When Kyle Russell, interim director of Alberta Theatre Projects (ATP), hears on the radio that the Alberta government is banning all gatherings of 250 people or more, he’s on his way to Walmart in search of hand sanitizer. The entire front-of-house staff is scouring Calgary for the elusive product – a quest shared by millions…
This is the first of an ongoing “Solutions Journalism” series. Its goal is to provide practical, informative, and expert resources and tools in concise, approachable articles, in response to feedback from readers and our editorial advisory committee about what they feel is relevant and timely. *** When the 162-year-old Yarmouth YMCA closed its doors for…

Last month, Save the Children Canada announced that Danny Glenwright would join the organization as president and CEO on March 1, after six years as the executive director of Action Against Hunger Canada. Glenwright has more than 16 years of experience in the non-profit and media sectors and has travelled to more than 60 countries…
Nearly one million workers in Canada’s not-for-profit sector lack a workplace retirement plan. High-quality retirement plans with matching contributions are an effective way to build long-term employee financial health, and evidence shows that employees without a plan are unlikely to save enough for their retirement. To point, the median savings of households aged 55 to…

Dahabo Ahmed Omer became the inaugural executive director of the BlackNorth Initiative last fall. Founded by the Canadian Council of Business Leaders Against Anti-Black Systemic Racism, BlackNorth challenges senior Canadian business leaders to commit their companies to specific actions and targets designed to end anti-Black systemic racism and create opportunities for members of the BIPOC…

Building Unity: Leading a Nonprofit from Spark to Succession, by Michael Prosserman. ECW Press, Toronto, 2020; 288 pp.: ISBN 978-1-77041-563-8 This is a book about leading innovation in the non-profit sector, built on the unique experience and language of hip hop or breakin’ culture. Mike Prosserman is a gifted professional dancer, a b-boy who…

The Corporate Social Mind: How Companies Lead Social Change from the Inside Out, by Derrick Feldmann and Michael Alberg-Seberich, Fast Company Press, Austin, Texas, 2020; 232 pp: ISBN: 978-1734324808 Are the most successful corporations those that focus primarily on the financial value they create for shareholders? Or can they be even more successful if they…

The charitable sector is responding rapidly to the expanding impact of the pandemic, in terms of outreach, operations, and advocacy. In the coming weeks, The Philanthropist will provide up-to-date coverage, as well as our usual reporting and commentary on other news of relevance to foundations, charities, and non-profits. Read more of our COVID-19 coverage. For charities and non-profits contending…
At the beginning of a new term of Parliament and almost a dozen years after former Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a historic apology for Canada’s residential schools policy, Marie Wilson has a simple but critical question: what’s happened to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action? As one of the TRC commissioners,…
In 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada heard an appeal that drove right to the heart of then-Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin’s philosophy about the role of the courts in society. The case involved a custody dispute between a BC couple. Facing a 10-day hearing, the mother found she’d have to pay a $3,600 court fee…