing a better approach to achieve their desired impact through advocacy for affordable childcare. 

Resources 

The Prosperity Project:  https://canadianprosperityproject.ca/  

Volunteer matching program:  https://canadianprosperityproject.ca/matching  

 Rosie Resource Portal https://portal.canadianprosperityproject.ca/  

2022 Annual Report Card on Gender Diversity and Leadership: The Zero Report:  https://canadianprosperityproject.ca/data-tracking  

Pamela Jeffrey : https://www.linkedin.com/in/pamelajeffery  

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In this episode, Sally speaks with Shelley Zuckerman, who has been the Executive Director of North York Community House for the past 30 years, about her long career in the non-profit sector, how her organization has navigated the challenges of the past two years, and her advice for the next generation of leaders in the sector.   

Shelley shares what makes her optimistic for the future, both for our sector and more broadly. As she nears retirement this year, Shelley reminds us about how far we have come, and shares her confidence in the next generation to go further on issues of social justice, building on strengths in community and amplifying the voices of the people the sector serves. She advises leaders to be continuously curious and learning, and to support new leaders by giving them opportunities to share and try their ideas.   

North York Community House serves more than 15,000 residents in northwest Toronto every year. The help transform lives by working with people, understanding their needs, and supporting them in achieving their goals. For over 30 years, NYCH has been opening doors for new Canadians; supporting youth, parents and seniors in becoming active, engaged citizens; and creating opportunities for residents to improve their lives and lead positive change in their neighbourhoods. 

Resources

North York Community House: https://www.nych.ca 

NYCH Twitter and Facebook: @nychonline 

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

As a social enterprise, we’ll hear how and why Plato Testing was created and the impact it was looking to have, intentionally setting a bold target for the number of Indigenous software testers they would create and leverage in Canada.   

We hear now, five years later, how the planned impact is becoming a reality.  We’ll hear about the partners they are working with, in post-secondary institutions and Indigenous training centres, and corporate partners who share in their mission and look to embed social responsibility principles in how they operate.  We’ll learn of the successes they’re having, and most importantly, the impact it is having on the Indigenous employees working with Plato in various locations in Canada. 

Resources 

Plato Testing: http://www.platotesting.com  

Denis Carignan:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/denis-carignan-3034a083   

Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference: https://www.leadershipcanada.ca  

Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report:  https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1450124405592/1529106060525#chp2  

Imagine Canada: https://www.imaginecanada.ca/en  

Raven Indigenous Capital Partners:  https://ravencapitalpartners.ca   

CCNB/NBCC – New Brunswick Community College:  https://nbcc.ca  

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

In this episode, we talk to Paulina Cameron, a Globe and Mail ’22 Changemaker and CEO of The Forum, a Vancouver-based charity teaching, mentoring and supporting women entrepreneurs across Canada to take their businesses to the next level.  We hear about the challenges and opportunities the organization and women entrepreneurs faced through COVID.  We also hear about the systemic issues women entrepreneurs face, and work The Forum is doing in both supporting women to overcome these barriers, while at the same time providing training to banks to address systemic biases.  We’re encouraged to learn that more and more, younger generations of women entrepreneurs incorporate a social purpose in their business.   

Resources 

The Forum: https://www.theforum.ca/  

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

This podcast is two-fold.  We have the pleasure of hearing from Astrid Hepner about the great work of the Hamilton Music Collective, where, modeled after a proven program in Germany, 6000 under-served Hamilton school children are exposed to playing musical instruments, and all the related skills, pride and self-esteem that brings.

We also hear from Carl Joose, representing the next generation of the John & Ellie Voortman Charitable Foundation, and also a board member on the Hamilton Music Collective, about how the two organizations were able to work together to not only support these children in being exposed to music, but to create a beautifully renovated historic space for the children, their families, other nonprofits, and the community, to uplift all who walk through its doors and be a catalyst for change in the downtown Hamilton area.   

Resources 

Hamilton Music Collective: https://hamiltonmusiccollective.ca  

An Instrument for Every Child: https://hamiltonmusiccollective.ca/programs/aifec-in-schools/  

Astrid Hepner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/astrid-hepner-b6a65257  

The Gasworks:  https://parkstgasworks.com   

Bill Strickland – Environments Change Behaviour:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnhSLAmDRh0  

Palaces for the People book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/557044/palaces-for-the-people-by-eric-klinenberg/  

Lincoln Alexander: http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/online/alexander/index.aspx  

Hamilton Community Foundation: https://www.hamiltoncommunityfoundation.ca  

The Hamilton Spectator’s Code Red Project: https://projects.thespec.io/codered10/  

City of Hamilton Recreation Programs: https://www.hamilton.ca/recreation/registered-programs  

McMaster Institute for Music and the Mind – Laurel Trainor:  https://mimm.mcmaster.ca/researchers/ljt  

El Sistema, Venezuela on 60 minutes: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/transforming-children-through-music/  

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

Our guests in this episode are Anna Hill and Andrew Lusztyk, co-directors and founders at Together Project, a charitable initiative on the Makeway Shared Platform.  

Together Project connects refugee newcomers and Canadians to build stronger, more integrated communities. Together Project is founded on the simple idea that social networks are an important factor for integration. 

We first spoke with Together Project back in 2019, about their strategy and goals for impact in community. Anna and Andrew introduce us again to the project and talk about how they adapted and innovated their welcome group program during COVID.  

Moving to largely online connections has meant a significant increase in connections made and has taught the team about the potential and challenges of online matches. As things open up again, Together Project will be able to offer both online and in person matches aligned with people’s interests, available time and comfort with technology.  

Resources:

Hannah Askew started as Executive Director at Sierra Club BC in late 2018 with a mandate to bring an Indigenous lens to the work of Sierra Club BC, alongside the traditional scientific lens.  As a lawyer, prior to this role, Hannah practiced public interest environmental law and was deeply involved in learning from Indigenous communities about their systems of law and governance.    

You’ll hear that Hannah is a big proponent of the McConnell Foundation’s Innoweave program “Impact and Strategic Clarity”, which they completed in 2019.  It’s how they developed a Theory of Change (see the podcast resources), building clarity around what the organization aimed to achieve and how they would do it.   While it was a difficult process, coming in as a new Executive Director and with this big change mandate, they've come through the other side and landed in a strong position to face the challenges of COVID-19.  They’re able to leverage their clarity of purpose, shared values, and bonds as a team as they work remotely.  They have greater direct participation from Indigenous peoples in the work.  This clarity has also led to a stronger funding position.     

Sierra Club BC’s experience highlights the need to check our biases and identify things we may take for granted.  It also shows how challenging it can be to question our values, and change, but it also highlights the great value in doing so. 

 Resources 

Sierra Club BC:  https://sierraclub.bc.ca  

Sierra Club BC’s Theory of Change: (see below) 

Hannah Askew:  https://twitter.com/HannahAskew

2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report: https://www.ipcc.ch/2018/10/08/summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments/  

Rudy Ruttimann, Founding Director of Sketch Working Arts, shares why and how she has stepped down after 22 years as the Executive Director, and the importance of succession planning.  She also shares the exciting work she’s now taking on. The new role includes capturing learning from “Project Home”, buying their own studio space, through a community bond raise and traditional fundraising, all through COVID.

