June 2022 Edition

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Board Governance BootCamp: Save the Date!

Our three-day annual Board Governance BootCamp is back in-person and will be held from December 5-7 this year at the Bingemans Conference Centre. The Delta Hotel Waterloo will be offering special rates for out-of-town registrants. Flair Airlines and WestJet have direct flights to Waterloo Regional Airport from many cities across Canada. We are also planning to offer both an Essentials stream and an Advanced stream at this year’s BootCamp. You will not want to miss this opportunity!

Our BootCamp prepares participants with a plan to improve the governance of their organization by leading organizational change. A follow-up session provides the opportunity for sharing and celebrating progress towards your organizational change.

Last year, our BootCamp focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. 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. The event covered anti-Indigenous racism, anti-Black racism, and Islamophobia. Sessions focused on creating an equitable board by countering barriers to diversity and inclusion. Panel discussions also included perspectives from Black and Muslim corporate leaders on organizational leadership.

Updated information about BootCamp will be available soon on our website.

Collaboration Celebration between Capacity Canada and the CEO of the Sixties Scoop Healing Foundation 

On June 13, Capacity Canada celebrated the graduation of Dr. Jacqueline Marie Maurice from Capacity Canada’s CEO Development Program. This was our first in-person event, and it was hosted at our new office at the Centre for International Governance Innovation.

The event was a celebration of Indigenous thanksgiving and included a Talking Stick Dressing Workshop under the talented leadership of Jackie Labonte and Oliver Nobosin. The workshop offered participants cultural awareness and a chance to build new relationships.

 

 

 

Capacity Canada welcomes New Board Members! 

Capacity Canada is honoured to welcome its two new board members this year – Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux and Raksha M. Bhayana.  Check out all of our board members here.

Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux served as Vice Provost for Indigenous Initiatives at Lakehead University for three years. Effective September 2016, she was appointed as the first Indigenous Chair for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada for Lakehead University and continues to develop pathways forward to reconciliation across Canada.

 

 

 

Raksha M. Bhayana is currently CEO of the Bhayana Family Foundation and Principal, Bhayana Management, focused on managing investment portfolios. Raksha and the Bhayana Family Foundation have led successful advocacy campaigns leading to the creation of a Day/Week of Recognition for the non-profit Sector in Nova Scotia and Ontario. Efforts are underway in Alberta to similarly recognize its non-profit Sector and its economic and social contributions.

 

 

New EIRs join Capacity Canada’s Team!

Andrew Jardine, corporate secretary of the board of directors of King’s University College in London, Ontario and Paul Wilton, a PhD student studying higher education at the University of Toronto, have joined the Capacity Canada team as Executives-In-Residence. Learn More about our team members here.

Andrew has his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the Lazaridis School of Business and Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University. He is a chartered director (C. Dir) through the Director’s College at McMaster University. He is also the co-founder and co-host of the popular governance podcast The Governance Guys and serves as the vice-chair of the Leads Employment Services Board.

 

 

 

Paul has served on several local and national boards, including as president of the Canadian Hemophilia Society, president of Hemophilia Ontario, vice-chair of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders, secretary of the Urban League of London, and as a director at King’s University College. Paul co-hosts the podcast, The Governance Guys.

 

A series of three webinars will be offered by Andrew Jardine and Paul Wilton. More information and dates will be released shortly. The webinars will explore:

  • High-Performance meeting habits for new Directors
  • Running Effective Meetings
  • Strategic Succession Planning

 

Register Now: Emerging Governance Trends Webinar Series  

If you haven’t yet registered for Capacity Canada’s new webinar series, now is the time! The Emerging Governance Trends Webinar Series 2022 will prepare you and your board for success. Tailored to prospective, new, and experienced non-profit board members, executive directors, CEOs, and corporate partners, Capacity Canada’s 90-minute workshops on post-pandemic governance trends and strategies are an ideal way for you to meet your professional development goal. The last two webinars are:

Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion – Making It Happen (Part 2): September 22, 2022, 6:00 – 7:30 pm, presented by Sandra Hanmer.

