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Feb 2019Strengthening democracy requires building community: A taste of Democracy XChange 2019
By: Teshini Harrison On a cold January afternoon, a group of us young and old followed Chef Ashrafi down the hall of Toronto’s Regent Park Community Food Centre, where we were instructed to grab an apron, a hair net and wash our hands before being put to work in the kitchen. This was how my experience of the Democracy XChange 2019 (DXC19) began. Founded by...
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Jan 2019Network Weaving 101: You’re already doing it
Network Weaving 101: You’re already doing it By: John Saunders Nonprofits survive (and thrive) through their networks. They collaborate to share resources, build capacity, and develop solutions – often for sector-wide challenges. Engaged effectively, networks often amount to more than the sum of their individual members. Network members contribute toward addressing a shared problem or opportunity that involves more than their own selves or organization....
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Jan 2019Leveraging the Power of Networks
Leveraging the Power of Networks By: Lisa Watson If you’re like most nonprofit leaders, you’re devoting significant effort to your networks. But how intentional are you about making your networks effective and impactful? I recently spoke with 500+ nonprofit leaders at Nonprofit Driven 2018 about the power and potential of networks, including the Ontario Nonprofit Network. Participants milled about the huge ballroom connecting with colleagues...
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Dec 2018Decent work means decent work for women
You can’t build a decent work movement in the nonprofit sector without women By: Pamela Uppal and Randall Terada, Decent Work Team, Ontario Nonprofit Network Shining a GBA+ light on decent work The fact that we have a highly feminized workforce changes the way in which we are building a decent work movement in the nonprofit sector. Women workers are not a separate group...
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Nov 2018Federal Fall Economic Statement
By Liz Sutherland With a charities advisory committee, nonprofit journalism, and a “social finance” fund, the federal Fall Economic Statement says ‘an election is coming’ Last week, federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau unleashed some pre-election largesse in the form of the Fall Economic Statement. Most of it — $14.4 billion in foregone tax revenue over five years — was showered on the for-profit sector but...
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Oct 2018Employment Standards Matter
By Cathy Taylor With the recent introduction of Bill 47, there has been much talk about employment standards. This current debate on employment standards pits employers against employees. But we know in our years of work on labour force issues and decent work that we are all in this together. There is no “us” and “them”. A decent work environment improves employees’ work lives, employment...
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Sep 2018How we developed a pension plan tailor-made for the nonprofit sector
By Michael Kainer Let me start with an ending: I am pleased to share that ONN’s pensions implementation task force – created in 2017 to implement the first pensions task force’s recommendations – has brought its work to a close. Our main proposal is that ONN recommend OPTrust Select as the pension plan for the sector. And the ONN Board has accepted that recommendation. It’s...
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Sep 2018Let’s Talk About Learning Before We Talk About Measurement
By Andrew Taylor and Ben Liadsky Andrew and Ben are working with the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund on a project to explore what it means for nonprofits and funders to have strong learning cultures and how, together, nonprofits and funders can have a relationship more focused around shared learning. Imagine a grantmaker that has very clear investment priorities. Perhaps, for example, their focus is on helping...
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Aug 2018How I spent my summer vacation
By Benjamin Miller The Ontario Nonprofit Network has been studying the way the government funds nonprofits through transfer payments for many years. I was brought on this summer as a research fellow to take a fresh look at these relationships. I started by reading through Ontario’s core policy statements like the Transfer Payment Accountability Directive and the Transfer Payment Operational Policy Agreement, and the government’s...
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Jul 2018I am Charity, Hear Me Roar
Court recognizes charities’ unlimited right to nonpartisan political advocacy for charitable purposes By Benjamin Miller Two years ago, Canada Without Poverty (CWP), an Ontario anti-poverty charity that advocates for policy change, took the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to court for limiting its constitutional right to political speech. This week, the Superior Court of Ontario said CWP was absolutely right. The court struck down CRA’s 10%...
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