The Philanthropist Journal

Foreign aid isn’t optional – it’s infrastructure - The Philanthropist Journal We often frame international aid as charity, a nice-to-have when the books balance, Plan Canada’s Lindsay Glassco writes. But in a deeply connected world, shaped by conflict, climate, and contagion, i...

"This is resilience infrastructure: quiet, load-bearing, and invisible until it fails."

Lindsay Glassco of Plan International Canada on why foreign aid is not an optional "nice-to-have" but a vital investment in our shared well-being in a deeply interconnected world.

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35 years after the so-called 'Oka Crisis,' Kanien'kehá:ka activist hasn't seen much progress from 'Canada' Katsi’tsakwas Ellen Gabriel reflects on the 1990 Mohawk resistance in her recent book 'When the Pine Needles Fall: Indigenous Acts of Resistance'

35 years after the so-called ‘Oka Crisis,’ Kanien’kehá:ka activist hasn’t seen much progress from ‘Canada’
Katsi’tsakwas Ellen Gabriel reflects on the 1990 Mohawk resistance in her recent book ‘When the Pine Needles Fall: Indigenous Acts of Resistance’

indiginews.com/features/kat...

Ratna Omidvar has left the Senate, but she’s not going away - The Philanthropist Journal In conversation with Philanthropist Journal writers Tim Harper and Aiden Cyr, Omidvar discusses her legacy in the upper chamber, a lifetime of advocating for the underdog, and passing the baton to new...

Omidvar may have retired from the Senate at age 75, but she has made it clear her country will continue to hear from her.

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/07/ratn...

In Los Angeles, a Black-Led Community Land Trust Builds for the Future - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly The struggle against gentrification and for community ownership is a difficult one. But in Los Angeles, a Black-led organization remains undaunted in pursuit of its vision.

In Los Angeles, a Black-Led Community Land Trust Builds for the Future nonprofitquarterly.org/in-los-angel... @steve-npq.bsky.social‬

Foreign aid isn’t optional – it’s infrastructure - The Philanthropist Journal We often frame international aid as charity, a nice-to-have when the books balance, Plan Canada’s Lindsay Glassco writes. But in a deeply connected world, shaped by conflict, climate, and contagion, i...

Investing in resilience elsewhere is a strategic way to reinforce it here, @plancanada.bsky.social’s Lindsay Glassco writes.

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/06/fore...

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/06/elle...

Ellen Gabriel: 35 years after the so-called Oka Crisis - The Philanthropist Journal More than three decades after the Mohawk Resistance at Kanesatake, the activist, artist, and filmmaker who was on the front lines doesn’t see much progress in Canada’s treatment of Indigenous Peoples....

“You can fund the language and cultural events, but if you don’t have the land, then your culture is shrinking. It’s the essence of our struggle. The land is everything to me.”

Ellen Gabriel speaks to @mtltoula.bsky.social. Photos: Martin Akwiranoron Loft

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/06/elle...

Ellen Gabriel: 35 years after the so-called Oka crisis - The Philanthropist Journal More than three decades after the Mohawk Resistance at Kanesatake, the activist, artist, and filmmaker who was on the front lines doesn’t see much progress in Canada’s treatment of Indigenous Peoples....

On the eve of the 35th anniversary of the “Oka crisis,” I speak with Ellen Gabriel.
“For many Canadians, that summer was a wake-up call. It put the fight for Indigenous rights front and centre and made people realize colonialism was very real.” thephilanthropist.ca/2025/06/elle...

For Anglican priest and writer Maggie Helwig, her church’s encampment was a ‘site of grace’ - The Philanthropist Journal In her new book, Encampment: Resistance, Grace, and an Unhoused Community, Helwig tells the story of the encampment that formed on the grounds of her Toronto church during the pandemic, and how the ch...

“We’re trying to hold on to islands of humanity.”

Christina Palassio talks to Maggie Helwig about her new book, Encampment.

cc @coachhousebooks.bsky.social

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/06/for-...

