Pulse-check with sector leaders on mental health
The massive upheaval caused by COVID-19 has put pressure on all levels of the non-profit workforce, leading to rising levels of burnout, compassion fatigue, stress, and anxiety. We talked to leaders across the sector about their mental health, their outlook on leadership, and how they’re supporting their teams through this period.
On Board: The Insider’s Guide to Surviving Life in the Boardroom
John Tusa, the author of On Board, has a breadth and depth of arts board experience on both sides of the Atlantic that would be hard to match. What he gleaned from these experiences fills the pages of this detailed, honest, mostly modest, wise, and fascinating book.
How the rise of grassroots organizing changed the pandemic – and the non-profit sector
Over the past year, hundreds of groups have sprung up to address community needs when governments and established institutions failed to do so. These volunteer-driven grassroots groups don’t have headquarters or boards of directors. Many don’t have websites or phone numbers. Mostly, they exist solely on social media and online forums.
Featured
Analysis
A brewing showdown over disbursement quotas
During the pandemic, as charities have grappled with the double burden of increased demand for services and reduced capacity to fundraise, some have asked why Canada’s foundations – public and private – aren’t drawing more from their investment accounts to support the causes they funded in the before-times.
The future of work
Ready or not, the future of work is already here. For those who make the world of work their business, there’s reason for both optimism and concern.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Philanthropist Journal interview: Mona-Lisa Prosper
Mona-Lisa Prosper is the director of the Black Entrepreneur Startup Program, recently launched by Futurpreneur Canada to address systemic barriers faced by Black entrepreneurs.
Next-gen leaders
In this interview with Leslie Woo (CivicAction) and Adwoa K. Buahene (TRIEC), the two CEOs ask what “build back better” means – and for whom?
Arts and Culture
Making the most of it: Turning to arts and crafts through the pandemic
Many seeking comfort, control, and connection in the pandemic have turned to crafting and art, which have gone beyond creative expression to become a way to check in, share something positive, stay focused, make meaning, and connect to the outside world – and to something bigger than our isolated selves.
Book review: Building Unity: Leading a Nonprofit from Spark to Succession
Michael Prosserman’s Building Unity is about leading innovation in the non-profit sector, built on the unique experience and language of hip hop or breakin’ culture.
First Person
Over-scrutinized, underfunded, and unsupported: How systemic anti-Blackness affects who gets grants and sector workers’ well-being
While many charities and foundations have made commitments to anti-racism, this insider’s look at the sector tells a different story of how systemic anti-Blackness, along with gender, religious, and other forms of discrimination, affects who gets funded and the well-being of the sector’s workers.
The Philanthropist Interview: Janice Stein
Janice Stein was the founding director of the Munk School at the University of Toronto (1998 to 2014). She is currently the university’s Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management in the Department of Political Science, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario.
Series on PhiLab
PhiLab: What research can tell us about philanthropy
Earlier this year, with the goal of building stronger connections between the academic community at PhiLab – the Canadian research network on philanthropy based in Montreal – and the charitable and non-profit sector, we commissioned journalist Diane Bérard to conduct interviews with a range of PhiLab researchers.
Shelley Price: Storytelling the philanthropic landscape – Collective restorying of giving and sharing through Indigenous perspectives
This Q&A is part of a series of interviews with six PhiLab researchers about their areas of study.
Jacqueline Colting-Stol: Foundations and climate action
This Q&A is part of a series of interviews with six PhiLab researchers about their areas of study.
Sector News Digest
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Catherine Phillips
Mary Simon named Governor General; using radio to share residential school stories; new ONN survey; fresh StatsCan data on the sector’s performance; a case for funding community infrastructure; and a US court ruling on donor privacy.
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Angela Long
This week: Sector responses to residential school discoveries in Kamloops, anti-Muslim terror in London, and anti-Asian hate crimes in Vancouver; progress on S-222; new findings
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Rachel Chen
This week: A decolonization report, suspected CRA anti-Muslim bias, digital development, university donor dumpster fires, and a Digital Publishing Awards nomination! “Restitution from the perspective
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Angela Long
This week: Budget 2021, the feds respond to the Senate’s sector report; Volunteer Week; gender policy and the recovery; and hunting for vaccines online. Budget
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Personalities & Interviews
The Philanthropist Journal interview: Susan Phillips and Bob Wyatt
Susan Phillips, a professor in Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration, and Bob Wyatt, executive director of The Muttart Foundation, are the editors of the comprehensive Intersections and Innovations: Change for Canada’s Voluntary and Nonprofit Sector, a free online resource published by Muttart.
Sylvain A. Lefèvre: Bâtiment 7, philanthropic foundations, and universities – The story of a common ground
This Q&A is part of a series of interviews with six PhiLab researchers about their areas of study.
Adriana Davis: South Saskatchewan Community Foundation Response to COVID-19
This Q&A is part of a series of interviews with six PhiLab researchers about their areas of study.
April Lindgren: Local journalism
This Q&A is part of a series of interviews with six PhiLab researchers about their areas of study.
More articles From the Archives
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.
A short history of voluntary sector–government relations in Canada
The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the history of voluntary sector-government relations in Canada. This is a rich history, which is often overlooked and chronically underappreciated.
Charity and public welfare in history: A look at Ontario, 1830–1950
Several historical works have described 19th-century Ontario as lacking a conception of public welfare, where the poor were largely left to the benevolence of religious charities. This assumption, however, ignores the complex web of relationships that characterized the delivery of social services in Ontario and in many English-speaking regions across Canada.
Art, after virus: Seven questions for a sector on the edge
In 1999, the Metcalf Foundation collaborated with The Philanthropist to curate a series on the public value of arts and culture in Canada. Now, in the midst of the pandemic, there is a new urgency to the challenges facing the arts.
Featured Contributors
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Fatima Syed
Fatima Syed is a Mississauga-based freelance journalist who has reported for The Logic, National Observer, and the Toronto Star. Follow her on Twitter at @fatimabsyed.
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Rachel Chen
Rachel Chen is an audience strategist for Indiegraf; a master of information student at the University of Toronto, and a freelance writer
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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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Erin Byrnes
Erin Byrnes is a journalist and filmmaker from Montreal. She’s a winner of the Amnesty International Long Form Audio and the DOC Canada Breakthrough awards.
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