Her work will also include conducting research around the impact of the arts, and developing Next Up, the Leadership Institute for youth not in traditional education opportunities.  These sound like more of the dreaded “overhead” activities for a nonprofit, so Rudy is again thinking creatively about how to get this work funded, potentially through other social finance solutions.  We’re keen to hear where Rudy’s work takes Sketch, as well as what models it presents for the sector. For now, have a listen. 

Resources 

Sketch: https://www.sketch.ca  

Project Home: https://www.sketch.ca/projecthome/  

Rudy Ruttimann: linkedin.com/in/rudyruttimann 

NextUp! Leaders Lab: https://www.sketch.ca/programs/arts-leadership/nextup-leaders-lab/  

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Thank you for listening to Impact Conversations with Lynn Fergusson & Sally Fazal

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

Resources 

Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund:  https://downiewenjack.ca/  

ReconciliACTIONS: https://downiewenjack.ca/our-work/reconciliactions/  

Thank you for listening to Impact Conversations with Lynn Fergusson & Sally Fazal

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

Social Innovation Canada:  

https://sicanada.org 

hello@sicanada.org 

Post Event Check-in with our National Gathering Design Team 

Igniting Local Actions for an Inclusive Economy 

Andrea Nemtin LinkedIn 

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In this episode, Sally speaks with Tamer Ibrahim of the Laidlaw Foundation about Youth Collective Impact, or Youth CI.  

Tamer is the manager of Youth CI at Laidlaw and also sits on the board of directors at the ‘For Youth Initiative’: a non-profit organization that has served, inspired and advocated for thousands of teens and young adults in York South-Weston since 1995.    

Youth CI is a program of the Laidlaw Foundation, in partnership with Innoweave, that helps organizations in local communities across Ontario develop, launch and implement collective impact approaches that directly improve outcomes for youth in their community.  

Tamer talks about what has been learned in the first 5 years of this unique program in Ontario and how making space for young people to lead change has had an impact on the systemic issues young people face. Youth CI and Laidlaw have been intentional about the importance of listening to and supporting youth in finding solutions and have been consistent and successful in building youth leadership into all aspects of their work.  

Tamer and his previous colleagues at the foundation,  Ajeev Bhatia (@ajeevbhatia) and Ana Skinner (@ana_skinner) developed and use these principles to ground their work:  

Tamer also talks about how there are no straight lines to impact and building our ability to speak clearly and honestly with one another will help us sit with discomfort and find new solutions.  

Resources:  

Tamer Ibrahim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamer-ibrahim-5b451726 

Youth CI: https://laidlawfdn.org/funding-opportunities/youth-ci/  

Laidlaw Foundation: https://laidlawfdn.org

Laidlaw Foundation Twitter: https://twitter.com/laidlawfdn?lang=en 

For Youth Initiative: http://www.foryouth.ca 

Innoweave: https://innoweave.ca 

Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

In the last podcast of the year, Lynn and Sally reflect on their work and the conversations we've had in 2019. We talk about the hope we're seeing in social and environmental impact circles around innovations in finance, new approaches to philanthropy, and in inspiring young people.

We talk about the gifts that people give to one another and their communities, in the form of volunteerism or intellectual capital or direct investment of resources as they work together to tackle complex issues.  

And we talk about Joy as a measurable outcome in strategy for the arts.  Many thanks to all of our listeners, friends, and partners for a great year full of inspiration and learning, and all the best for 2020.

Resources:

Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

The Home Depot Canada Foundation has recently revisited their role and plans by developing a Theory of Change and Strategic Plan.  We hear about the journey and results from Amy Bilodeau, Sr. Manager, Community Investment for the Home Depot Canada, a role which includes supporting the Home Depot Canada Foundation's mission to eradicate youth homelessness in Canada. 

This mission has remained intact, and with a renewed commitment, with the Foundation continuing to aim higher on its fundraising goals, and then applying those significant funds for systemic change.  We hear about the importance of engaging all stakeholders in this work, from Home Depot Canada suppliers and vendors, to charities the Foundation supports, to youth who have experienced homelessness.  They’ve taken on a more intentional focus on serving equity-deserving populations.

We also hear that it’s about more than funding, and there’s a great fit for Home Depot Canada to be providing skills trades experience to youth, as an act of preventing homelessness.  

Resources 

The Home Depot Canada Foundation: https://www.homedepot.ca/en/home/corporate-information/our-community/the-home-depot-canada-foundation.html    

Tradeworx: Helping youth experiencing homelessness access careers in the trades: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ptce8Knxzo&t=2s  

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

In this episode, Mary Ellen Schaasfma, Director and Co-Founder of the Social Purpose Institute (SPI) at United Way BC, shares the concept of businesses having a social purpose as their reason for being, beyond profit. Over the last 5 years, SPI has been piloting programming to help businesses determine and implement their social purpose, in an effort to create a movement of businesses for good. 

While it’s more often that businesses support charities, Mary Ellen explains how it makes sense for United Way to support the business sector in having a societal purpose– social and/or environmental – at its core to best benefit the community, in fact, to create the thriving community that United Ways often aspire to.  It’s also an opportunity for United Way to shift, changing not only its approach for impacting the community but how it engages corporations.  This work has gained the attention of funders, interested in seeing this innovative model adopted across the country.  We suggest it’s worth your attention too, whether as a funder, nonprofit or for profit organization.  Have a listen. 

Resources 

Social Purpose Institute: https://socialpurpose.ca  

Social Purpose Innovators program:  https://socialpurpose.ca/services/innovators/  

Social Purpose Implementers program: https://socialpurpose.ca/services/implementers/  

Mary Ellen Shaafsma:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryellen-schaafsma  

Coro Strandberg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/corostrandberg  

Hemlock Printers:  https://www.hemlock.com  

GLOBE Events: https://www.globeseries.com/events/  

Propelling Purpose Summit:  Road to Purposeful Economy (discount code PAN-21):  https://propellingpurpose.ca  

Sally interviews Ryan Conway, Program Director at Innoweave. Innoweave is a project of the McConnell Foundation. Together they discuss the meaning and importance of direct and indirect impact in complex systems. 

Ryan tells us how Innoweave empowers community sector leaders, and how Innoweave’s thinking has evolved. Ryan also praises collaboration, explaining how coaches and consultants act as a mechanism to share issues and experiences across sectors and regions. We talk about a great example of impact strategy work at North York Community House in Toronto. 

Resources:

• The J.W. McConnell Family Foundation: mcconnellfoundation.ca
• Innoweave: innoweave.ca
• North York Community House: www.nych.ca

In this episode, we have a conversation with Leanne Burton, Director, Partnership Development at MakeWay, a public foundation that acts as an intermediary, working between funder and community partners to build healthy pathways towards social, environmental and economic justice. 

