The Intersection Hub

Have you ever thought about what it is like to work for you? How about ways to improve the hiring process and level the playing field? Surabhi Jain has. Her recent posting for a program manager got a lot of attention on linked in and attracted countless qualified candidates.

In today’s challenging climate, when demand for services is has gone up, resources have gone down and over half of our workforce is planning to move one, you might want to learn from this example and consider how you might work to attract great people for your team.

Today Surabhi is here to join us in conversation and we are going to be talking about transparent and open hiring practices.

Surabhi is the Executive Director of the Toronto Workforce Funders Collaborative. She a leader in the social impact sector with nearly 20 years of experience in designing, implementing, and managing employment and skills development programs. She has worked closely with Fortune 500 companies to help them change racially biased hiring practices. At the same time, she has engaged in capacity building for the non-profit sector to change systems.  

Surabhi's lived experiences have afforded her a unique perspective on transformative systems change. She brings experiences from the workplace, from her travels, and from her childhood that have shaped her understanding of community, leadership, and human development. 

If you were on linked in a couple of months ago you may have seen her job posting for a program manager. This job post got a lot of attention because it was extremely transparent, the hiring process was outlined in detail, including salary of course and even a section on what it is like to work with her.

Here is a small taste of Surabhi’s job posting:

“I’d like to think that I am the best supervisor/manager out there but that is not true. You will likely have worked or will work with someone better than me. I am a hands-off manager who likes to connect with their staff at least once a week so we can each share what we are working on. I am a stickler for deadlines and appreciate a heads up when things will be turned in late. I am huge on relationship building and will work to ensure you and I can work together well. I value work-life balance and do not expect you to work past your identified working hours. I am focused on you getting your work done and less on the number of hours you put into your work. Quality of work over quantity of work is very important for me. I want to work with someone who can push back on my ideas, offer critical and diverse perspectives, and values challenging conversations. We can agree to disagree but need to represent a joint front for the organization. I’m happy to provide references of individuals I have worked with in the past so you can get a sense of my style of working. “

Thank you so much Surabhi for joining us in conversation. I could talk to you all day! And folks do get in touch with Surabhi if you would like her to take a look at your job posting. You can email her at [email protected].

Thank you for making this a priority in your day. Please remember to like, review and share this podcast. Let’s keep inviting more people into the circle. See you next time.

How do you feel about working with corporate funders. Some people love it, some people head for the hills and try to avoid sponsorship.

Suzy Wilcox loves corporate fundraising and the unique partnerships they are engaged in at Evergreen Canada.

Suzy has a mix of non-profit, consulting and corporate experience. She loves how fundraising can help bring big, complex ideas to life.  For over twenty-five years she has worked and volunteered with a range of organizations. A common thread throughout her work is building strong partnerships that make a positive difference in and with communities. 

After graduating from Princeton University, Suzy worked in Marketing and Development at several US arts organizations, including the American Dance Festival and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She earned her MBA at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management before working in research, project management, and client relations at the renowned Toronto sponsorship agency Arts & Communications.

While at Arts & Communications, she analyzed and developed corporate philanthropy and sponsorship programs. She was then recruited by Air Canada to be a Marketing Manager, before moving to Aeroplan in partner relations, primarily with the CIBC Aerogold VISA program. Starting in 2004, Suzy worked for 15 years as a Senior Associate with NetGain Partners. As a NetGain consultant, she had the pleasure of working with a variety of non-profit clients, including MOCA Toronto, Centre of Learning & Development, City of Toronto, and Canada’s National Ballet School, helping them with strategic planning and fundraising. Since 2020 Suzy has led Evergreen’s fundraising team, working to enable cities that are livable, green and prosperous.

When not working, Suzy hangs out with her family, dances, swims, and tends her wild garden. She used to be a mime but decided the rope and the wall could only get her so far.

In this episode Suzy shares how her organization is changing the way they build partnerships with corporations, volunteers, staff and community to advance trust based philanthropy.

Thank you for joining us. I hope you are inspired to rethink how you build relationships with your funders and your volunteers. Please remember to like, share or review this podcast. Let’s keep widening the circle and inviting more people into the conversation.

Can you imagine getting three full PAID months off of work (not including your vacation days!) to take time off to rest, reflect and rejuvenate?

Today I am thrilled to invite Renee Krysko into conversation about the value of paid sabbaticals. Renee and I talk about the importance of how taking time to put herself first serves her family, her community and helped her excel at her job.