Thank you to @thephilanthropist.ca for featuring Space for Grief 💙
Grateful for the spotlight on how public art can hold space for mourning, memory, and healing. #GriefInPublic #ArtAndHealing #SpaceForGrief #placemaking #Toronto

Canada doesn’t need more volunteers – we need more enablers - The Philanthropist Journal If we want volunteering to be a vibrant, inclusive part of Canadian life – and not something that “just happens” – we need to invest in its enablers, Volunteer Toronto’s Cara Eaton writes.

Why do we treat volunteering as something that “just happens”?

Cara Eaton makes the case for volunteer infrastructure.
@volunteertoronto.bsky.social

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/05/cana...

Building collective care and collective power: Lessons learned from anti-violence workers - The Philanthropist Journal Organizations should look to innovative solutions and promising practices in the anti-violence sector to transform workplaces and address labour issues, researcher Krys Maki explains.

Want to transform the workplace?

Organizations should look to innovative solutions and promising practices in the anti-violence sector, researcher Krys Maki explains.

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/05/buil...

cc @imaginecanada.bsky.social @ontrillium.bsky.social @theonn.ca

Can the non-profit sector adopt voluntary standards to improve its data problem? - The Philanthropist Journal Strengthening data literacy, expanding data capacity, and improving data-driven strategies has been a rising priority in the sector. Is the solution in community-led best practices, or does the sector...

Canada’s first data standard for the non-profit and charitable sector was published May 7.

What are data standards and why is this data standard significant? Sherlyn Assam reports.

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/05/can-...

How Black-led community land trusts are connecting Black communities with lost land across Canada - The Philanthropist Journal With their collective ownership model, community land trusts have the opportunity to work with provincial and federal governments to provide affordable housing and community hubs to marginalized commu...

'We believe land holds political and economic power for communities, and that it can also be used as a reparative measure.'

Here's a fantastic deep dive into how Black-led community land trusts are making an impact in Canada and the US.

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/05/how-...

How Black-led community land trusts are connecting Black communities with lost land across Canada - The Philanthropist Journal With their collective ownership model, community land trusts have the opportunity to work with provincial and federal governments to provide affordable housing and community hubs to marginalized commu...

"We believe land holds political and economic power for communities, and that it can also be used as a reparative measure." – Mikeya Griffin, Rondo Community Land Trust

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/05/how-...

#communitylandtrusts #housing

Filling the gap? The pressure on philanthropy in the fragile eldercare system - The Philanthropist Journal Should philanthropy serve as a complement to or a substitute for the state’s obligations to the elderly? Researchers share what they learned from the role of philanthropy in Quebec’s eldercare system ...

Researchers share what they learned from the role of philanthropy in Quebec’s eldercare system during the COVID-19 pandemic.

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/04/fill...

‘Buy Canadian’ signals that an alternative economy is possible – but we need to nourish it - The Philanthropist Journal The seed for a more self-sufficient and resilient economy, one not focused on extraction and exploitation, lies in community wealth building – and non-profits are on the front lines leading the way.

Regardless of what happens with the US tariffs, a seismic shift is already happening. Governments and the public are realizing that Canada needs to build a more self-sufficient and resilient economy.

New op-ed by Candice Zhang at @theonn.ca

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/04/buy-...

When the expert is your cousin: Indigenous alternatives to ‘distrust by default’ conflict-of-interest rules - The Philanthropist Journal COI policies have contributed to a working culture that’s antithetical to Indigenous ways of working, Aiden Cyr writes. He talks to four Indigenous social impact leaders whose insights suggest that th...

What about a Mutuality of Interest? When COI policies meant to guide ethical decision-making instead contribute to a distrust-by-default working culture that’s antithetical to Indigenous ways of working, relationship based approaches & relational accountability.
thephilanthropist.ca/2025/01/when...

Canada’s charities: Essential to community, democracy, and economic prosperity - The Philanthropist Journal In the waning days of the election campaign, ask candidates how they will protect non-profits’ ability to meet the needs of Canadians with impactful services and to speak out on important issues.

