It’s not you, it’s them: Women in Power’s invitation to fight systemic failings
Launched in July by Surabhi Jain and Saralyn Hodgkin, Women in Power is an “allyship leadership practice” that urges racialized and white women to turn away from polarization, turn toward discourse, and “stand in our power together” by sharing their lived experiences in the workplace.
The cy-près doctrine: The court’s discretionary power to vary the terms of charitable gifts
This is the third in a series of articles focused on various aspects of charity law that have been a burden on the Canadian charitable and non-profit sector for 70 years. The articles are written by members of the Canadian Bar Association’s Charities and Not-for-Profit Law Section, who deal with these issues on behalf of their clients on a regular basis. In this piece, Anna C. Naud looks at the doctrine of cy-près.
Investing in Indigenous philanthropy through reciprocity
Trust-based philanthropy seeks to transform the relationships between philanthropic organizations and non-profits by identifying systemic inequalities and addressing inherent power imbalances. In an Indigenous context, a trust-based approach centres Indigenous leadership, knowledge, and expertise.
And the winner is … Canadian prize philanthropy
Despite hefty logistics, Canadian foundations and organizations are turning to attention-grabbing prizes as a model to spark innovation, give back, and increase awareness on social and environmental issues.
Featured
Analysis
Investir dans la philanthropie autochtone par la réciprocité
Les valeurs de don, de partage et d’entraide sont profondément ancrées dans les cultures autochtones. Ces traditions séculaires de réciprocité, de responsabilité mutuelle et de
Canada’s first foundation aimed at supporting Black communities takes non-traditional approach to philanthropy
The Foundation for Black Communities has a broad mandate to understand communities’ needs and to build trust and capacity so those communities’ futures are defined and stabilized in perpetuity. Doing so starts with a fresh take on governance.
Diversity and Inclusion
Should we think of philanthropy as public money or private money?
Host Ratna Omidvar explores with Liban Abokor, co-founder of Foundation for Black Communities, the nature of philanthropic wealth – who it belongs to – and how to hold the philanthropy sector accountable to the communities it serves.
Measuring and accounting for ‘success’ in the charitable and non-profit sector
The sector’s accountability relationships and how it defines and accounts for “success” are in need of an overhaul, says contributor Nancy Pole. In the fifth article in our Rethinking Philanthropy series, she argues that philanthropic foundations can play a leading role in this transformation – and in so doing, think differently about their own accountabilities.
Case Studies & Guides
Centre d’écologie urbaine de Montréal: Building resilient cities on a human scale
Cities have developed at the expense of the human condition, and Centre d’écologie urbaine de Montréal wants to change that. The organization’s aim is to develop the capacity of individuals and communities across Quebec to work together to create democratic, healthy, resilient cities on a human scale.
YAM: Improving quality of life through innovative environmental projects
(Cet article est disponible en français.) Non-profits tackle big problems: poverty; inequities in health, education, and work access; sexual and racial discrimination; refugee crises; food
Decolonization and Reconciliation
What would true, reparative giving in the philanthropic sector look like?
In this first episode of the Reimagining Philanthropy podcast, host Senator Ratna Omidvar asks guests Kris Archie and Edgar Villanueva a big question that looms over the philanthropic sector: “If accumulated wealth comes from years of oppression, exploitation, and colonization, then is philanthropy simply an expression of atonement at best or a cover-up at worst?”
Philanthropic sector ‘relieved’ with key victory at Commons committee
Canada’s charitable and philanthropic sector won a major victory Monday, May 30, when the House of Commons finance committee voted unanimously to eliminate wording in the budget implementation bill that had been described as “‘direction and control’ on steroids.”
Series on Rethinking Philanthropy
Rethinking Philanthropy: Emerging paradigms of social justice
In the first of a series that seeks to inform the charitable and non-profit sector’s collective imagination, contributor Gloria Novovic traces the evolution of Western philanthropic models – and charts a new path toward a “just transition.”
The anti-racist agenda of Canada’s international cooperation sector: From commitment to action
In the fourth article in our Rethinking Philanthropy series, contributor Judyannet Muchiri looks beyond the promises made in the international cooperation sector’s Anti-Racism Framework to outline insights from sector leaders on progress made and key areas of action going forward.
‘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.
Sector News Digest
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Angela Long
This week: Ontario’s inaugural Non-Profit Sector Appreciation Week, Black History Month: February and forever Organizations condemn “freedom convoy”, underfunding LGBTQ2S+ organizations and more. Ontario’s inaugural
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Angela Long
This month: the historic Indigenous child welfare settlement; Omicron pressure on non-profits; poverty and disability; and a new crop of environmental youth leaders. Indigenous child
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Angela Long
Choosing hope: Acts of reconciliation “Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul,” wrote Emily Dickinson. But for the Mi’kmaq of Atlantic
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Angela Long
1.5 degrees of separation Against the backdrop of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, the Fondation du Grand Montréal, the Trottier Family Foundation, and the
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Opinions
Why philanthropy needs a new story
The story of philanthropy is not static; it evolves with every new challenge faced. Recently, the calls for reform have been loud and clear – to unlock the billions locked up in endowments, remove “direction and control,” and shift to more reciprocal relationships.
Let’s talk about the problems with volunteering
Volunteering is an amazing thing, but it remains an area of unharnessed potential, replete with missed opportunities to build connections across social groups.
Canada’s charitable sector has key role to play in long-term growth and prosperity
A year ago, Century Initiative – whose mission is to enhance Canada’s resilience and influence by responsibly growing the population to 100 million by 2100 – launched a National Scorecard on Canada’s Growth and Prosperity. This year’s scorecard points to three key opportunities where leadership from the charitable sector will be critical.
To combat Islamophobia, charity leaders must commit to diversity and inclusion
In the wake of the national day of remembrance for the victims of the Quebec mosque shooting on January 29, Capacity Canada’s Cathy Brothers and MAC’s Memona Hossain offer six practical steps leaders can take to close the charitable sector’s diversity gap.
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.
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.
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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