Renée has a passion for people and creating connections. After serving Yellowstone 2 Yukon (Y2Y) as communications manager for four years, Renée moved into the role of donor relations manager, then director of donor relations, where her strong communications skills enable her to forge important relationships with Y2Y supporters.

Prior to Y2Y, Renée worked with academics and company leaders to develop communications strategies and community relations programs. Born and raised in Alberta, and as a skier, hiker and cyclist the Yellowstone to Yukon region is both her home and her playground.

In today’s episode Renee shares the benefits of her sabbatical and how she carries forward her own self care practices and went back to work with a new perspective.

I’m so grateful to Renee for joining us in conversation and thank you for making this a priority in your day.

Please remember to like, review and share this podcast. Let’s keep welcoming more people into conversation.

In July 2020 our guest Marisa DeSalles published an article that unleashed all the years of built-up trauma that she experienced as the only BIPOC fundraiser in her white dominated organization.

In this candid conversation Marissa recounts her experience of micro aggressions and her shock at realizing that she had been complicit in maintaining the status quo of racism in her organization.

Marissa now helps nonprofits strategize their growth by focusing on the health of the systems they use, including data management systems, marketing and communication systems, and organizational structures.

Her work is informed by Community-Centric Fundraising, a movement seeking to prioritize equity in fundraising. This movement favours a more collaborative approach that honours the inherent strengths within community members.

Marissa’s specialty is working with emerging organizations in search of growth, and in particular organizations led by and focused on issues affecting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

Marissa and I candidly shares her experience of code switching, altering her voice to sound white on the telephone changing her behaviour and her appearance to “fit in”.

We also discuss the discomfort of acknowledging our collective privilege and concrete first steps can we take to stop causing harm to each other.

One of those concrete first steps is a confession. I must confess to you that this conversation was sometimes awkward and difficult. I was tempted to edit out moments where my white privilege and ignorance is on full display.

In consultation with Marissa we chose to keep it in to serve as an example of what BIPOC people have to deal with on a daily basis. To Marissa I apologize for my ignorance and am deeply grateful for her grace and compassion.

Once again, thank you Marissa for your grace and for helping us all, including me, do better.

You can find a link to Marisa’s  powerful essay Fly in the Milk here.

https://communitycentricfundraising.org/2020/07/11/12-years-a-fly-in-the-milk/

Thank you so much for making this conversation a priority in your day. Please be sure to join our email list at intersectionhub.ca to get new episodes sent directly to your in box. And let’s keep widening the circle and continuing these conversations by sharing this podcast.

Thank you for being part of this community. 

If you were the CEO of a for profit company and 48% of your sales team had one foot out the door and were scanning the horizon for a better job would you make a correction?

Of course you would.

And yet, for decades the charitable sector has been tolerating a revolving door of staff with the average tenure for senior level fundraisers just 18 months. That is hardly enough time to figure out how the coffee maker works. Let alone build strong relationships with donors. And yet we seem content to hemorrhage human and financial resources.

What if it didn’t have to be that way? Today on our podcast we are spotlighting the British Columbia Society for Prevention Cruelty to Animals. Under the leadership of powerhouse fundraiser Shoni Field the BC SPCA is a great example of an organization that prioritizes building a loyal team.

Shoni is going to share more about the work of the BC SPCA so I tell you a little bit about her.

Shoni is the Chief Development Officer at the BC SPCA and is very proud of her skilled and passionate team of innovators who consistently exceed industry benchmarks. She has been fundraising for 25+ years for a range of causes including environmental, youth, health, and development organizations. Shoni is the founder of the For the Paws Summit for animal welfare fundraisers and when she’s not fundraising, she advocates for electoral reform and citizen engagement, plays strategy games and bakes fancy cakes. Shoni is a settler on the unceded traditional territory of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

In this episode Shoni and I cover a lot of territory. We talk about rethinking performance metrics, what makes a good boss, values-based decision making and creating psychological safety for your team.

Remember, if you have more examples of organizations that you think we should shine a spotlight on next season we are actively curating Season Five right now so get in touch

Thank you for making this conversation a priority in your day. We are so glad you are part of this community and we would be so grateful if you would rate, review and share this podcast so that we can keep widening the circle.

To make your recommendations for charities we should spotlight next season you can reach Kimberley by email at [email protected] or join the community at The Intersection Hub and get on the list.

See you next time!

Today we are spotlighting an anti-poverty charity in Toronto, Ontario called The Stop and their concrete examples of implementing community centred fundraising principles.

