Sessions and Workshops

Plenary

Day one opening plenary: Dreaming what’s possible for nonprofits

ONN’s analysis of our 2023 sector survey concluded that if nothing changes by 2026, current trends will reach devastating levels. Despite facing complex, cross-cutting issues such as unprecedented demand for services, downward financial spirals, and staffing challenges, nonprofits continue to bring immense value to their communities all over Ontario. Dreaming is a critical component of changing systems and guiding us, nonprofits, towards the future we envision for ourselves. A dynamic keynote and diverse sector voices will kick off Nonprofit Driven 2024 and help us dream about the future together.

Day two opening plenary: Exercising our agency to shape the future

Transformative change for a thriving future requires nonprofits to translate our dreams into action. How can nonprofits harness the dreams and visions we hold, and take an active role in realizing them? This keynote and panel will explore the tangible ways to shift systems and make change happen, grappling with questions including: How do we reimagine leadership and work together across movements? How can resources and policy be created to meet the current needs of the sector? 

Sessions

Is it time for nonprofits to embrace artificial intelligence (AI)?

Before any nonprofit says yes or no to AI, there are many different angles to consider. In this session, six speakers will present their unique perspectives on AI, and provide the audience with some food for thought. From AI governance to resources for nonprofits, manifesto’s to ethics, the presenters – including nonprofit leaders – will cover a wide range of topics. The future of technology does not lie in our hands, but how our sector embraces it to support and protect communities does. Let’s shape that future together.

Advancing economic justice and building solidarity economies

What would a nonprofit sector that pursued economic justice look like? As a sector, nonprofits have a responsibility to create a more equitable, inclusive, and caring economy that centers anti-racism and reconciliation. In this session, a panel of speakers will discuss tangible ways to advance economic justice, from social finance and impact investment, to collective ownership and community benefits. Together, let’s create a future where the economic system serves everyone and puts people, place and planet above the extraction of profit. 

Untangling what it means to lead and connect intergenerationally

As a generation of nonprofit leaders begins to leave the sector, a new generation has the opportunity to learn and grow from their stories. Join this session to share space with a group of sector leaders as they discuss what it means to guide and connect across generations within the sector’s ever evolving landscape.

Effectively activating advocacy that meets this moment

The future of our sector, and the communities we serve requires thoughtful and strategic advocacy. Not engaging in advocacy work is no longer an option. It is clear that our traditional methods of advocacy, developing a policy analysis and recommending policy changes, are not enough. With the upcoming provincial election in 2026 fast approaching, let’s come together to figure out how to activate advocacy in our sector, in a way that meets this moment. In this session we’ll showcase successful examples from the sector, discuss what’s getting in the way of advocacy, and what is needed to overcome the barriers.

Visioning a new path forward for our sector’s labour force

Nonprofits have been ringing the alarm on the HR crisis for many years. ONN has been working to understand the sector’s recruitment and retention challenges, and opportunities for change. Join us to learn more about ONN’s new labour force work project findings in areas of career development, recruitment, retention, and wellbeing in the sector. We will spend most of our time having critical discussions on present day challenges, and visioning the systemic changes needed to build a thriving nonprofit labour force.

Workshops

Becoming Kin: Defining social justice on stolen land

Many settler-led nonprofits are trying to figure out how to move beyond land acknowledgements, be in better relations with Indigenous Peoples, and support the advancement of reconciliation. But is justice possible on stolen land? Through this interactive workshop, we will try to contend with questions like, Do our actions have the consent of the land upon which we work? Do they have the consent of the people of that land? How do we establish these relations, knowing that consent is ongoing and not a checkbox? This workshop will be led by Patty Krawec, an Anishinaabe/Ukrainian writer and speaker belonging to Lac Seul First Nation in Treaty 3 territory, residing in Niagara Falls.

The lease is up! Now what?

For many nonprofits, occupancy costs can be some of the largest operating expenditures. Skyrocketing rental prices and rapid gentrification have made it increasingly difficult for community organizations to find stable, affordable, accessible and available spaces. Join this workshop to learn about the various ways nonprofits can create, and utilize multi-purpose spaces to thrive. This workshop will explore questions such as: how can our sector rethink land ownership through power building and place-making? How can organizations leverage innovative investment tools to purchase their own space? 

Building a collective narrative for Ontario’s nonprofit sector

What does the “nonprofit difference” mean to you? Join this workshop to explore nonprofit campaigning, and learn more about the importance of running campaigns to build public awareness, and advance advocacy. The session provides space and opportunity to dream, and share ideas about how the nonprofit sector can create a narrative about our sector that truly reflects our work and collective impact.

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