It’s a time of year when people might be thinking more about giving, donating to causes that are important to them.  We’ve taken an opportunity to chat with Leanne for her thoughts on what to think about as you plan your giving, now and throughout the year – whether as a funder or an individual.   

Leanne highlights starting with the issue you care about and the change you want to see, and suggests ways of getting a deeper understanding of that issue and the players.  We talk about trust philanthropy, and the importance of giving ”unrestricted” contributions without dictating what the money be spent on, and without onerous expectations for selecting a recipient or for them to report back.  We also talk about ways to look at a nonprofit’s impact while they work within a complex, adaptive system. 

All this and more, to get you thinking about how to be more intentional, and perhaps more collaborative, in your giving.  Above all, we hope it encourages you to simply give!  Have a listen. 

Resources 

MakeWay https://makeway.org/  

Leanne Burton: https://makeway.org/about-us/team/  

Carleton University’s Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership: https://carleton.ca/mpnl/  

MakeWay Donor Advised Funds: https://makeway.org/solutions/donor-advised-funds/  

Government of Canada/CRA List of Charities: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/hacc/srch/pub/dsplyBscSrch?request_locale=en  

The Narwhal: https://thenarwhal.ca/  

CANADALAND: https://www.canadaland.com/  

CANADALAND’s podcast series on WE Charity, The White Saviours:  https://www.canadaland.com/shows/the-white-saviors/  

Vancouver Foundation: https://www.vancouverfoundation.ca/  

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

Today we are very pleased to welcome Jim Vanderveken to the podcast.  As the Dean of the Centre for Community Partnership and Experiential Learning, Jim leads Mohawk College’s strategic commitment to postsecondary access, partnership development at the community level, and experiential learning.   

In our conversation today, Jim and I talk about the work of City School and the Challenge 2025 initiative in Hamilton: how it started, some of the early achievements, challenges and hopes for the future.   

Challenge 2025 is an ambitious initiative to bring all of Hamilton together to develop and strengthen the demand-led workforce: connecting employers, educational institutions at every level, government at every level, social and human services organizations, and most importantly learners and people who want to find and retain meaningful work, to build the pathways that will make Hamilton a leader in workforce development and poverty reduction.   

Success for Challenge 2025 will mean strong connections and clear pathways across the whole ecosystem and more opportunities for meaningful, good jobs for the people of the region. We hope to check in with Jim and his team several times as the Challenge 2025 initiative builds, and this is the first of those conversations.  

Resources:

Challenge 2025 

Mohawk College Centre for Experiential Learning 

City School    https://twitter.com/mocityschool 

Jim Vanderveken https://twitter.com/jvanvek 

The Hamilton Spectator article:

Mohawk unveils big plans for its unique approach to education -  https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-region/2020/11/07/mohawk-unveils-big-plans-for-its-unique-approach-to-education.html

CBC article:

Mohawk College aims to get 3,000 people jobs and 1,000 people into school by 2025 - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/mohawk-college-challenge-2025-1.5796534

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B Corp is a global movement of more than 4800 companies, with almost 400,00 employees in 79 countries around the world, all focused on making business a force for good.  

Together, B Corps are working to shift our global economy from a system that profits few to one that benefits all: advancing a new model that moves from concentrating wealth to ensuring equity, from resource extraction to energy generation, and from individualism to interdependence.  

We are happy to have Ian Kelly and Elaine Adema from PeaceWorks Technology Solutions, a fellow B Corp, on today’s episode. PeaceWorks is an employee- owned social enterprise that provides IT Services and Support, based out of Waterloo, Ontario and Winnipeg, Manitoba. They are a technology company, motivated by the impact their clients are making in the world. 65% of their clients are non-profit. They have been making the benefits of technology affordable and accessible to all organizations, including those with limited resources, for more than twenty years.  

 In today’s episode, Ian Kelly, General Manager, and Elaine Adema, Account Manager at Peaceworks, talk about what motivates them about the B Corp movement, what the certification process is like, and the evolution of new B Corp standards around the world. They talk about how employees and customers respond to and are motivated by the B Corp mission, and the hope it brings.   

Resources:

Peaceworks site: https://peaceworks.ca 
 

Peaceworks B Corp certification: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/find-a-b-corp/company/peaceworks-technology-solutions/ 
 

About B Lab and the B Corporation movement: https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/movement/about-b-lab 

We are happy to be sharing a podcast from an initiative whose work we admire. Together Project, on the MakeWay shared platform, connects refugee and immigrant newcomers and Canadians to build stronger, more integrated communities.  Their podcast is gathering and sharing the stories of newcomers they serve.  

In this episode, Joudy, a young refugee woman from Syria, speaks with Natasha at Together Project about her experience coming to Canada as a young newcomer, continuing university and overcoming social isolation during the pandemic with the help of Together Project volunteers.  

Resources

We’re focused in this conversation on a collective approach being taken in Halton to support young people as they transition from the care of CAS, at age 18-24. Halton Region identified this as a priority area, creating a Community Safety and Wellbeing table, and it truly is a community effort.

With the Oakville Community Foundation holding the backbone or coordinator role, leveraging support from the Halton Granters Table, many local youth serving organizations have come together to support youth transitioning from care to support their goals in education, employment and training.

We hear from Steve Levac, Manager of Youth Services, and Jennifer McKnight, Transitional Youth Worker with Halton Children’s Aid Society, about the history and journey of this collective, the results, and their hope that this is a model for systems change to be further leveraged in Halton and many other communities. 

Resources 

Halton CAS:  http://haltoncas.ca/  

Oakville Community Foundation: https://www.theocf.org/  

Halton Youth Collective Program Report : https://www.theocf.org/initiative/halton-cas-youth-initiative/  

Halton Community Safety & Wellbeing Plan: https://www.halton.ca/The-Region/Projects-and-Initiatives/Community-Safety-and-Well-Being-in-Halton  

Some of the participating youth-serving organizations 

ADAPT: https://haltonadapt.org/  

Centre for Skills Development: https://www.centreforskills.ca/  

CMHA Halton: https://halton.cmha.ca/  

Halton Region Housing: https://www.halton.ca/For-Residents/Housing-Supports-and-Services  

HCDSB: https://www.hcdsb.org/  

HDSB: https://www.hdsb.ca/Pages/Home.aspx  

HIEC (Halton Industry Education Council): https://www.hiec.on.ca/  

ROCK (Reach Out Centre for Kids): https://rockonline.ca/  

Sheridan College: https://www.sheridancollege.ca/  

STRIDE: https://stride.on.ca/  

Town of Oakville: https://www.oakville.ca/  

YMCA Oakville: https://ymcaofoakville.org/  

Laidlaw’s YouthCI: https://laidlawfdn.org/yci-projects.html  

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

In this episode, we hear from 4R’s Youth Movement Executive Director Jess Bolduc about the desire to address reconciliation, by engaging Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth, creating authentic relationships and addressing fundamental flaws in the system.  We hear about the challenge many nonprofits face, of only having near-term funding, while the issue to be addressed is much longer term.  She lets us know about a framework for cross-cultural dialogue created by youth, and how the challenges and approaches of other equity-deserving communities provide models, guidance and allyship for Reconciliation here, on Turtle Island.  Have a listen. 