Canadian Thanksgiving is the perfect time for this episode. The Stop improves access to healthy food in a way that maintains dignity, builds health and community and challenges inequality. The Community Food Centre is just that. A community centre that brings people together and addresses poverty in a more holistic way.

I met Marie – France Roche and Maria Rio when they were presenting at Toronto AFP Congress in 2022.

Marie-France has worked for anti-poverty organizations for the past seven years. She is currently one of the lead fundraisers at The Stop Community Food Centre, where she provides strategic oversight of all fundraising, policy and communications. Marie-France has been featured in the Toronto Star, OMNI News, and spoke at AFP 2022 Congress. She would love to connect with you on LinkedIn.

In this conversation Maria and Marie – France share concrete actions they took in their organization to implement community centred fundraising principles. This includes:

- Challenging the status quo

- Overhauling how they approach special events

- Reinventing corporate fundraising relationships

- Developing a new approach to major donor stewardship

- Rethinking how they collaborate with other organizations and donors to meet the community’s needs in meaningful ways with dignity for everyone.

I can’t thank Maria and Marie-France enough for their generous contributions to this podcast. Their approach to this conversation was so thoughtful, gracious and incredibly patient. Personally, I’ve learned so much about how I approach this work and I hope you have too.

Remember to check out The Stop’s blog posts and Op Eds in the links below and remember to share this episode with your staff and forward the conversation with your team. Make time to talk about what kind of small or big changes you can make to centre your community in your operations.

Let’s move forward in deep gratitude for each other and the abundance that is all around us while being mindful that not everyone walks through this world with the same priviledges you you do. Let’s keep building community together. See you next time.

NOTE: Marie- France and Maria were extremely generous and we spent almost an hour and half together. Since I know even a one hour podcast is a stretch I’ve asked my sound engineer Rob to tighten up this episode a bit. You may hear some transitions.

For more:

Community Centric Fundraising Principles: https://communitycentricfundraising.org/ccf-principles/

The Stop Blog: https://www.thestop.org/blog/

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2022/07/08/philanthropy-is-broken-how-the-stop-community-food-centre-is-moving-away-from-donor-centric-fundraising-to-prioritize-community.html

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/2022/09/15/how-will-candidates-for-city-council-address-poverty-in-toronto.html

https://www.thestop.org/blog/community-centric-fundraising-rethinking-the-way-philanthropy-works/

https://www.dailybread.ca/research-and-advocacy/research/food-bank-policy-drivers/

Public policy engagement: https://www.thestop.org/blog/charities-are-discourage-from-getting-political/

We will be publishing another great episode next week so please be sure to subscribe to the email list at intersectionhub.ca or follow The Intersection Hub podcast wherever you get your podcasts.

Conversations about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are essential in every organization. They are also just the beginning of important antiracist work.

Today we are spotlighting one charity that goes beyond DEI workshops and is expecting all their staff to join them on an antiracist journey – everyday.

At the Downtown Boxing Gym in Detroit, Michigan Founder Khali Sweeney and their Executive Director Jessica Hauser discovered that while their organization had grown, racist practices started to creep in.

Khali and Jessica quickly realized that they needed to go beyond a workshop and their DEI policies and protect their staff and the 200+ boys and girls they serve from letting white dominance take over.

Today I am joined in conversation with Jessica about what that looked like, what they did and how they continue the work with all their staff and consistently ask themselves: Are we centering the most marginalized voice in this conversation?

The Downtown Boxing Gym (DBG) is a nationally recognized, Detroit-based nonprofit organization breaking down barriers and providing vital resources to help students thrive. Now in its 15th year, DBG serves approximately 200 students ages 8-18 with continuing support through age 25, the first years of college and careers. The free, out-of-school time program has a 100% high school graduation rate since its inception.

DBG knocks down barriers like food insecurity, transportation, and the digital divide, and provides a holistic, personalized learning plan for each student, enrichment programming, college and career readiness, social-emotional skills building, basic needs support, and so much more.

Jessica Hauser is a passionate nonprofit leader and as Executive Director of DBG continues to navigate significant growth enabling the program to serve a diverse and growing group of amazing young leaders. She has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Oakland University and completed coursework in International Children’s Rights at the University of Michigan.

Jessica is a member of the Michigan Afterschool Partnership, a coalition that champions statewide access to quality and equitable out-of-school time programs. She also serves as a board member with the Detroit chapter of Women in Sports and Events (WISE).

Over the last several years, Jessica has spoken on panels for Dreamforce Leading for Change, Crain's 40 Under 40, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative's Whole-Child Convening, We Work, and the Detroit Regional Chamber. She has presented DBG's work to graduate students at Cornell University, led a convening about COVID-safe re-opening with the YDRC (Youth Development Resource Center), and led a discussion about the digital divide with Salesforce.

