When a group of Prince Edward County residents decided to establish a community foundation for the pastoral rural island region in eastern Ontario in 2008, they began not with an endowment, as is typically the case, but only a concept and, well, crossed fingers. The region has a few towns and an urban hub, Picton,…
Quand un groupe de résidents du Comté du Prince-Édouard ont décidé de constituer une fondation communautaire pour une région pastorale-rurale d’une île de l’est ontarien, en 2008, il n’a pas d’abord créé un fonds de dotation (habituelle façon de faire), mais uniquement un concept… et s’est croisé les doigts. La région comptait quelques petites municipalités…
Trust – Twenty Ways to Build a Better Country, David Johnston. Penguin Random House Canada, Toronto, Canada, 2018, ISBN 9780771047152 Old academic habits die hard. I read the first pages and the last pages of this text before settling down to assess the whole work. The prospects looked enticing with the author beginning with the…
La plupart des philanthropes mettent sur pied une fondation dans le but de redonner à la société. Ils investissent leur argent, leurs compétences, leur expérience et leurs connaissances dans ce qui leur semble le plus utile et satisfaisant (Fondations philanthropiques Canada, 2015). Tôt ou tard, ils apprennent toutefois que la société ou la communauté qu’ils…
Most philanthropists create a foundation as a way to give back to society. They commit their money, skills, experience, and knowledge to what promises to be most useful and satisfying (Philanthropic Foundations Canada, 2015). Sooner or later, however, they learn that the society or community they wish to serve has very specific opinions and expectations…
This article is the first in a renewed collaboration between The Philanthropist and The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. The goal is to highlight Indigenous philanthropy and share Indigenous perspective and wisdom on reciprocity as well as Indigenous-focused work happening in the philanthropic community. As a Métis person who grew up on my…
This is the eighth article in a series about European philanthropy. The series is published as a collaboration between The Philanthropist and The Lawson Foundation. In today’s globalized world, where many of our challenges know few borders, there is a growing need for collaboration, space to learn from one another and to co-create solutions. This series has provided…
This is the third article in our series about the role of networks in the non-profit sector. The series is published as a collaboration between The Philanthropist and the Ontario Nonprofit Network. Non-profits work with others all the time – whether it is with an organization down the road or with another member of their…
Engagement Organizing: The Old Art and New Science of Winning Campaigns, by Matt Price. Vancouver, British Columbia, On Point Press, 2017, ISBN 9780774890168 Most articles on social impact mention the importance of engaging those most affected by an issue in creating solutions. Unfortunately, in many cases in the non-profit sector, we’ve professionalized the community out…
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 Foundation of Ontario, which took place October 15-16, 1998 in Toronto. Introduction Building community capacity is about far more than addressing social problems. It is about both social intervention and…