Resources 

4R’s Youth Movement:  http://4rsyouth.ca/  

4R’s Framework for Cross-Cultural Dialogue, “Seeding Reconciliation on Uneven Ground”: http://4rsyouth.ca/our-framework/  

Audio blog (like a podcast) Land(ing) Back: https://landingback.simplecast.com/episodes  

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

Sadia and her small but mighty team at Inspirit Foundation are focused on shifting Canada to having more inclusive and equitable media and arts, impact investing, and philanthropy sectors.   

With a background in journalism, it should be no surprise that Sadia shares the power of storytelling to make change, and Inspirit follows through, providing platforms for voices to be heard, including through the Narrative Change Lab, particularly raising Muslim and Indigenous voices.   

We also hear about the bold objective set by the Foundation’s Board 5 years ago and just achieved, for Inspirit to be 100% in impact investing.  They are proving it’s possible.   

From the philanthropic perspective, we discuss some of the challenges of addressing issues of systemic inequities, including the challenges of reaching new, grassroots organizations, and then funding them if they aren’t registered charities. This highlights the historic rules still governing the sector, and that it’s time for change.   

All this and more in the podcast. Enjoy! 

Resources:

Inspirit Foundation:  https://inspiritfoundation.org  

Fully Committed, Our Roadmap Towards a 100% Impact Portfolio:  https://inspiritfoundation.org/impact-investing/ 

Jory Cohen’s Personal impact Investing Journey:  https://inspiritfoundation.org/jory-and-jills-personal-impact-investing-journey-part-11/  

Narrative Change Lab: https://inspiritfoundation.org/our-work/narrative-change-lab/  

Sadia Zaman:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sadiazaman  

Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

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In this episode, Sonia Theroux, the Executive Director of Leadnow speaks with Sally about what progressivism means, the movement, and how activists and change makers can think about and stay hopeful about the moment we are in. 

Sonia is a campaigns and communications specialist, passionate about organizing and community building. She has seen the power of people talking to people about something they care about. She has led or advised on successful electoral campaigns at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. As a consultant with a digital civic tech company, she advised local governments on effective public engagement strategies. 

Now, serving as Executive Director of Leadnow - a people-powered multi-issue progressive campaigning community, she sees this organization as a much-needed non-partisan opportunity for people to engage with, and strengthen, our democracy. 

In this conversation, Sonia shares her ideas about how to build unity around the things that are important to our communities. She talks about how leadership in this moment is about vision building, while making space for civil discourse about the systemic and structural barriers to achieving the just and equitable society we want. Sonia also shares what keeps her hopeful in this moment.  

Leadnow: https://www.leadnow.ca/team/ 

Sonia Theroux: Twitter @soniatheroux 

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

In this episode, Julia Langer, CEO of The Atmospheric Fund (TAF), shares how COVID-19 has impacted TAF and its grantees. With TAF’s mandate to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the greater Toronto and Hamilton areas, Julia underscores that there is still a climate crisis, amidst the COVID crisis, needing urgent action. We need programs and policies in place.  

Julia also talks about the opportunity COVID has highlighted, of “multi-solving” – addressing issues of health, the environment, the economy, equity and more as we look to create a Resilient Recovery.

She encourages organizations to start developing these solutions to be ready to act when the stimulus funding flows – not just with the typical shovel-ready projects, but shovel-worthy projects that meet multiple needs. 

Resources 

TAF: https://taf.ca  

Resilient Recovery: https://www.resilientrecovery.ca  

Build Back Better: https://www.corporateknights.com/green-recovery/  

Just Transition: https://climatejusticealliance.org/just-transition/  

Sign the Resilient Recovery Campaign:  https://350.org/just-recovery/  

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Kara Peck, Senior Director, Strategy + Partnerships, B Lab US & Canada shares their journey to strategic clarity for their organization and for making a real difference in the world. 

Leveraging a time of organizational and societal change, they have developed a Theory of Change, creating alignment around a new focus for the B Corp-certifying nonprofit, to support the business sector in taking collective action towards addressing racial equity, climate justice and stakeholder capitalism.  

Resources 

B Lab US/Canada Theory of Change:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og0iYy52ZjE  

B Lab: https://bcorporation.net/about-b-lab  

B Corp Impact Assessment: https://bcorporation.eu/certification?_ga=2.224228763.1436296932.1624646817-1194428511.1465581593  

Kara Peck: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karapeck   

Sweet Livity: https://www.sweetlivity.com  

Revolution Foods: https://www.revolutionfoods.com  

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Our guest on this episode is Dr. David Danto, who is the Head of Psychology at the University of Guelph Humber. Dr. Danto’s clinical and research interests include Indigenous wellness and culture-based approaches to addressing intergenerational trauma in local and global contexts. David is involved in allyship and decolonization efforts within the discipline and the academy.  

Dr. Danto has worked in psychiatric hospitals, counselling centers, private practice, and correctional facilities in Canada and the United States. In partnership with Indigenous Knowledge Keepers, he developed a field course on Indigenous Mental Health, which he has delivered in Mushkegowuk Territory along the James and Hudson Bay coast for the last ten years. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Psychological Association (CPA), he recently chaired the CPA Task Force on Responding to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report, and he currently Chairs the CPA Standing Committee on Reconciliation. 

In this episode Sally and Dr. Danto talk about the early experiences and influences that brought David to this work. We also talk about David’s work learning alongside his students from the people in the Mushkegowuk territory in Northern Ontario.  David shares his thoughts about how far we have to go toward achieving justice and true reconciliation, and how the first step is to learn the truth of the experience of Indigenous people in Canada and connecting in a spirit of humility and openness with Indigenous people.  

“Learning isn’t enough. A genocide has happened here. I think there is a growing awareness that is just really beginning. And despite that, there is such a great warmth of spirit, generosity and resilience within the indigenous community, which is, according to some research, one tenth of the population of indigenous people that existed pre contact. That needs to be understood, respected and appreciated.” 

Resources:  

Indigenous Knowledge and Mental Health: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-030-71346-1 

Psychology’s Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Report: https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Task_Forces/TRC%20Task%20Force%20Report_FINAL.pdf 

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

In this episode, Lynn Fergusson and Sally Fazal, Partners at SIA, share their thoughts on the first annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada.  

The day is a federal statutory holiday in Canada, and SIA is also recognizing it as a day for reflection and learning.  

To quote our federal government’s announcement: “The day honours the lost children and Survivors of residential schools, their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.”  

In this episode, Sally and Lynn talk about how SIA is learning more about reconciliation, and the legacy and trauma of the residential schools system. We talk about how the SIA team is developing our knowledge and practice to honour survivors and those lost and work toward a more equitable society in what is now called Canada.  

We talk about how our communications and approaches to strategy development are changing as we learn, how we are supporting learning in general, and share some examples of how our approach and language has changed.  

