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Exploring Beliefs, Listening for Change

Research, even in a community-based context, is often associated with providing evidence and providing some degree of certainty. Can we prove that poverty is increasing? Can we show that our organization’s efforts are making a difference (and thus we deserve more funding)? There are other aspects of research that get less attention but are equally […]

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News – Chats, Culture, and Change!

Welcome to a new month! Prepare yourself to hear (and perhaps initiate yourself) random small talk around the office of “Wow, can you believe it’s March already?”. Lots happening this month, so on to the content! Events A new month of course means another #SKNPChat – this month, hosted by yours truly on the topic […]

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(Re) Visiting

There’s a lot you can learn when traveling, even (especially?) when you’re going to a place that’s familiar. Earlier this month I made the trek to Winnipeg, the city where I spent the first eighteen years of my life. Although in recent years I make it back on average a couple times a year, I […]

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Borrowed Terms

Pop quiz: What is the basic aim of any non-profit organziation? (or for-impact, a term I’m growing attached to more and more) Use force or the capacity for force to protect one's nation-state and secure its international policy aims Generate financial profit for the organization's owners / stakeholders Create positive change in our communities The […]

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News – Flurry of Events and Road Trip!

As far as I know, Saskatchewan does not have a resident gopher to prognosticate on our weather chances. We’re pretty sure that, flirtations with spring-like weather a few weeks ago aside, winter won’t be leaving any time soon – it’s -23 as I write this, with the windchill making it feel like -32! Fortunately, the […]

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Meeting with Purpose

Annual General Meetings (AGM’s) are a staple of the nonprofit world, even if they tend to be somewhat dry affairs – and I’m being charitable in that description! Once a year we come together, shuffle our way through reports, endure calls for more dollars, volunteers, and board members, pass motions, quibble over figures in the […]

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News: Funds, Retreats, Conversations, and Growth!

It’s mid-January, and while we’ve hit a warm patch (at least by Saskatoon standards), it’s still a blah time of year. This month’s update looks at funding for nonprofits in Saskatoon, an awesome social innovation residency, and some great local events to encourage you to get out of any midwinter ruts! (Note: This post will […]

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The City and The Non-Profit

The city shapes us & we shape the city. The line above adorns the new coffee mugs at The Two Twenty, reflecting both the coworking space’s openness to a range of people and organizations, and its influence on the surrounding neighbourhood of Riversdale and the city of Saskatoon as a whole. Whether those mutual influences […]

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What’s Your Impact?

How do you kill a nonprofit? According to Mark Hager and Elizabeth Searing over at Nonprofit Quarterly, there are at least ten pitfalls to avoid, including accumulation of debt, trashing your reputation, and the perennial favourite of mission drift. Given my work in evaluation, the one that really interests me is saved for last, labelled […]

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A 2015 Goal

For many of us, today marks the end of the holiday season and the return to work life. As I tweeted last night, I’m glad to be back in the saddle: perhaps, as Sheila Robinson suggests, I’m a bit odd for that, but I should take it as a good sign that I like my […]