New op-ed from Bruce MacDonald, @imaginecanada.bsky.social and Jean-Marc Mangin at Philanthropic Foundations Canada say we are witnessing a greater politicization of charities and need to protect their services and voice.

#election2025 #cdnpoli #elxn45

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/04/cana...

Building communities where youth can step into the spaces where they belong - The Philanthropist Journal The Kickback Foundation’s vision is to create worlds and opportunities where kids have the space and support they need to explore their own journeys and define themselves – using sneakers as a magnet.

"Shoes brought us here, and we as a collective are ready to leave footprints that shake up the world for generations."
-Delsin Holder

New story about The Kickback Foundation by Christina Palassio

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/04/buil...

In an election like no other, an anxious non-profit sector meets its own ‘elbows up’ moment - The Philanthropist Journal With a looming recession and increased attacks on civil society, Canadian sector leaders report that there is a resolve – a sense that if a fight is ahead, it is a fight worth having.

As election day approaches, Canada’s non-profit sector is feeling anxious and vulnerable. Despite all this, sector leaders report that there is also a resolve, a sense that if a fight is ahead, it is a fight worth having.

Tim Harper reports.

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/04/in-a...

A good article about communicating a beautiful future instead of uninspiring moaning about what doesn't work. I will practice the Call in - Call out - Call in method thephilanthropist.ca/2023/07/conv...

Chantelle Ohrling is speaking at the @cagp-acpdp.bsky.social conference this week!

Narrowing the racial wealth gap: Planned giving as a tool for economic justice - The Philanthropist Journal Estate planning remains an overlooked tool for closing the racial wealth gap. By fostering accessibility and trust, planned-giving professionals can contribute to economic justice while strengthening ...

The largest intergenerational wealth transfer in history is happening. If racialized communities aren't able to participate in it, the racial wealth gap will widen.

Chantelle Ohrling says estate planning remains an overlooked tool for closing the gap.

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/04/narr...

Gift planning: Not just for wealthy grandparents - The Philanthropist Journal Billions of dollars flow from Canadians to charities through their wills. Now, gift planners say charities need to be thinking a lot more about it as a fundraising strategy – across all demographics.

"How do we shift from a culture where the goal is to maximize individual financial wealth to a culture where the goal is collective holistic well-being?”

Forward Global President Lisa Wolverton spoke with @thephilanthropist.ca about our Community's transformative approach to giving.

Gift planning: Not just for wealthy grandparents - The Philanthropist Journal Billions of dollars flow from Canadians to charities through their wills. Now, gift planners say charities need to be thinking a lot more about it as a fundraising strategy – across all demographics.

“This is really a key moment. If there are charities out there that are not thinking about planned giving, they should be – at any size of organization” says @allendavidov.bsky.social

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/03/gift...

How the ‘localness’ of local news strengthens communities - The Philanthropist Journal Local, independent news publishers across Canada are fighting to build trust, promote dialogue, and foster engaged, informed communities on shoestring budgets.

"Journalists, keen to tell other people’s stories, don’t tell their own very well. Let’s start with ditching the “journalism is dying” narrative, Sobowale says." thephilanthropist.ca/2025/03/how-...

Good transit is essential to good cities – we need more people speaking up for it - The Philanthropist Journal Public transport is an essential service that promotes equity and health and reduces pollution. Non-profits can help mobilize riders and fund research and advocacy to support meaningful change.

“There’s no way we can build our way out of congestion,” Michael Janz, an Edmonton city councillor says. “The only lasting investments that work is providing a quality alternative, and that’s public transit, the humble bus, and a functional LRT system.”
thephilanthropist.ca/2025/03/good...

"Good transit is essential to good cities – we need more people speaking up for it"

The Philanthropist Journal has published a great article highlighting several remarkable non-profits across Canada that are mobilizing transit riders, including us!

thephilanthropist.ca...