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The Philanthropist Journal
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News and analysis by and for the non-profit sector in Canada.

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The Philanthropist Journal @thephilanthropist.ca · 7d
This year, for The Philanthropist Journal’s annual look ahead at the coming year, we flipped the script.

thephilanthropist.ca/2026/01/what...
What does a ‘trilemma’ mean for the sector in 2026? We turned the tables and asked journalists to weigh in - The Philanthropist Journal
We asked journalists who cover the sector to share what they’ve been hearing and thinking about the challenges facing the charitable and philanthropic sector in 2026.
thephilanthropist.ca
Reposted by The Philanthropist Journal
mtltoula.bsky.social
Happy to contribute to this important conversation in @thephilanthropist.ca
bhttps://thephilanthropist.ca/2026/01/what-does-a-trilemma-mean-for-the-sector-in-2026-we-turned-the-tables-and-asked-journalists-to-weigh-in/
What does a ‘trilemma’ mean for the sector in 2026? We turned the tables and asked journalists to weigh in - The Philanthropist Journal
We asked journalists who cover the sector to share what they’ve been hearing and thinking about the challenges facing the charitable and philanthropic sector in 2026.
thephilanthropist.ca
January 21, 2026 at 1:39 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
This year, for The Philanthropist Journal’s annual look ahead at the coming year, we flipped the script.

thephilanthropist.ca/2026/01/what...
What does a ‘trilemma’ mean for the sector in 2026? We turned the tables and asked journalists to weigh in - The Philanthropist Journal
We asked journalists who cover the sector to share what they’ve been hearing and thinking about the challenges facing the charitable and philanthropic sector in 2026.
thephilanthropist.ca
January 20, 2026 at 5:04 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
“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...
Creative outlets: Why some non-profit leaders are picking up the mic - The Philanthropist Journal
Creative pursuits outside of work like stand-up comedy or playing in a band might just be what your colleagues in the philanthropic sector need right now – to counter burnout, strengthen skills, or ex...
thephilanthropist.ca
January 7, 2026 at 5:07 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
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...
When the expert is your cousin: Indigenous alternatives to ‘distrust by default’ conflict-of-interest rules - The Philanthropist Journal
COI policies have contributed to a working culture that’s antithetical to Indigenous ways of working, Aiden Cyr writes. He talks to four Indigenous social impact leaders whose insights suggest that th...
thephilanthropist.ca
January 5, 2026 at 4:43 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
“What are we missing by not taking time to be in the space of grieving and acknowledging loss?”

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/12/to-g...
To grieve, to learn, to unite: A eulogy for an ever-shifting sector - The Philanthropist Journal
The loss, or realignment, of a funder affects the entire charitable sector, and how it chooses to say its goodbyes has far-reaching implications, both practical and emotional, contributor Angela Long ...
thephilanthropist.ca
December 16, 2025 at 6:58 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
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...
Philanthropy can be a catalyst for local media but not the long-term answer to ongoing challenges - The Philanthropist Journal
At a three-day symposium in Charlottetown, the overarching takeaway was the urgency and scale of the challenges for independent journalism, and the indisputable through line was the resilience and det...
thephilanthropist.ca
December 9, 2025 at 4:19 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
@armineyalnizyan.bsky.social shares what Budget 2025 could mean for the non-profit sector.

thephilanthropist.ca/2025/12/fede...
Federal budget spends more on capital investment and less on non-profit sector – so far - The Philanthropist Journal
While Budget 2025 does not include a strategy to systemically support programs and services that non-profits and charities provide – or the Canadians working at these organizations – “it could have be...
thephilanthropist.ca
December 1, 2025 at 8:24 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
“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...
Stopping the funding rollercoaster for feminist and 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations - The Philanthropist Journal
A projected 80% decrease in Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE) funding ahead of the federal budget highlighted a level of precariousness that feminist and 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations and activists h...
thephilanthropist.ca
November 26, 2025 at 5:44 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
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...
Aging and re-engaging: Volunteer participation post-pandemic - The Philanthropist Journal
Contributor Yvonne Rodney looks at how organizations are responding to the aging factor in volunteerism and what they’re doing to encourage volunteers to engage and re-engage.
thephilanthropist.ca
November 14, 2025 at 8:09 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
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-...
How data is helping experts navigate the non-profit sector’s capacity and funding issues - The Philanthropist Journal
Charities and non-profits are struggling with a “trilemma”: rising demand for their services, financial instability, and workforce precarity. Here are the problems and solutions, according to the data...
thephilanthropist.ca
November 11, 2025 at 8:51 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
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...
When storytelling isn’t neutral: Lessons from Vietnam and the future of philanthropy - The Philanthropist Journal
By integrating ethical storytelling into their fundraising and communications practices, organizations can build trust, celebrate complexity, and restore dignity, Tanya Rumble says.
thephilanthropist.ca
November 7, 2025 at 6:30 PM
Reposted by The Philanthropist Journal
oxfam-quebec.bsky.social
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...
Canada’s global influence in a turbulent and uncertain world - The Philanthropist Journal
While civil society and international cooperation face existential challenges, organizers of the Cooperation Canada Leaders’ Forum see an opportunity to revive hope through unity, solidarity, and coll...
thephilanthropist.ca
October 28, 2025 at 4:09 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
“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...
Overworked, overlooked, and underpaid: How women are addressing sexism in the philanthropic sector - The Philanthropist Journal
Women working in the charitable and non-profit sector are making sacrifices and building strategies to secure leadership positions despite barriers – or leaving altogether.
thephilanthropist.ca
November 6, 2025 at 2:38 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
Thank you @thewalrus.ca for giving @thephilanthropist.ca readers a 50% discount!