Jessica’s partner, in life and work, Khali Sweeney is the founder of the Downtown Boxing Gym and had planned to join us in conversation. However, at the time of this recording he was recovering from a concussion and while unable to join us was certainly cheering us on from the sidelines.

Every single day Khali and Jessica expect all their staff – just like the kids they serve – to become the next best version of themselves. As you listen, I’m sure you will agree with me that Khali, Jessica and all their staff are having a massive impact in their community.

DBG is a fabulous example of an organization that takes care of each other so that they can work together to ensure that every child and staff member who walks into their doors they are treated with kindness, compassion and respect.

Links:

The Downtown Boxing Gym: https://dbgdetroit.org/

 Olaudah Kindness Speech https://dbgdetroit.org/videos/#uael-video-gallery-55ebad5-3

Thank you for making this conversation a priority in your day. We are so glad you are part of our community. Please remember to share, review, subscribe to this podcast. And if you have more examples of organizations that you think we should spotlight next season please do let us know.

Can you imagine working in an organization that pays you a livable wage, gives you time to rest and rejuvenate and sees taking care of your physical and mental health as part of their mission delivery? I know sounds impossible. But it is. It is possible.

Today we have a fabulous case study of an organization that does all those things and more. I’m happy to welcome Brandon Yan into conversation. Brandon is the Executive Director of Out on Screen which is a charity in Vancouver British Columbia, Canada that is building an equitable society where gender and sexual diversity thrives. At the start of our conversation Brandon will tell you more about out on screen.

For now, I’ll tell you more about him. He is an optimistic and driven non-profit senior leader adept at managing operations, programming, and cultivating constructive relationships with a wide range of stakeholders and community partners to advance equity and inclusion. You will hear that Brandon is an Active and empathetic listener who has a passion for social justice, intersectional feminism, and LGBT2QS+ rights.

In this episode, Brandon shares how his organization is building a culture of safety and well-being for their staff by reducing meetings, having four-day work weeks, paying a livable wage, and prioritizing the health and well-being of his staff as part of their mission delivery.

And a fabulous conversationalist. I loved chatting with him.

Out on Screen is a real example of an organization that is banishing martyrdom, prioritizing their people and delivering community impact. Why not share this episode with your staff and talk about the kind of changes needed in your organization to help create a safer space for your team.

This was just the first eight fabulous episodes this season of in the trenches leaders who are paving a new, healthier way forward for our sector. We are going to talk about anti racism in action, trust-based philanthropy and more about how to take care of the mental, physical and spiritual well-being of those working so hard to do so much to make the world a better place.

So be sure to join our email list at intersection hub.ca so all of Season 4 directly in your inbox. And please get in touch if you have suggestions for other organizations, we can profile next season.

We are also always grateful for your feedback, referrals and sharing this podcast. Let us know what you think! I’d love to hear from you. Thank you for being part of the conversation. See you next time.

Season Four of The Intersection Hub podcast is going to be completely different.

This season we have eight real examples of organizations and people that are coming forward to offer hope to us all for a new way forward. We are having conversations with practitioners who are advancing anti racist work, trust-based philanthropy and taking care of the physical and metal well-being of their staff.

In this introduction I share a little bit more of how I came to make this shift, why it is important and what we can learn from these amazing examples.

Our sector contributes such a significant economic impact to these three global economies it is hard to relate too. But one thing I know for sure is that the world expects a lot from us. Do you think we are living up to expectations? No – no we are not.

I know that based on my 25 years working as a charity executive or consultant. I know that based on the 50 brilliant guests that have appeared on this podcast. We are failing. We keep talking about the same shifts needed and we aren’t getting much traction.

You know it too.

You know it if you are an Executive Director who is trying to feed hungry children and donors are complaining about your utility bills and you rarely make it home for dinner with your family. I’ve been there.

You know if you are a Chief Philanthropy Officer and your biggest donor is asking you to build a new program that they think bits perfectly into their interests and your mission. But it doesn’t and now you have to go to the board, your boss and the program staff to try and convince them that you can accept the gift and deliver your budget and in fact turn a square peg into a round hole. I’ve been there.

You know if you are trying to deliver life changing programs and you are using out of date materials because you can’t afford to get the old ones replaced and the programs need to continue so that you can demonstrate impact to funder. I’ve been there.

