Building communities where youth can step into the spaces where they belong
The Kickback Foundation’s vision is to create worlds and opportunities where kids have the space and support they need to explore their own journeys and define themselves – using sneakers as a magnet.
In an election like no other, an anxious non-profit sector meets its own ‘elbows up’ moment
With a looming recession and increased attacks on civil society, Canadian sector leaders report that there is a resolve – a sense that if a fight is ahead, it is a fight worth having.
Narrowing the racial wealth gap: Planned giving as a tool for economic justice
Estate planning remains an overlooked tool for closing the racial wealth gap. By fostering accessibility and trust, planned-giving professionals can contribute to economic justice while strengthening the future of philanthropy.
Gift planning: Not just for wealthy grandparents
Billions of dollars flow from Canadians to charities through their wills. Now, gift planners say charities need to be thinking a lot more about it as a fundraising strategy – across all demographics.
Featured
Analysis
Good transit is essential to good cities – we need more people speaking up for it
Public transport is an essential service that promotes equity and health and reduces pollution. Non-profits can help mobilize riders and fund research and advocacy to support meaningful change.
How the ‘localness’ of local news strengthens communities
Local, independent news publishers across Canada are fighting to build trust, promote dialogue, and foster engaged, informed communities on shoestring budgets.
Philanthropy and Funding
Prioritizing restitution, Indigenous leadership, and the future with ‘restorative philanthropy’
A 2024 learning series introduced “restorative philanthropy” – a rethink of traditional models of philanthropy, especially in light of historical and ongoing injustices experienced by Indigenous Peoples. Tanya Rumble and Yumi Numata share some key learnings from the program.
Why we need space for grief
Despite its profound ripple effects on families, workplaces, and communities, grief remains an overlooked crisis. An immersive public art installation that creates a space for collective mourning is part of a broader movement to change the ways communities and societies address, plan, and design for grief.
Case Studies & Guides
Get Offline and Talk: Anatomy of a narrative change campaign
An Action Canada public awareness campaign combats polarization and misinformation through human connection and empathy, by motivating people to have real-life conversations with people in their lives. This article explains how they did it, from conception through strategy, creative direction, and deployment.
Rethinking refugee narratives: How non-profits can shift power in fundraising
Shifting fundraising practices isn’t just about minimizing harm – it’s also about maximizing opportunities. When storytelling aligns with an organization’s purpose, it can foster a better understanding of systemic issues and create meaningful connections between donors and the communities they aim to support.
Decolonization and Reconciliation
When the expert is your cousin: Indigenous alternatives to ‘distrust by default’ conflict-of-interest rules
COI policies have contributed to a working culture that’s antithetical to Indigenous ways of working, Aiden Cyr writes. He talks to four Indigenous social impact leaders whose insights suggest that the path forward may instead lie in “mutuality of interest.”
Regranting: How funders can further Indigenous self-determination
Toronto Foundation and the Toronto Aboriginal Support Services Council partnered to regrant funds to Indigenous organizations – with the foundation ceding full control over designing and delivering the grant program to TASSC.
Series on Work in Progress
Volunteerism: In crisis or at a crossroads?
With volunteering in Canada in decline, contributor Yvonne Rodney looks at the data and talks to sector leaders to ponder the way forward. The solution, she writes, includes acknowledging the impact of the pandemic, understanding generational differences, and convincing funders to do more to help organizations.
The decision to step down: Reflections from four foundation leaders
When long-serving leaders leave their roles, what can we learn from them that will help our sector traverse the challenging times ahead?
Building a sense of belonging and connection at work in the hybrid era
With remote and hybrid work the new norm post-pandemic, non-profits are tailoring strategies to ensure that employees feel heard, seen, and valued – and have discovered that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach.
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Most Popular
Analysis
Is generational change coming to foundation philanthropy?
With a turbulent external environment, growing pressure on charities, and internal shifts in leadership and focus, the philanthropic sector is navigating significant change. It’s all adding up to what may be the biggest shift to foundation philanthropy we’ve seen in Canada, Hilary Pearson writes.
A lifeline for local news is urgently needed – and philanthropy can do more to help
Local news is in decline, but without it, communities become more polarized, their citizens detached from their neighbours and institutions, and trust breaks down. A new report from the Public Policy Forum offers some solutions – a couple of them aimed directly at Canada’s philanthropic sector.
Do we still need women’s leadership programs?
A growing body of research demonstrates that women are often more effective leaders, yet there are many programs geared toward women upskilling and networking to get there because they are still underrepresented in leadership. Can these programs offer long-term solutions?
The push for a national caregiving strategy
Groups including the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence call caregiving the next frontier in public policy in Canada. They want to make the issue of care politically and socially unignorable.
More articles From the Archives
A short history of voluntary sector–government relations in Canada (revisited)
The original version of this story, published in 2007, is one of The Philanthropist Journal’s most popular pieces of all time. In this updated version, Peter Elson and Peyton Carmichael expand on that detailed (and not so short) history.
Charities and the rule against perpetuities
Charitable status is a legally privileged status. The law in numerous ways, ranging from the trivial to the noteworthy, confers legal advantages upon charities. These legal advantages are often misunderstood.
‘We don’t have a word for philanthropy’
What do Indigenous Peoples mean when they talk about Indigenous philanthropy? Miles Morrisseau put this question and others to Indigenous people who are leaders in the philanthropic sector.
Strategies for a caring society
This article was developed from a paper presented at Investigating in the Whole Community: Strategies for a Caring Society, a conference organized by the Trillium
Featured Contributors
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Angela Long
Angela Long is a freelance writer currently working on a book about rural journalism in Canada.
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Yvonne Rodney
Yvonne Rodney is a Toronto author, career consultant, speaker, and non-profit worker with extensive experience in career development. She is the author of Moving On: A Quick Guide for Non-Profit Workers and Military to Civilian Employment: A Career Practitioner’s Guide.
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Christina Palassio
Christina Palassio is a non-profit communications professional and freelance writer. When she tweets, she does so at @mcpalassio.
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Tim Harper
Tim Harper is a Toronto-based writer. He is a former Washington correspondent and national affairs columnist with the Toronto Star.
- All Featured Contributors