DM us for the promo code.
thewalrus.ca The Walrus @thewalrus.ca · Nov 1
At The Walrus Talks Philanthropy in a Changing Canada, Donna-Lynn Rosa, CEO of Atira Women’s Resource Society, argues that philanthropy must pivot from excessive administration to strong, trust-based relationships. Hear more: www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-walru...
November 4, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by The Philanthropist Journal
thelocal.to
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...
Early-Career Journalism Fellowship
The fellowship provides one Black and/or Indigenous journalist an opportunity to write about issues that matter to their community and civil society.
thelocal.to
October 22, 2025 at 4:25 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
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...
Vu Le: How to reimagine non-profits and philanthropy in an era of rising autocracy - The Philanthropist Journal
After more than a decade of writing scathing (and often hilarious) critiques on his Nonprofit AF blog, Vu Le shares what’s holding us back, what progressives can learn from conservative philanthropy i...
thephilanthropist.ca
October 20, 2025 at 8:47 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
“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...
Independent journalism and philanthropy are coming to a realization: they need each other - The Philanthropist Journal
While the relationship between philanthropy and community journalism is still nascent in Canada compared to some other countries, the value of local news – and the need to support it – is being increa...
thephilanthropist.ca
October 16, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Reposted by The Philanthropist Journal
mtltoula.bsky.social
thephilanthropist.ca/2025/09/la-p...
La philanthropie à la rescousse de la pénurie de logements au Canada - The Philanthropist Journal
Le Canada est en pleine crise du logement – plus précisément, une crise du logement abordable. Selon Derek Ballantyne, ancien président du
thephilanthropist.ca
September 19, 2025 at 10:14 AM
Reposted by The Philanthropist Journal
mtltoula.bsky.social
“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-...
How philanthropy can help Canada build its way out of a housing shortage - The Philanthropist Journal
Through funding and advocating for policy changes, foundations and philanthropic organizations have a significant role to play in tackling Canada’s housing crisis, contributor Toula Drimonis writes.
thephilanthropist.ca
September 19, 2025 at 10:01 AM
thephilanthropist.ca
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-...
How philanthropy can help Canada build its way out of a housing shortage - The Philanthropist Journal
Through funding and advocating for policy changes, foundations and philanthropic organizations have a significant role to play in tackling Canada’s housing crisis, contributor Toula Drimonis writes.
thephilanthropist.ca
September 18, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by The Philanthropist Journal
futureofgood.bsky.social
🇨🇦 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
Affordable housing, robust benefits, transparency and more: 7 things the social sector wants from Budget 2025 | Future of Good
The social sector is demanding a renewed focus on housing and social assistance as part of its federal pre-budget submissions.
futureofgood.co
September 9, 2025 at 3:01 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
“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...
Northern Manitoba shows philanthropy how to move from transaction to transformation - The Philanthropist Journal
The lessons emerging from the work of the Northern Manitoba Food, Culture, and Community Collaborative – about collaboration, relationships, and learning to be a good helper – “can and should be adopt...
thephilanthropist.ca
September 9, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by The Philanthropist Journal
futureofgood.bsky.social
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
okt.to
September 3, 2025 at 2:33 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
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-...
How one Alberta non-profit is flipping the script on philanthropy and advancing economic justice - The Philanthropist Journal
From showcasing entrepreneurs to helping people register their businesses or apply for funding and grants, Black Business Edmonton teaches entrepreneurs how to show up confidently in spaces where they...
thephilanthropist.ca
August 27, 2025 at 3:57 PM
thephilanthropist.ca
Worth reading from our archives!
August 27, 2025 at 3:48 PM