We need Radical Accountability in the social impact sector
Release Date: 09/16/2021
Constant Strategic Innovation at the Centre for Social Innovation, or CSI at CSI.
Impact Conversations
In this conversation with Tonya Surman, CEO of the Centre for Social Innovation, or CSI, we hear about the effect of COVID on their core social purpose coworking space and significant strategic changes happening at CSI. We see the value of CSi (and other nonprofits) owning real estate, unpack SI Canada’s new role, learn about their leadership on an Impact Dashboard with a Common Approach, and a pilot social enterprise in Muskoka for healing, connection and learning for impact leaders…and much more. Resources Tonya Surman : Centre for Social...
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Evolving Social Impact Planning in Uncertain Times
Impact Conversations
How the world has changed! There are a lot of new challenges and opportunities these days as organizations look to clarify their purpose, strategy, and evaluation of their work to create social impact in these uncertain times. The work is more complex and challenging than it was say three years ago, the stakes are higher, and success is less certain. In this podcast, Andrew Taylor, Co-Founder of Taylor Newberry Consulting and Lynn Fergusson, Partner at Social Impact Advisors let you in on some insights from the kind of conversations they often have to better understand the...
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Loosening the Reins on Funding to Enable Impact: The General Operating Support pilot
Impact Conversations
Laura Manning, Executive Director at the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation (LSHF) shares the journey and lessons learned from a bold Canadian pilot started in 2018, granting significant additional, unrestricted General Operating Support (GOS) to known grantees. We hear about the time it takes to get boards comfortable with this approach and what’s behind that. We also hear how Laura and the Foundation see advocating for this approach as part of their work, to help shift the sector. Now issuing more than 70% of the Foundation’s grants in unrestricted General Operating Support, LSHF...
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Paulina Cameron: A changemaker supporting women entrepreneurs, individually and systemically
Impact Conversations
In this episode, we talk to Paulina Cameron, a Globe and Mail ’22 Changemaker and CEO of The Forum, a Vancouver-based charity teaching, mentoring and supporting women entrepreneurs across Canada to take their businesses to the next level. We hear about the challenges and opportunities the organization and women entrepreneurs faced through COVID. We also hear about the systemic issues women entrepreneurs face, and work The Forum is doing in both supporting women to overcome these barriers, while at the same time providing training to banks to address systemic biases. ...
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Catalyzing Social and Environmental Change: a conversation with SI Canada’s Andrea Nemtin
Impact Conversations
Our guest today is Andrea Nemtin, Executive Director of SI Canada. Sally and Andrea talk about what Social Innovation is, the history of the field in Canada, and how Social Innovation Canada (SI Canada) came to be. Andrea talks about the priorities of the organization as our country emerges from COVID, and how solutions to the complex challenges of social justice and climate change can be catalyzed and aligned through education, intentional networking at local and national levels across all sectors, and storytelling. Resources: Social Innovation...
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Successfully bringing Indigenous ways to a traditionally science-based culture at Sierra Club BC, with Executive Director, Hannah Askew
Impact Conversations
Hannah Askew started as Executive Director at Sierra Club BC in late 2018 with a mandate to bring an Indigenous lens to the work of Sierra Club BC, alongside the traditional scientific lens. As a lawyer, prior to this role, Hannah practiced public interest environmental law and was deeply involved in learning from Indigenous communities about their systems of law and governance. You’ll hear that Hannah is a big proponent of the McConnell Foundation’s Innoweave program “Impact and Strategic Clarity”, which they completed in 2019. It’s how they developed...
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Gord Downie’s Legacy of #ReconciliACTION!
Impact Conversations
Sarah Midanik, Executive Director of the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund shares a message of hope, as she reflects on the important work of reconciliation requiring us all, and non-Indigenous Canadians in particular, to take action. We hear about the important work to be done to address systemic racism and how this national charity found a way, working from the ground up, to address the history not previously being told in the school curriculum, providing tools and resources into some 6000 schools within 4 years. And that’s just one example. Resources Gord Downie...
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Insights from Toronto’s Reconciliation Action Plan
Impact Conversations
Selina Young, Director of the City of Toronto’s first Indigenous Affairs Office speaks with us about Toronto’s Reconciliation Action Plan, recently unanimously approved by Council. We hear about the process, informed by various Indigenous community leaders, which pushed Selina and her team to revise the plan, ensuring big, bold action towards reconciliation. It’s also made clear that this plan is not for Indigenous folks to undertake, but rather actions for non-Indigenous folks to be taking, namely by the City and its some 38k people, leveraging its role as service provider,...
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Creating an increased and lasting sense of civic agency in youth
Impact Conversations
Veronika Berlicki, co-founder and leader of CityHive, shares how they are transforming the way young people engage in shaping their cities. Based in Metro Vancouver, this 5-year old nonprofit has revisited its initial strategic plans, to assess the impact its been making and see what changes that might mean for the way forward. They’ve engaged key stakeholders along the way and had some tough conversations as a team, looking at the change they want to be making and considering the trade-offs. They’ve developed a Theory of Change that is not only guiding their work but providing...
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Catalyzing Local Action on Climate Change through Collective Impact
Impact Conversations
Bianca Caramento is the Manager of the Bay Area Climate Change Council, leading the collective impact initiative to advance and accelerate climate change action in the cities of Burlington and Hamilton. She shares with us the structure behind this collective, with her “backbone” role housed in the Centre for Climate Change Management at Mohawk College, supporting a collective of 14 community organizations. We hear about their Theory of Change – the master plan for reducing green house gases in the community by 50% by 2030, towards becoming net zero cities by...
info_outlineIn this episode, Mojdeh Cox, Executive Director of London, Ontario’s Pillar Nonprofit Network, shares a new lens she is bringing to the organization: radical accountability.
She believes the organization (and everyone) needs to first look at ourselves, and hold ourselves accountable for our roles in today’s hot issues including systemic discrimination, reconciliation, and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). She shares that we also need to take a hard look at the nonprofit or social impact sector itself, to see the role it plays in continuing to support systemic issues, such as through an ingrained belief in low overhead costs being worthy of celebration, even at the expense of our human resources not having retirement plans, benefits, competitive pay, and overall decent work.
As Mojdeh points out, some of this may not be what funders and nonprofits want to hear, but that’s all part of radical accountability – calling out truths.
Resources
Mojdeh Cox bio: https://pillarnonprofit.ca/about-our-team/mojdeh-cox
Mojdeh Cox on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mojdehcox/
Mojdeh shares her why: https://pillarnonprofit.ca/news/leadership-margins-executive-director-mojdeh-cox-shares-her-why
Open Letter to the Sector: A Call for Radical Accountability in Social Impact: https://futureofgood.co/radical-accountability-in-social-impact/
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Thank you for listening to Impact Conversations with Lynn Fergusson & Sally Fazal
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Find out more about our work at Social Impact Advisors: https://socialimpactadvisors.ca
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