Hurdles, Opportunities and Systemic Change in These Times, with Neil Hetherington, CEO, Daily Bread Food Bank
Hear in this episode how COVID-19 has put hurdles in the path of front-line operations like Daily Bread Food Bank, and how they've knocked them down, one by one, becoming a stronger organization as a result. Neil Hetherington, CEO of Daily Bread Food Bank, shares with us their unyielding focus on continuing to meet their food delivery commitments despite the operational challenges and spike in demand due to the pandemic. We also hear about the improvements this means go forward for Daily Bread as they look to leverage what they've achieved during the pandemic. They've discovered operational [...]
Bringing indigenous ways to a science-based culture: Hannah Askew of Sierra Club BC
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 a Theory of Change (see the podcast resources), [...]
Impact and Strategic Clarity Community of Practice: Notes from the Field
This article is one of an occasional series from the Innoweave Impact and Strategic Clarity coaches’ Community of Practice. As we work with nonprofit and social purpose organizations across the country, we are learning more about what is changing, what is staying the same, and new ideas about building back better. The COVID emergency has brought issues of inequality, precarity, and systemic racism into sharper relief. It has also highlighted structural problems in the vital nonprofit sector that are exacerbated by a lack of financial reserves and capital investment. The speed with which our governments and other funders have [...]
On the COVID and Poverty Front Line- meeting the emergency and adapting to the new world with Shawn Bayes of Elizabeth Fry
In some of our recent episodes we have been speaking with leaders in the nonprofit and social benefit sectors about the changes and opportunities they anticipate at a system level as we adapt to the new COVID situation in Canada. Today, we are talking about the front line: what the Elizabeth Fry Society of Greater Vancouver did when the emergency started, how reaffirming their values and principles helped them make decisions, and what they have learned about the scope, influence and interdependence of their work with other nonprofits and the broader society. Elizabeth Fry supports some of [...]
Reflect, Reimagine, Rebuild Webinar
The J.W. McConnell Leading Through Crisis stream has supported community organizations with new coaching opportunities, mentorship, and resources throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Join SIA’s co-founding partner Lynn Ferguson to learn more about why reflection and reimagining are valuable steps. This crisis is ongoing, and we don't yet know what is to come next. We recognize that organizations find themselves in changing circumstances as it evolves, and Innoweave would like to be there with continued support. As some of you gain the time and capacity to think strategically about the future, you have an opportunity to explore how your work [...]
Bold new leadership supporting the National Housing Strategy, with Julia Deans, Habitat for Humanity Canada President & CEO
Julia shares her insights three months into her role as President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity Canada. She shares her thoughts about priorities for the organization and how they make a bigger impact particularly given COVID-19 and the impact it has had on them, as a retail organization, construction organization, community developer, while counting on volunteer engagement, corporate and government support - all facets that are affected by the crisis. Yet she thinks it's time to be collaborating and making a bold contribution towards the National Housing Strategy; and not just addressing housing issues but also [...]