“I don’t know if I would have been able to get through some of the difficult parts [of my job] without having a creative outlet,” says raine liliefeldt, director of member services and development at YWCA Canada. Coverage: @gordonbowness.bsky.social thephilanthropist.ca/2026/01/crea...

Our most-read story from 2025 was about...conflict-of-interest rules. Aiden Cyr talked to four Indigenous social impact leaders whose insights suggest that the path forward may instead lie in “mutuality of interest.” thephilanthropist.ca/2025/01/when...

“What are we missing by not taking time to be in the space of grieving and acknowledging loss?” thephilanthropist.ca/2025/12/to-g...

Governments change, priorities and policies evolve, and austerity bites. The through line at a recent symposium on local media was the resilience and determination of those fighting to keep their publications afloat. thephilanthropist.ca/2025/12/phil...

@armineyalnizyan.bsky.social shares what Budget 2025 could mean for the non-profit sector. thephilanthropist.ca/2025/12/fede...

“We’re told to be thinking in terms of scarcity, but everyone pays when we choose to divest from communities,” @aline-n-m.bsky.social YWCA Canada says. thephilanthropist.ca/2025/11/stop...

Given the “aging out” of volunteers and the low re-engagement numbers to date, what are these organizations doing to woo volunteers back? Yvonne Rodney reports. @volunteertoronto.bsky.social thephilanthropist.ca/2025/11/agin...

The non-profit sector’s “trilemma” is increasing each year: more demand for charitable services, more financial instability across organizations, and more workforce challenges. Here are the problems and solutions, according to the data. thephilanthropist.ca/2025/11/how-...

Tanya Rumble shares the moment she realized that stories can heal or harm, depending on how we choose to tell them. thephilanthropist.ca/2025/11/when...

À LIRE 🗞 | « Comment décoloniser l'aide internationale et nous assurer de faire partie de la solution plutôt que d'être les gardiens d'un système qui s'effondre ? » Notre DG @beavaugrante.bsky.social en entrevue avec The Philanthropist Journal (en anglais). ➡️ thephilanthropist.ca/2025/10/cana...

“I was by far one of the most experienced fundraisers across the foundation, but that was not reflected in title, and it certainly was not reflected in pay.” Coverage: @sherlynassam.bsky.social Illustration: Stacy Bellanger Bien-Aimé thephilanthropist.ca/2025/11/over...

Thank you @thewalrus.ca for giving @thephilanthropist.ca readers a 50% discount! DM us for the promo code.

Applications for our Early-Career Journalism Fellowship are now open! The fellowship, a joint undertaking with @thephilanthropist.ca, provides one Black and/or Indigenous journalist an opportunity to write about issues that matter to their community and civil society. thelocal.to/early-career...

Vu Le @nonprofitaf.bsky.social has just released his first book: Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy: Unlocking the Full Potential of a Vital and Complex Sector. Interview by Holly Jonas thephilanthropist.ca/2025/10/vu-l...

“Whether your focus is poverty, homelessness, or climate, without journalism those missions are very hard to accomplish,” says Niamh Leonard, executive director of the @euphrosinefdn.bsky.social thephilanthropist.ca/2025/10/inde...

“What the private sector is good at is building lots of things. But it’s not geared towards building affordability because it doesn’t derive a profit.” @thephilanthropist.ca thephilanthropist.ca/2025/09/how-...

Canada is in the throes of a housing crisis. More specifically, an affordable-housing crisis. Coverage by @mtltoula.bsky.social thephilanthropist.ca/2025/09/how-...

🇨🇦 This year, several organizations are raising the alarm on rising rates of poverty in Canada, which affect & are affected by a lack of affordable housing, inadequate social assistance, & food insecurity. Read more about some of the sector’s submissions here ➡️: tinyurl.com/3s8sbrrt

“The level of connection and friendship between community members, staff, and collaborators – it’s different than anything I have ever seen in philanthropy.” Lessons from the Northern Manitoba Food, Culture, and Community Collaborative. @makeway.org thephilanthropist.ca/2025/09/nort...

In the latest Charity Village Connects podcast episode, our Executive Director, Anouk Bertner, discusses recent research that found individuals who work at food banks are experiencing food insecurity themselves. Listen to the full CharityVillage Connects podcast episode! 🎙️ okt.to/Qwo35C

When Ibukun Orefuja created Black Business Edmonton in January 2023, he wasn’t planning to start a movement; he simply wanted to bring Black-owned businesses together. thephilanthropist.ca/2025/08/how-...

Worth reading from our archives!

I had the pleasure of being profiled in @thephilanthropist.ca about my work as an illustrator and anthropologist. These two layers of my practice rarely get to shine under the same roof, so many thanks to @gordonbowness.bsky.social for the generous portrait! thephilanthropist.ca/2025/07/illu...

Last but not least: illustrator and animator Claire Nest for @thephilanthropist.ca . Key takeaway: Trust creatives' expertise. thephilanthropist.ca/2025/08/illu...

Thanks to @thephilanthropist.ca for sharing this oldie - but goody - article on Nourish in their 'From the Archives' section of their e-newsletter. Authors reflect on Nourish's role in systems change - where food and health care intersect. 🍏 thephilanthropist.ca/2021/06/nour... #NourishLeadership

"What this book does make clear is that the status quo of a results-driven orientation that pays lip service to problem analysis is penny wise and pound foolish." Peter Elson reviews @jamesstauch.bsky.social's new book. thephilanthropist.ca/2025/08/the-...

“...I don’t think I realized till later how special it is to be able to work on projects that actually align with your values. Not everybody gets to do that.” New profile of Maïa Faddoul by @gordonbowness.bsky.social thephilanthropist.ca/2025/08/illu...

A delight to work with the folks @thephilanthropist.ca on this series profiling illustrators... something I know a bit about ;-) Kicks off with the unique perspective of illustrator and anthropologist Julien Posture.

35 years ago today, on July 11, 1990, Quebec provincial police officers armed with assault rifles arrived at the barricade erected by Mohawk land defenders. It would be the beginning of the ‘Oka Crisis.’ My interview with Ellen Gabriel for @thephilanthropist.ca thephilanthropist.ca/2025/06/elle...

"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. Read @thephilanthropist.ca‬:

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...

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 nonprofitquarterly.org/in-los-angel... @steve-npq.bsky.social‬

Investing in resilience elsewhere is a strategic way to reinforce it here, @plancanada.bsky.social’s Lindsay Glassco writes. thephilanthropist.ca/2025/06/fore...

“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...

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...

“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

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...

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...

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-...

'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-...

"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

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...

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-...

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...

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...

"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...