We are committed to continuing this learning journey and encourage our listeners to do the same. And we thank our Indigenous partners and friends for their patience and support. Please let us know how you are recognizing the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and how you are learning and growing as a partner in reconciliation.  

Resources:  

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action 

https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf 

A conversation with Senator Murray Sinclair: 

 https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1470146258433/1559837409039 

Carolyn King, Order of Canada:  

https://www.thespec.com/life/opinion/2021/02/07/carolyn-king-former-chief-of-mississaugas-of-the-credit-first-nation-inducted-to-order-of-canada.html 

Delivering on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action: 

 https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1524494530110/1557511412801 

Anti-Racist decolonizing framework: 

https://www.afsc.org/resource/anti-racist-decolonizing-framework-talking-about-and-describing-young-people?mc_cid=00bdbbac7b&mc_eid=2e03aa461a 

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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

In this episode, Social Impact Advisors Partner Lynn Fergusson interviews representatives of the Toronto Child & Family Network.   

Kelley Baldwin provides backbone support to the Toronto Child and Family Network, a network of about 100 organizations. 

Tamara Augsten, who’s had a lead role in developing the Network’s Raising the Village initiative shares the value of this database.

This initiative has pulled together data from various partners’ sources, such as EQAO standardized testing, Toronto District School Board, and the census, and made 120 indicators easily accessible to anyone, in a way that allows for insights into the current state of Toronto and enables people and organizations to move to action.

We hear how this easily enables a snapshot or comparison of a neighbourhood, and also enables an easy way to apply an equity lens to a community by disaggregating the data.

Tamara shares how we often hear averages for Toronto.  Great insights can be gained by segmenting the data by race, income or geography to identify and then move to address inequities.   

COVID has highlighted many inequities in our community.  Here’s a tool to get a handle on them and mobilize action.

This is particularly great information for organizations in Toronto serving children and families – principals, teachers, nonprofits, social workers, municipal councillors, parents and more - as you’ll hear how to easily access insights about your community.

Outside of Toronto, we hope listeners take note of this model and begin to rally the partners and resources to ensure that insightful data is easily accessible in your community, as a first step to uncovering inequities and taking action.   

Resources 

Raising the Village: https://raisingthevillage.ca  

Toronto Child and Family Network: https://www.toronto.ca/311/knowledgebase/kb/docs/articles/childrens-services/service-system-planning-and-policy/toronto-child-and-family-network-formerly-torontos-best-start-network.html  

Tamara Augsten: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamara-augsten-1962b068  

Kelley Baldwin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelley-baldwin-54ba1698  

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In this episode, Sally speaks with Glenys Currie, Director of Quality and Risk Management at Banyan Community Services about her work with the Hamilton Seniors Social Isolation Plan (HSSIP) and its legacy. While the funded program, which ran for three years, ended in 2019, it has fostered relationships and positive impact that continue through the current COVID emergency.   

With over 25 years of experience leading community Glenys is an authority on the issues faced by marginalized and vulnerable persons, including an excellent knowledge and understanding of exclusion, isolation and loneliness. 

The Hamilton HSSIP project was started by organizations answering a call from Employment and Social Development Canada, through the New Horizons Fund, to build community wide population-level impact plans to combat seniors’ isolation.  Hamilton was one of 9 communities across Canada to receive funding from that original call.  

The Hamilton project was focused on connecting older adults in various ways: hospital connectors ensured safe discharge to community, community connectors sought out isolated seniors, peer connectors worked with fellow seniors to support their social connection to community. Five agencies and institutions participated in this network of connector services. As well, the Gilbrea Centre for studies in Aging at McMaster University worked to educate the community on the causes of seniors’ isolation, and the Hamilton Council on Aging connected all of these organizations to track progress and uncover opportunities.  

As Glenys explains, HSSIP underestimated the complexity of what seniors were facing: mental health challenges, substance abuse, food insecurity, precarious housing were all factors contributing to isolation that couldn’t be solved through relatively short-term services to seniors.  Even with those challenges, HSSIP achieved its goal of connecting 20% of isolated seniors, and on a systems level, the project has produced lasting benefits.   

The community learned more about the causes of isolation and supports for combatting it, some of the connector roles developed in HSSIP continued and have become part of regular service at hospitals in Hamilton.  

As Glenys explains change at the systems level takes longer than three years, so the community is continuing to build on this work and foster their new relationships. The Seniors-At-Risk in the Community Collaborative (SARC) is one legacy of this collective work, and it connects 34 agencies and institutions together to share information, uncover opportunities and drive toward policy change.   

Glenys explains that government and other funders investing in community impact projects should invest long term. When crises like COVID happen, funding should be directed to experts in community who can ramp up their work quickly. Working collectively in the long term, as SARC intends, can reduce the fragmentation in community and make responding to crises and navigating to expertise more effective.  

Glenys credits staff at all of the agencies in Hamilton who have responded to the COVID crisis. Many people delivering services to seniors are seniors themselves, and they continued grocery delivery and social connection for their most vulnerable neighbours in a challenging time.  

Glenys suggests that collective community impact projects like these should work more intentionally at a systems level on inclusion, rather than focusing only on lifting individuals from isolation. There is a world of difference: don’t create programmatic dependency, work on preventing the need for short-term programs. Organizations working directly with seniors know what changes are needed at the system level around adequate income and food security, transportation and health care, and including these voices at tables of power, where decisions are made, will make our communities stronger.  

Resources:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/glenys-currie-52103291 

https://socialisolation.ca/  

https://coahamilton.ca/our-priorities/social-inclusion-matters/ 

As the co-owner and Community Manager for the Ian Martin Group, Kate Masson works to establish a community of belonging and shared accountability for staff through a self-managed operating system and a genuine spirit of care for those in the organization. You're going to get a sense of that in this conversation.

We're focused here not on the staffing organization, the work of Ian Martin Group as a B Corp, but on their foundation. They have been intentional in creating a foundation. The structure reflects the impact they intend, which includes looking at the effect they don’t want to have.

They are addressing a very relevant need that they understand because of their work in hiring people. They understand the barriers to work, the challenges that exist. So, the Meaningful Work Foundation is meant to address those barriers.

They are avoiding the power imbalance that can often exist between a funder and those that it's looking to fund. They're aware that they are granting small amounts and that the organizations they tend to support are small organizations, so they avoid making onerous demands in terms of application and reporting.

They are engaging employees in meaningful ways, leveraging their expertise. In granting, and within the individual team members, they are addressing personal biases that might exist, getting that upfront so that they can have conversations that are really meaningful in deciding where the grants should be given.

They are a small foundation, a young foundation. But I think there are some big lessons that all funders can learn, whether your lens is that of a foundation or a corporate team making donations, perhaps even from a personal giving standpoint. Have a listen. 

