Making Diversity, Equity and Inclusion a priority
The past two years – 2021 and 2020 – were the years of challenges that had a profound impact on who we are and how we work and live. It goes without saying that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought tremendous change and upheaval to all of our lives. But another major change that emerged last year has been the increasing push to prioritize Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace.
Diversity, equity and inclusion are at the core of Capacity Canada’s work. And our research has shown that non-profit boards still have a long way to go in achieving diversity.
Through our Board Governance BootCamp and webinars, the past year gave us the opportunity to help other organizations and workplaces understand the importance of DEI in the workplace.
- Broken Promises: A Struggle For A Diverse and Equitable World
- A Long Way To A Diverse and Equitable Board
- The Value of Diversity is Higher Than the Cost to Achieve It
- Transforming Governance: Preparing Your Board for Diversity
Read more about our ongoing work in DEI on our website.
Why climate change is a governance issue for the NFP sector
Last month, the federal government released the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) under the Canadian Net Zero Emissions Accountability Act detailing actions and pathways to reduce Canada’s emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030. Thi
s ERP is only the first of many we can expect to see on the long journey to achieve a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. Per the backgrounder, this is to be an economy-wide effort and “one of the most important undertakings in Canada’s history”.
The Not-For-Profit (NFP) sector is referenced only in passing in the report (not surprisingly given its relatively low emissions footprint). However, it begs the question – what can and should the NFP sector be doing to play its part in a whole-of-society response to the climate emergency?
Our Executive-in-Residence, Martha Hancock, has 
worked in environmental sustainability in corporate and not-for-profit contexts for over ten years. Martha explores the NFP sector’s role in tackling the climate crisis in this article.
Read what she has to say on our website.
Resiliency Project aims to build a stronger social good sector
The charitable sector has taken a significant hit throughout the pandemic. As we looked to the future, Capacity Canada and United Way 
Waterloo Region Communities (UWWRC) came together wanting to build a stronger and more resilient social good sector. And the idea of The Resiliency Project was conceptualized.
The purpose was to help understand the unique issues and needs within the charitable sector locally. Especially as we look with hope toward rebuilding and recovery from the pandemic. With one-on-one semi-structured interviews, we gained perspective on:
Following the collection and dissemination of outputs from the interviews, a discussion paper was prepared to further the conversation, titled The Resiliency Project.
Capacity Canada and UWWRC wish to use the outputs from this joint study to prioritize ideas and map out themes. We want to converge on ideas about actionable next steps for non-profit organizations, funders, foundations, and community leaders can best serve the non-profit sector as we emerge from the pandemic.
Friends Of Ruby: Changing the lives of LGBTQI2S youth
Research shows that transgender youth are often alienated from their family of origin, relying on local services, including affirming organizations and peers, for 
survival. Friends of Ruby, a non-profit organization based in Toronto, is dedicated to LGBTQI2S youth between the ages of 16 and 29 and provides mental health services, social services, and housing.
Every youth deserves a safe space, secure housing, and access to sustainable mental health and social services. Having realized that there was an urgent
need to develop better engagement with the mental health journey of youth and increase mental health services and integration from intake to discharge, Friends of Ruby applied to Capacity Canada’s Capacity By Design program.
As part of the program, two prototypes were developed. One in the form of a digital app focused on peer connection for youth and a board game focused on opportunities for youth to interact with the organization.
Read more about the prototypes created on our website.
Women’s Leadership Project to address systemic barriers
Capacity Canada launched a new project: Women’s Leadership Co-Creation Studio: Advancing Equitable Nonprofit Sector Change. The 15-month project will support a feminist response and recovery from the current impacts of COVID-19 through systemic change. Capacity Canada will achieve this by addressing systemic barriers to women’s underrepresented participation within both services’ delivery leadership and governance roles of non-profit organizations.
At the end of the project, Capacity Canada will have contributed to addressing systemic barriers by advancing inclusive policies and practices, encouraging more equitable and effective sharing of resources, increasing networks and collaboration to accelerate systemic change, supporting positive distribution of authority, voices, and decision-making power, and finally addressing persistent harmful gender norms and attitudes to support women’s equality.
Read more about the project on our website.
Rainbow Diversity Training for all Team Members
Diversity is essential but is equally important to ensure it does not become mere tokeni
sm. To ensure an inclusive and diverse culture, training is crucial. We understand that good training provides a base level of knowledge. Keeping this in mind, Capacity Canada, in partnership with SPECTRUM, organized a Rainbow Diversity Training for all of its staff members in the last week of March.
A team from SPECTRUM, an organization that serves, affirms, and supports the well-being of 2SLGBTQ+ people in the Waterloo Region and the broader community, walked the Capacity Canada team through the training.
SPECTRUM’s Rainbow Diversity Training is a service that helps organizations along the path toward becoming more open and welcoming and equitable, and accessible to persons of all sexual and gender diversities, both to clients and employees of the organization.
Read more about the training on our website.
Rethinking problem-solving through design
Every year, Capacity Canada invites applications from social good organizations across the country that want to benefit from its Capacity By Design program. With the support from the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation, and Suncor Energy Foundation, Capacity Canada has developed Capacity by Design, a design thinking program to help social good organizations rethink how they approach problem-solving to develop innovative solutions to complex challenges.
