Hackathons and treaty simulations: Building young Northern and Indigenous leaders’ policy muscle
Policy affects our lives every day. But often, people with vital lived experience aren’t involved in developing, changing, and influencing policy. The Gordon Foundation is working to change that, by creating the space to bring young people and policy experts together so they can create real, long-term change.
Shaping the narrative on abortion rights and access
While access to abortion is protected in Canada, not everyone who needs an abortion can get one, and public opinion has been affected by ideological shifts in Canada and abroad. Frédérique Chabot, director of domestic health promotion at Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights, talks about policy goals, framing the case for increasing access, and the need to dispel harmful narratives.
Meet the wealthy next-gen donors practising social justice philanthropy
With the largest intergenerational wealth transfer ever underway, philanthropy would be wise to take heed. A recent study by the Women’s Philanthropy Institute offers a snapshot of wealthy young donors, from motivations to challenges to giving behaviours. “We’re at the tipping point,” says one sector leader, of where to go next in engaging young donors to “become partners in systems change” and the “shifting of money and power.”
The conflicted state of motherhood – and what philanthropy can do about it
As we celebrate our mothers and caregivers this Mother’s Day, we need to address the gendered catch-22 of motherhood, writes Paulette Senior. Philanthropy must move beyond the ethos of “motherhood as solution” or “motherhood as problem,” she says, and centre women’s humanity beyond their care work – and get ambitious about lightening their load.
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Analysis
The non-profit and justice sectors must work together to end family violence
With Mother’s Day approaching, it is important to talk about the health and well-being of mothers and their children who have experienced or been exposed to intimate partner violence. The release of the Mass Casualty Commission’s final report and the passing of Keira’s Law have put a spotlight on the issue, but we are still falling short of meeting the needs of survivors and their children. The non-profit and justice sectors have much to learn from each other.
A tale of three wellness hubs: A pan-Canadian integrated youth services movement
Children’s mental health services have long been described as the “orphan of the orphan” of Canada’s healthcare system. But an integrated system of wellness hubs – a youth-driven “revolution in creating easy access” – is aiming to change that. One funder says it’s a “once in a lifetime” opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives.
Philanthropy and Funding
How one rural community is bridging the gaps in youth mental health
The Haliburton County Youth Wellness Hub was one of six pilot-project youth hubs in Ontario, a funding partnership between Youth Wellness Hubs Ontario, the provincial government, and the Graham Boeckh Foundation that’s grown into a 30-hub network. The hubs are part of an integrated youth services movement that is spreading across Canada with ‘catalytic leadership from philanthropy.’
What is philanthropy for – and can it be made better?
A new book by UK historian Rhodri Davies defines philanthropy not as a stand-alone concept but in relation to social values and political and economic systems – and casts a searching eye on its dilemmas. Reviewer Hilary Pearson recommends it as a good starting point for any new philanthropist or student of philanthropy.
Case Studies & Guides
Three ways to keep and care for volunteers
Organizations are struggling to recruit and re-engage volunteers since COVID. We offer three solutions from organizations that are meeting the challenge by focusing on retaining and caring for their volunteers.
Housing as a human right: Shifting the conversation through narrative change
In the midst of Canada’s housing crisis, there’s a strong narrative that housing is a commodity rather than our right. Bonnie Mah, strategic narrative lead at Maytree, considers the opportunities and challenges of rights-based framing and talks about how she and her colleagues are trying to shift the conversation on housing in Canada.
Decolonization and Reconciliation
Comeback Society reconnects urban Indigenous communities with their culture through food
Grassroots organizations are an integral part of the non-profit sector, responding to needs and shaping how communities care for each other. This profile, the fourth in a series, looks at how two sisters, starting with a podcast aimed at amplifying Indigenous voices from across Turtle Island, followed by a meal program to help the residents of a homeless encampment in Regina, are helping urban Indigenous youth reclaim their culture.
New pathway to partnership opens with CRA draft guidance on qualifying disbursements
Hopes are high that changes to the Income Tax Act will make it easier to fund non-qualified donees, meaning more resources, more flexibility, and more collaboration between funders and organizations that have often been shut out. The two-month consultation period on the draft guidelines ends January 31.
Series on Narrative Change
Shifting the conversation: How the sector is using narrative change to advance social change
Changing the way people think about an issue is a precondition to mobilizing action on it. But which organizations have institutionalized narrative change practices as a strategic priority, and how is that playing out day-to-day? How many non-profits are doing the deep listening necessary to understand how audiences perceive their issues, and developing strategic messaging that can shift the conversation?
Anand Giridharadas on reclaiming persuasion to rebuild democracy
In an exclusive interview with Christina Palassio, Anand Giridharadas, whose latest book is The Persuaders, talks about building progressive fronts, crafting popular narratives that unite instead of divide, and crossing political lines to connect with people on a values level.
Dear Everybody: How one campaign engages young voices to change the narrative on disability
The dominant narratives and stigma around disability can limit children from living full lives. Toronto’s Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital believes it has a responsibility to challenge that narrative. Here’s how they’re doing it.
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Analysis
Youth perspectives on philanthropy, 10 years later
Ten years ago, in a series called “Youth and the Future of Philanthropy,” The Philanthropist Journal asked how the sector could better serve, and include, young people. Here’s what some of the contributors to that series have to say now about how – and if – the sector has changed for the better.
The new non-profit workplace: Considerations and solutions
Where should work happen, and when? For how many hours? Post-pandemic, our assumptions about the nature of work have been turned upside down. Contributor Yvonne Rodney outlines the many questions the new zeitgeist has raised and talks to three sector leaders about the practices and changes their organizations have put in place to try to tackle these challenges.
The path of Islamic philanthropy in Canada: From community building to social innovation
The Islamic philanthropic ecosystem in Canada developed via a non-linear route that saw visionary leaders leveraging the energy and activism of a growing community to meet the challenges at hand. Contributor Abdul Nakua provides a historical overview and suggests that Islamic philanthropy holds lessons for Canadian society as a whole.
Charitable status – lost and found – in 2022
Don McRae writes a newsletter that monitors charity data to see how the sector is changing. In the 2022 revocations, he sees a wake-up call: in particular around the loss of community groups that were hubs of volunteering and community action, and the loss of services and connection that results.
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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Miles Morrisseau
Miles Morrisseau is a Métis writer, journalist, and multimedia producer from the Métis homeland in Manitoba.
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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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Angela Long
Angela Long is a freelance writer currently working on a book about rural journalism in Canada.
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Kareem Shaheen
Kareem Shaheen is a journalist based in Montreal. Previously, he was Middle East correspondent for The Guardian, based in Beirut and Istanbul.
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