Resources 

Meaningful Work Foundation : https://ianmartin.com/meaningful-work-fund/  

Ian Martin Group: https://ianmartin.com  

Kate Masson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katemasson  

Ian Martin Meaningful Work Foundation Grant Recipients 2020: https://ianmartin.com/ian-martin-meaningful-work-foundation-announces-2020-grant-recipients/  

Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business:  https://www.ccab.com  

Home Suite Hope: https://homesuitehope.org  

Plan Canada:  https://plancanada.ca  

Windmill Microlending:  https://windmillmicrolending.org  

Yonge Street Mission: https://www.ysm.ca 

Benevity:  https://www.benevity.com  

Mark Peterson’s book, Love Giving Well:  https://www.strongerphilanthropy.ca/book/  

Laura Manning, Executive Director at the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation (LSHF) shares the journey and lessons learned from a bold Canadian pilot started in 2018, granting significant additional, unrestricted General Operating Support (GOS) to known grantees.  We hear about the time it takes to get boards comfortable with this approach and what’s behind that. We also hear how Laura and the Foundation see advocating for this approach as part of their work, to help shift the sector.  Now issuing more than 70% of the Foundation’s grants in unrestricted General Operating Support, LSHF provides insights and a framework in a Canadian context, and encouragement to Canadian funders to take a closer look at unrestricted giving as a way to enable impact.

Resources 

Lyle S. Hallman Foundation: http://www.lshallmanfdn.org  

General Operating Support pilot reports: http://www.lshallmanfdn.org/Pilot-Projects.htm  

Laura Manning on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-manning-3b052718/

Ford Foundation Unrestricted Giving: https://www.fordfoundation.org

The GenWell Project is a Canadian organization dedicated to making the world a healthier and happier place by educating people about the importance of proactive face to face social connection and inspiring them to take action. We're going to hear a lot more about that from Founder, Pete Bombaci. After a successful career in the beverage industry, and then leading Movember Canada, Pete is now focusing on the rollout of this passion project.   

You're going to hear about human connection and the importance of it, something we may be taking for granted. It seems it’s not just about more interaction, but perhaps about building a support network that is key to our health. Pete points to research showing the importance of these human connections. We'll also hear about Pete's unique approach to this work as a marketing initiative, leveraging his background in the beverage industry, and how that may have helped or hurt the work that they are taking on.  

Overall, there’s a focus on human connection as a movement and the need to embed this in our society to really make an impact. Lots to take in here. Have a listen. 

Resources 

GenWell Project website: https://genwellproject.org/disconnected/ 

GenWell on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegenwellproject/ 

Pete Bombaci: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petebombaci 

Meet Geoff and hear his story:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9y2t66yQYg  

Massachusetts General Hospital - Social connection is the strongest protective factor for depression: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200814131007.htm  

As co-founder and CEO of Foundations for Social Change, Claire Elizabeth Williams is getting global acclaim for North America's first direct giving project with people experiencing homelessness.  Direct giving project, as in giving a lump sum of cash directly to people experiencing homelessness. We hear about their innovative project, the New Leaf Project, and its key success factors, including: 

We're excited to share Claire’s ground-breaking work with you in this conversation.  Have a listen! 

Resources 

Foundations for Social Change: https://forsocialchange.org/who-we-are  

New Leaf Project: https://forsocialchange.org/new-leaf-project-overview  

Claire Elizabeth Williams:  

Believe in Someone Campaign: https://forsocialchange.org/believe-in-someone  

Believe in Someone Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N82EWjCb5nc&trk=organization-update-content_share-embed-video_share-article_title  

Thanks to Ajeev Bhatia, Manager of Policy / Community Connections at Centre for Connected Communities and Gillian Mason, a consultant and urban planner working with Connected Communities,  for talking to us about the amazing work underway at East Scarborough Works.  

 In this conversation, Ajeev and Gillian describe the unique opportunity we have now to build on what we know from poverty reduction and community development to strengthen neighbourhoods and draw on the assets of our communities in the recovery.  

In the East Scarborough Works project large institutions like the University of Toronto and the Toronto Transit Commission, trade unions like LIUNA, employment services, skills development programs are all connected with a clear line of sight to connect job seekers with job needs and support new workers with wayfinding and drawing on neighbourhood assets.  

Ajeev and Gillian explain the community development approach the project has taken and the critical role of an intermediary in a community ecosystem.  Connected Communities calls this the community backbone organization, which understands all of the different groups in a community from grassroots organizations to large institutions and their motivations and challenges, and works to develop a system level pathway.   

An intermediary like East Scarborough Works operates at both an individual and macro level to connect and support all of the players in a community ecosystem. This work has also helped grow empathy among the players in the system.  ‘Weavers’ such as the people at East Scarborough works who are nurturing relationships and understanding will be important in the new economy.  

 We hope this critical connective tissue in communities can attract investment and support from government and philanthropy in the new recovery.  

Resources: 

Ajeev Bhatia:  

LinkedIn 

Twitter 

Gillian Mason: 

LinkedIn 

Resources 

Empowerment Squared: https://empowermentsquared.org 

Liberian Learning Centre:  https://empowermentsquared.org/liberian-learning-centre/  

Brock University: https://brocku.ca/education/  

Hamilton Community Foundation: https://hamiltoncommunityfoundation.ca  

United Way Halton-Hamilton: https://www.uwhh.ca  

Ontario Trillium Foundation Systems Innovation:  https://otf.ca/our-grants/youth-opportunities-fund/system-innovations-stream  

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Veronika Berlicki, co-founder and leader of CityHive, shares how they are transforming the way young people engage in shaping their cities.  Based in Metro Vancouver, this 5-year old nonprofit has revisited its initial strategic plans, to assess the impact its been making and see what changes that might mean for the way forward.

They’ve engaged key stakeholders along the way and had some tough conversations as a team, looking at the change they want to be making and considering the trade-offs. They’ve developed a Theory of Change that is not only guiding their work but providing momentum, as they aim for youth facing systemic barriers to have an increased and lasting sense of civic agency. 

To really understand the youth they aim to serve and the solutions they might need to serve them, we hear about a 10-point continuum of civic agency they’ve created, from not really being interested in engaging around 1, to those working with their municipality to create change.

They’ve further dug in to understand what it might take to create that sense of civic agency, uncovering things like voting at the first possible election.   

All of this puts CityHive in a strong position to take action, assessing everything they take on against the impact they seek. 

Resources:

CityHive: https://cityhive.ca

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Court Desautels, CEO of the Neighbourhood Group of Companies, shares how his restaurants operate differently.  They have health and wellness programs, including paid health benefits and education supports. They interview and listen to their employees to see what they need and how they can help.  They empower the employees to decide which local charitable organizations to support.  They sold gift cards during COVID and gave all the proceeds to their employees, allocated by an employee team.  All of this translates to a big investment, one that’s paying off, including in cutting a typically high restaurant attrition rate in half, and in a loyal clientele.   

Addressing some industry challenges COVID has highlighted, Court also shares some suggestions of how other restaurants might follow suit, as well as changes that are needed in the industry to benefit all restaurant employees.  Whether you’re a business leader, restaurant employee, you like to eat out, or you’re interested in seeing more decent work and less precarious employment, there are messages here for you.  Have a listen. 

