A polar vortex settles over the Northwest Territories (NWT), and by one o’clock in the afternoon, the mercury dips to minus 50 degrees Celsius. Glen Abernethy, former MLA for the Great Slave riding and current NWT region manager for the Arctic Inspiration Prize (AIP), worries about his connection. “I’m at a cabin 35 kilometres outside…
For the North and by the North. Six little words that mean so much. Since 2012, when the Arctic Inspiration Prize (AIP) was established, these six words have been its guiding principle. Says Kristina Kane, chief of the Ta’an Kwach’an Council in Whitehorse, the prize is about “honouring champions who use their creativity, innovation, and…
When Annabelle White received a large inheritance 12 years ago, she knew she wanted to give money to environmental causes. Having previously sat on the board of her grandmother’s foundation, she was wary of the complexity and attention that running her own foundation would involve. “When you start a foundation, you get pitched a lot,…
Il y a 12 ans, quand Annabelle White a reçu un important héritage, elle voulait donner cet argent à des causes environnementales. Ayant déjà siégé au CA de la fondation de sa grand-mère, elle craignait la complexité et l’attention qui seraient associées à la direction de sa propre fondation. « Lorsqu’on crée une fondation, dit-elle, on reçoit…
Philanthropic Foundations in Canada Landscapes, Indigenous Perspectives and Pathways to Change, ed. Peter R. Elson, Sylvain A. Lefevre and Jean-Marc Fontan, PhiLab, Canada, 2020, 323 pp. “A gift that does nothing to enhance solidarity is a contradiction.” Mary Douglas in her forward to The Gift, Marcel Mauss[1] Philanthropic Foundations in Canada: Landscapes, Indigenous…
Over the first several months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Fabrice Vil, co-founder and president of Pour 3 Points (P3P), came face to face with a stark insight about coaching in a crisis. The 10-year-old Montreal charity specializes in mentoring the men and women who coach youth in lower-income neighbourhoods, providing them with the skills and…
Pendant les premiers mois de la pandémie de la COVID-19, Fabrice Vil, cofondateur et président de Pour 3 Points (P3P), a été confronté à la dure réalité du travail d’un coach en temps de crise. Cet organisme de bienfaisance montréalais, fondé il y a dix ans, se spécialise dans le mentorat d’hommes et de femmes…
I am writing in response to the article by Tim Harper published on June 17, 2020 in The Philanthropist. The article, which also includes an interview with Gordon Floyd, is about the “charitable” sector and how COVID-19 is an opportunity for disruption of the status quo. I was glad to see many of the challenges…
March 20 was the day the team at MakeWay (then called Tides Canada) mobilized. The Vancouver-headquartered public foundation had been reaching out to its community partners, many of which are in remote and northern communities. “People were just terrified,” says executive director Joanna Kerr. “[They said] they needed core funding. They needed it to be…
As Canada’s charities continue to respond to a severe pandemic-related financial beating, they are also confronting serious questions about their business models, their lack of crisis preparation, and their need for an effective collective voice. Sector leaders, as well as those delivering front line services, see the need for big changes ahead, especially in the…