This year, the project received more than a dozen enquiries and indications of interest. After careful consideration, three non-profits were selected. The Wilmot Family Resource Centre (WFRC), Muslim Association of Canada (MAC), and Friends Of Ruby were the social good organizations selected this year.
Read about the prototypes created by each organization here.
Creative Day for Social Good – Designing for social impact
For any non-profit organization, marketing and communication tools are an integral part of creating an 
appropriate image. It is how non-profits stay connected and create new ways to make the world around us better and more meaningful.
Every year, Capacity Canada selects 10-20 charitable non-profit organizations from across the country to be part of Creative Day for Social Good (CD4SG). Around 100 students pursuing Public Relations and Graphic Design from Conestoga College team up with industry professionals to create free-of-cost marketing tools for the participating charitable non-profits.
The annual event is an excellent opportunity for organizations with small to no marketing budgets to receive valuable design and marketing tools for no cost. It has made it possible for charitable non-profits to access professional resources to build their brand and have a more significant social impact.
Read more on our website.
Conestoga students helping non-profits change the world
Real-life experience and a professional portfolio is every student’s dream. However, not many can boast 
of a good portfolio as soon as they graduate. Together, Capacity Canada and Conestoga College ensure students are ready to take on the world with real-life experience, good connections, and a professional portfolio while helping social good organizations.
The Creative Semester for Social Good, part of the Public Relations Consulting Course, is offered to third-year students pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Public Relations at Conestoga College.
Through the Creative Semester for Social Good, the students have assisted 22 non-profit organizations with communications material and fundraising.
Read the complete story here.
Capacity Canada Moved To New Location!
2021 was the year of significant changes and surprises! Capacity Canada relocated to the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) Campus, 67 Erb Street West in Waterloo, Ontario, on September 16. The 
new location has provided us with more space and has helped us foster new partnerships in the community we serve.
Founded in 2009, Capacity Canada had been based at the Accelerator Centre at 295 Hagey Boulevard in Waterloo since 2010. The move to a different location marked the beginning of a new chapter and highlights Capacity Canada’s ever-evolving partnerships in the region and across Canada.
Learn more about our new office here.
New Module Added to Modern Board’s Advanced Board Governance Course
The reality of working in the social sector is that a positive change in society cannot rely solely on philanthropic and government grants to tackle today’s challenges. The Modern Board curriculum developers took this reality seriously, and as a result, Capacity Canada added a new module to its Advanced Board Governance Course.
‘Impact Investment’ is an innovation in funding emerging in Canada that may hold the key to a non-profit organization’s ability to scale up. This module’s development was initiated and sponsored by Kitchener-Waterloo Community Foundation. The three-video content presentations include KWCF’s very own Tim Jackson in his role as a Board Member and the Chair of their Investment Committee and John Neufeld, Executive Director of House of Friendship, a recipient of an Impact Investment.
Learn more about our Modern Board program on our website.
New members joined Capacity Canada’s Team!
Capacity Canada welcomed four new members to its family – Randa MacNaughton, Hannah Van Hofwegen, Martha Hancock, and Kazi Mitul Mahmud. Check out all of our team members here.
Randa, an experienced leadership and organizational culture professional, joined as the Executive-in-Residence and will be supporting our MatchBoard team.
Randa is currently a board member with United Way Guelph Wellington Dufferin and is a partner at GR Leadership, Coaching and Business Consulting and previously held the role of Assistant VP of Leadership Strategy & Design at Manulife Financial. Randa is a past volunteer with Brant United Way and was a founding committee member of the Brant Sexual Assault Centre
Hannah, a recent graduate from the University of Ottawa, came on board as a Project Assistant. Hannah is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Carleton University.
Martha is an experienced leader in corporate social responsibility, brand marketing, philanthropy, and environmental sustainability, Martha joined Capacity Canada as an Executive-in-Residence and will be working with the MatchBoard and Modern Board program.
An experienced leader in corporate social responsibility, brand marketing, philanthropy, and environmental sustainability, Martha has joined Capacity Canada as an Executive-in-Residence and will be working with the MatchBoard and Modern Board programs.
Mitul is joining us as the Project Coordination and Communication Lead for our new project – Makeover: Women’s Leadership Co-Creation Studio: Advancing Equitable Nonprofit Sector Change. A firm believer in social justice, Mitul has worked in the non-profit sector for eight years. Fighting for gender equality is at the core of her professional and personal life.
A Full Circle!
This month’s special edition newsletter also marks the one-year anniversary of the Capacity Canada Communique. Capacity Canada launched its first newsletter in May last year. From the different programs we offer to our webinars and workshops, our newsletter is the one-stop-shop for all that’s new at Capacity Canada.
To read our previous newsletter editions, please visit our website.
You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter here.
Support Capacity Canada
Each year, we help non-profits from all across Canada with Board Governance training. We are always grateful for our non-profit partners, community leaders, and their support, and even more so now with the ongoing pandemic. Your financial support will help Capacity Canada bring together the ideas, people, and resources that fuel social innovation.