Resources 

The Neighbourhood Group of Restaurants: https://www.neighbourhoodgroup.com/restaurants   

Court Desautels:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/court-desautels-7327971a  

Let My People Go Surfing book:  https://www.patagonia.com/product/let-my-people-go-surfing-revised-paperback-book/BK067.html  

B Corp: https://bcorporation.net  

B Lab: https://bcorporation.net/about-b-lab  

Danny Meyer, Founder & CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group: https://www.ushgnyc.com/team-member/danny-meyer/  

Economic Recovery Task Force, Guelph:  https://guelph.ca/city-hall/mayor-and-council/mayors-office/mayors-task-force-on-economic-recovery/   

Restaurants Canada:  https://www.restaurantscanada.org  

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In this episode, Lynn talks to Terry Cooke, President and CEO of the Hamilton Community Foundation about what is changing in Community Foundations, and how the Hamilton Foundation is leading the change.  

They talk about leveraging community data and the foundation’s current focus on a collaborative effort with community partners to improve education outcomes over the next 10 years. 

Lynn and Terry talk about impact investing and social finance and the Hamilton Foundation’s experience as an early adopter in this drive to invest foundation assets for community benefit as well as making grants.  

Finally, they talk about the importance of staying relevant and adapting to changes in community, encouraging points of connection and conversation and ensuring donors, programs, and policies reflect and serve the community.  

Resources:

Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca

In this conversation with Tonya Surman, CEO of the Centre for Social Innovation, or CSI, we hear about the effect of COVID on their core social purpose coworking space and significant strategic changes happening at CSI.  We see the value of CSi (and other nonprofits) owning real estate, unpack SI Canada’s new role, learn about their leadership on an Impact Dashboard with a Common Approach, and a pilot social enterprise in Muskoka for healing, connection and learning for impact leaders…and much more.

Resources 

Tonya Surman : https://socialinnovation.org/team/tonya-surman/  

Centre for Social Innovation (CSI): https://socialinnovation.org/  

Social Innovation Canada (SI Canada): https://sicanada.org/  

CSI Community Living Room, Regent Park: https://socialinnovation.org/space/locations/community-living-room/  

TechSoup Canada : https://socialinnovation.org/about/techsoup-canada/  

Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN): https://theonn.ca/  

Vancity Community Investment Bank (VCIB): https://vancitycommunityinvestmentbank.ca/  

Climate Ventures : https://climateventures.org/  

Tapestry Community Capital: https://tapestrycapital.ca/  

Wasan Island: http://www.wasan-island.de/  

Breuninger Foundation: http://www.breuninger-stiftung.de/en/  

Community Foundations of Canada (CFC): https://communityfoundations.ca/  

McConnell Foundation: https://mcconnellfoundation.ca  

Common Approach: https://www.commonapproach.org/  

Adopting Common Measures with the Common Approach: https://socialinnovation.org/offering/adopting-common-measures/  

Impact Dashboard: https://impactdashboard.org/  

Selina Young, Director of the City of Toronto’s first Indigenous Affairs Office speaks with us about Toronto’s Reconciliation Action Plan, recently unanimously approved by Council.  We hear about the process, informed by various Indigenous community leaders, which pushed Selina and her team to revise the plan, ensuring big, bold action towards reconciliation.  It’s also made clear that this plan is not for Indigenous folks to undertake, but rather actions for non-Indigenous folks to be taking, namely by the City and its some 38k people, leveraging its role as service provider, policy developer, partner, system navigator, convenor, negotiator and regulator.   

Resources 

City of Toronto Reconciliation Action Plan: https://www.toronto.ca/city-government/accountability-operations-customer-service/long-term-vision-plans-and-strategies/reconciliation-action-plan/  

Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council (TASSC); https://www.tassc.ca/  

CAMH reconciliation plan: https://www.camh.ca/en/camh-news-and-stories/camh-launches-truth-and-reconciliation-action-plan  

OPG reconciliation plan: https://www.opg.com/building-strong-and-safe-communities/indigenous-relations/reconciliation-action-plan/  

Yellowhead Institute: https://yellowheadinstitute.org/  

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Hear in this episode how COVID-19 has put hurdles in the path of front-line operations like Daily Bread Food Bank, and how they’ve knocked them down, one by one, becoming a stronger organization as a result.     

Neil Hetherington, CEO of Daily Bread Food Bank, shares with us their unyielding focus on continuing to meet their food delivery commitments despite the operational challenges and spike in demand due to the pandemic.    

We also hear about the improvements this means go forward for Daily Bread as they look to leverage what they’ve achieved during the pandemic. They’ve discovered operational improvements and partnerships, enabling them to serve many more people and with more food, to an extent not previously thought possible. It’s also clarified for them the need to pursue systemic change through their advocacy work, embracing a moment when so many Torontonians have now been touched by food insecurity and are supportive of change.   

Unfortunately, Daily Bread’s own research indicates a bigger risk ahead for those living in poverty and with food insecurity – an eviction tsunami as people are unable to pay their rent is on the horizon.  This too will require advocacy and Daily Bread see themselves with an important role.    

This is clearly a case of a leader and an organization rising to the challenge, with lessons for all of us.   

Resources 

Daily Bread Food Bank:  https://www.dailybread.ca  

Neil Hetherington: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilhetherington  

Who’s Hungry 2019?  Daily Bread Food Bank’s Nov 2019 Report, including Race Data: https://www.dailybread.ca/research-and-advocacy/whos-hungry-report/  

Hunger Lives Here: Risks and Challenges Faced by Food Bank Clients During COVID-19 – July 2020: https://www.dailybread.ca/research-and-advocacy/hungerliveshere/  

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The Black Social Services Sector, as Agapi describes it, isn’t getting the attention it needs.  The CEE (Careers, Education, Empowerment) Centre for Young Black Professionals is taking that on.  Hear how they are supporting 3B organizations – that’s Black-focused, Black-led (including Board representation), and Black-serving organizations, including many that are not registered charities. 

In addition to supporting the sector, CEE provides direct programming, targeting particular industriesand creating demand-led workforce development solutions, with high retention rates.  These programs provide not just training, but person-centred wrap-around supports, considering a trauma-informed approach to Anti-Black Racism and an approach culturally- relevant to Black Canadians.  These programs are also being made available to other organizations to deliver in their local communities. 

Finally, CEE is tackling policy change, at all levels of government, recognizing that change at the individual level is not enough.    

This podcast will shed some light on how you or your organization could be supporting (or ignoring) the Black Community.   