 

 

Building a High-Performing Board – Board Recruitment and Retention: November 10, 2022, 6:00 – 7:30 pm, presented by Marion Thomson-Howell.

CD4SG 2022 Applications are now open

Capacity Canada is accepting applications for one of its most popular programs – Creative Day For Social Good (CD4SG). Capacity Canada, in partnership with Intertek Catalyst, Conestoga College, HIM&HER, and the creative community, donates design and marketing tools to non-profit organizations across Canada through this yearly event.

As last year, all sessions will be held virtually. CD4SG will bring together teams of art directors, writers, account managers, and other creative professionals who will donate their time to guide talented graphic design and public relations students from Conestoga College.

Last year, the event received more than 100 applications, for ten spots, from non-profits across Canada. Teams of participating students and industry professionals successfully created more than $100,000 worth of pro-bono work to assist selected organizations in furthering their social impact.

To apply, please visit https://capacitycanada.ca/creativeday/.

For more information, visit our website.

Design Thinking Course: Congratulations to our new graduates!

Thanks to the support and partnership with Suncor Energy Foundation, nine students have graduated from Capacity Canada’s Fundamentals of Design Thinking course. The students completed the course over the past ten weeks. While design thinking is not a new methodology, it is constantly evolving: tools and techniques are being added, refined, and adapted to meet new challenges and work styles. Students in this course learn:

  • Design with a human-centered approach
  • Problem framing & our design challenge
  • Design challenge needs & insights
  • Redefining our problem: HMW
  • Ideation
  • Prototyping
  • Testing prototyping


Congratulations to Ariana Gomes, Devi Cinthuja Leon, Nicholas Collinet, Lucy Borges, Katherine Loveys, Pat Duong, Stephanie Gaultier, and Alison Beveridge for completing the Fundamentals of Design Thinking.

 

 

 

Happy Retirement, Moira! 

Moira has been with Capacity Canada for 12 years. It’s been 50 years since Moira arrived in Canada, and she has dedicated her life to the non-profit sector. Moira has made a tremendous impact on our community through her work at Capacity Canada and in the non-profit sector.

Over the years, you have been a cornerstone in building the credibility of Capacity Canada. As a result of your commitment to community service, hundreds of corporate employees now serve on community boards. Your governance coaching and board matching have established the framework for so much ongoing social good.

Moira, it won’t be the same without you at Capacity Canada. As you return to the UK, we look forward to seeing where life takes you and Roger.

Enjoy your retirement!
From all of us at Capacity Canada

 

 

 

Women’s Leadership Project: Take Our Survey!

 

Capacity Canada launched its new project this year, Women’s Leadership Co-Creation Studio: Advancing Equitable Nonprofit Sector Change, funded by the federal government through Women and Gender Equality. The project is focused on identifying local barriers limiting women, trans and non-binary people from stepping into non-profit leadership roles and, by engaging a broad spectrum of underrepresented stakeholders, co-creating solutions and tools for systemic change.

Capacity Canada is conducting an environmental scan to gather information about the perception and existence of systemic barriers within the not-for-profit sector. We are capturing the views of board members, senior leadership, staff, and community members through a survey.

We urge you to take the survey and share it within your organization and your professional networks to help Capacity Canada raise awareness of this crucial issue and catalyze change. If you want to learn more about the project, please visit our website.

You can take the survey here.

 

Applications are now open for the 2022 Impactful Actions Award 

The annual Impactful Actions Award is presented each year by Profound Impact Corporation and it recognizes individuals making a profound impact on the global community by inspiring collaborative solutions to difficult problems.

Nominations for the award close on July 20. The winner will be announced on September 14, Profound Impact Day, which is a celebration of the world’s diverse leaders and changemakers who are leaving their mark on the global community through their initiatives, influence, and impact. To learn more about the award and access the nomination form, please visit the Profound Impact website.

 

 

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, and 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. To donate, visit our website.