Resources 

CEE Centre for Young Black Professionals: https://ceetoronto.org  

Kitchen Masters and other CEE Programs :  https://ceetoronto.org/programs/  

DESTA: https://destabyn.org  

Network for the Advancement of Black Communities (NABC): https://networkabc.ca  

Black to the Future: https://blacktothefutureto.com  

Unfunded: Black Communities Overlooked by Canadian Philanthropy:   https://forblackcommunities.org/assets/docs/Unfunded-Report.pdf  

Agapi Gessesse: https://www.linkedin.com/in/agessesse   

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Resources 

Andrew Taylor:  https://taylornewberry.ca/our-team/andrew-taylor/  

Taylor Newberry Consulting: https://taylornewberry.ca  

TNC and Centre for Evaluation Innovation : https://taylornewberry.ca/what-it-takes-to-learn-during-crises-reflections/  

McMaster research – Nonprofit resilience in context of COVID-19: https://resilience.degroote.mcmaster.ca/home/non-profit-resilience-in-the-context-of-covid-19/ 

In this episode, we hear from the Ontario Nonprofit Network through Executive Director Cathy Taylor, and Policy Advisor Pam Uppal, They share the state of the sector in Ontario, from their most recent surveys and ongoing interactions, and what this means for the ONN’s policy priorities.

We hear about the important role of looking out for the sector overall and being part of emergent issues.  We also hear about the rise and importance of collaboration across the sector – although nonprofits may compete for funding at one level, they share challenges such as labour and volunteer shortages and a lack of funding that can best be addressed together, as well as coming together to collectively address community-specific issues, as has happened throughout the pandemic. 

Of course, we talk about impact and how ONN views the difference it is making.   

Overall, ONN hopes this is embraced as a time of transformation, bringing an equity approach to ONN and the sector’s work and engraining the key role of nonprofits in our society. 

Resources 

ONN: https://theonn.ca/  

COVID-19: State of the sector one year later: https://theonn.ca/our-work/covid-surveys/  

Podcast:  Digging In with ONN - https://theonn.ca/podcast-digging-in-with-onn/  

Not-for-Profit Corporations Act: https://www.ontario.ca/page/rules-not-profit-and-charitable-corporations  

Nonprofit Resources:  https://nonprofitresources.ca/  

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It’s evident in this conversation that Melissa is a strong proponent of a non-profit having a Theory of Change – having a clear objective and a road map to get there.

She shares with us Canada Learning Code’s significant but achievable goal, and their journey of developing and living into a Theory of Change to deliver on that goal.  It has continued to be their guide through a re-branding and the unprecedented times presented by COVID-19.

You’ll hear how the Theory of Change has rigourously captured the organization’s secret sauce, to ensure that they stay focused on what has been proven to work, even if they need to adapt their delivery.  

You won’t be surprised to learn that Melissa was building her own websites at age 11 and you’ll hear her bring that same curiosity and passion to her work leading Canada Learning Code.   

Resources 

Canada Learning Code: https://www.canadalearningcode.ca  

Melissa Sariffodeen: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/melissasariffodeen   

Canada Learning Code Theory of Change: https://www.canadalearningcode.ca/theory-of-change/  

Show notes: 

Kara Peck, Senior Director, Strategy + Partnerships, B Lab US & Canada shares their journey to strategic clarity for their organization and for making a real difference in the world.  Leveraging a time of organizational and societal change, they have developed a Theory of Change, creating alignment around a new focus for the B Corp-certifying nonprofit, to support the business sector in taking collective action towards addressing racial equity, climate justice and stakeholder capitalism.  

Resources:

B Lab US/Canada Theory of Change:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og0iYy52ZjE  

B Lab: https://bcorporation.net/about-b-lab  

B Corp Impact Assessment: https://bcorporation.eu/certification?_ga=2.224228763.1436296932.1624646817-1194428511.1465581593  

Kara Peck: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karapeck   

Sweet Livity: https://www.sweetlivity.com  

Revolution Foods: https://www.revolutionfoods.com  

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In this engaging conversation, Dr. Joseph Smith shares his expertise and passion for equity and inclusion and the emotional intelligence needed for productive conversations between people of diverse backgrounds. He talks about the work underway to close the gap in philanthropy in Canada, in which the needs and assets of Black Communities have been overlooked.   

 Dr. Smith is the co-founder of the non-profit organization Generation Chosen which focuses on Mental health and Emotional Intelligence within underserved communities. He is a founding member of the Foundation for Black communities, a non-profit organization designed to adjudicate grants, develop policy and liaise with government and the philanthropic sector to serve Black-led and Black-serving non-profits and charities.   

The Foundation’s report: Unfunded, was a catalyst for $200 million in federal government endowment funding in Canada this year and has prompted a transfer of endowment funds from traditional philanthropic organizations to the new Foundation to better balance investment in Black Communities.  

 Dr. Smith is also a project coordinator the Black Experience Project through the Environics Research Institute; works as a facilitator and consultant in the area of Anti-Black Racism and Emotional Health at LifeWorks; and sits on the board of Operation Black Vote Canada as the Director of Youth Outreach.  

 In today’s conversation, we talk about how change can happen and is happening through understanding how we got where we are, how institutions and structures keep us from moving forward, and how intentional and generous action in how we live our lives- from who we engage, what we buy and how we spend our free time can lead to a better future.  

Resources

Joseph Smith LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-smith-29b9a615b/ 

https://www.generationchosen.ca 

https://twitter.com/GEN_CHOS3N 

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/01/02/torontos-black-non-profits-have-been-shortchanged-for-decades-these-are-the-people-fighting-for-change.html 

https://www.forblackcommunities.org/assets/docs/Unfunded-Report.pdf 

In recognition of National Philanthropy Day and also Giving Tuesday, we’re pleased to be re-sharing our podcast with Dr. Joseph Smith, who, among other roles, is a founding member of the Foundation for Black Communities. This Foundation was designed to adjudicate grants, develop policy and liaise with government and the philanthropic sector to serve Black-led and Black-serving non-profits and charities.    

The Foundation’s report: Unfunded, was a catalyst for $200 million in federal government endowment funding in Canada this year and has prompted a transfer of endowment funds from traditional philanthropic organizations to the new Foundation to better balance investment in Black Communities.   

This is a great time of year to be reflecting on your giving, individually or as a funding organization.  We encourage you, for the issues you care about, to take a look at the individuals and organizations not being funded.  And if you don’t know, how can you help your organization find out?  In addition to this podcast, we’ll share a link to a tool to compare the state of children and families in Toronto, across various demographics, as this may help you to see how your issue is playing out in Toronto, or may provide an example of a tool for your issue or organization to look to emulate, to be able to disaggregate the data – to truly see who is being affected and needs greater support.   

In the meantime, here’s our engaging conversation, with Dr. Smith sharing his expertise and passion for equity and inclusion and the emotional intelligence needed for productive conversations between people of diverse backgrounds. He talks about the work underway to close the gap in philanthropy in Canada, in which the needs and assets of Black Communities have been overlooked.   

Resources: 

Toronto Child & Family Network’s Raising the Village data: https://raisingthevillage.ca/  

Joseph Smith LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joseph-smith-29b9a615b/ 

 Generation Chosen: https://www.generationchosen.ca 

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2021/01/02/torontos-black-non-profits-have-been-shortchanged-for-decades-these-are-the-people-fighting-for-change.html 

Unfunded report: https://www.forblackcommunities.org/assets/docs/Unfunded-Report.pdf 

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