You know it if you have busting your ass for you organization and suddenly, without warning your entire body just stops. The work you are so passionate about, the kids you love, the husband you cherish – all seem unimportant. You can’t get out of bed; you can’t even walk the dog anymore. Because your job – in the charitable sector has left you depleted and utterly useless to everyone you love. I’ve been there – twice. It will be ok. You will be ok.

You know this if you gave up on working in the sector and started consulting for the sector. You make better money now – sure. But perfectly good smart fundraisers are using their charitable dollars to pay you way more than they should to tell their boards things that they could have. But we all know the board will listen to you because your skin is a different colour.

I was tired of talking about these problems and I wanted to find examples of organizations who are actually making great strides in turning these challenges around in their own organizations. I wanted to find the passionate folks who are, against odds, modelling a new way forward and offering hope for us all.

In season four of this podcast we are creating space. The folks in organizations who are diligently working away to change internal structures and systems so that their staff are able to be mentally, physically and spiritual fit so they can continue to have extraordinary community impact.

So – what can you do to get involved in this change? Well – listen, subscribe, share and give your feedback of course!

Please share this podcast or the email list with your staff. Consider making sharing these conversations part of your team internal professional development. Give your staff an episode a month to listen to and then gather to talk about how you might be able to implement so of these practices in your organization. By looking inside and asking yourselves together if you are really making progress on these three very important fronts:

Advancing antiracist work

Revisiting conversations with donors and moving the bar on trust based philanthropy

And finally – taking care of the mental, physical and spiritual well being of your staff.

I hope this podcast can prove to you like it has me, I believe this is the future of our sector.

It is time we stop talking and start acting. It is time to prioritize the safety and well being of our people. As our first guest this season Brandon Yan said so brilliantly “how can we claim to advance social justice when we don’t see the health and well being of our on staff as critical to mission delivery?” Brandon and the other guests this season are offering hope to us all.

So please join us in conversation. Get on the email list at intersection hub.ca or subscribe to The intersection hub podcast wherever you get your podcasts and don’t miss a single episode.

And always please get in touch if you have suggestions for other organizations, we can profile in season five. And of course – I’m on the hunt for more fabulous examples of this work so if you are sitting there thinking that your organization or one you know has some examples to share please do be in touch. You can reach me at [email protected] or @kimberleycanada on social media.

We are also always grateful for your feedback, referrals and for sharing this podcast. As we start to unveil these conversations, Do let us know what you think! I’d love to hear from you.

Resources: Infographic history of the charitable sector https://blog.winspireme.com/a-brief-history-of-charitable-giving-infographic#:~:text=Charity%20has%20been%20part%20of,Egyptians%20were%20building%20the%20pyramids.

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/charity-and-voluntary-work/overview-of-the-uk-charity-sector#:~:text=The%20majority%20of%20these%20organisations,Northern%20Ireland%20has%20the%20lowest.

https://philanthropy.iupui.edu/news-events/news-item/giving-usa:-total-u.s.-charitable-giving-declined-in-2022-to-$499.33-billion-following-two-years-of-record-generosity.html?id=422

https://www.cafonline.org/docs/default-source/about-us-research/uk_giving_2023.pdf

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/jobs-and-work-experience/job-sectors/charity-and-voluntary-work/overview-of-the-uk-charity-sector#:~:text=In%202022%20almost%20one%20million,Northern%20Ireland%20has%20the%20lowest.

https://www.imaginecanada.ca/sites/default/files/Infographic-sector-stat-2021.pdf

https://www.imaginecanada.ca/en/About-the-sector

NOTE: 89% of charity staff say they don’t have enough resources to do their job properly and 48% of fundraisers say they are likely to leave their jobs in the next two year. Think about that for a second. Half of the people who raising $500 Billion dollars collectively per year and thinking about leaving their jobs in 24 months. Sheesh – that is a hit. And guess what – that statistic hasn’t moved in at least 15 years.

Have you ever really dug into articulating your values and then asking yourself if your values are aligned with your actions? Your values shift over time and being intentional about exploring what matters to most today and then assessing whether your actions are in alignment with that is the key to building a truly resonant life.

In this episode we are doing something a little different. Cindy Wagman, host of The Small Nonprofit Podcast as well as co-host of Confessions with Jess and Cindy which she produces with Jess Campbell. Cindy agreed to guest host today’s episode and to interview me on the work I continue to do around values and purpose.

Last year, I was invited to write an article for the good folks at Fundraising Leadership podcast. While not intended, the article that emerged was my story of burn out, divorce, unemployment, consultancy, entrepreneurship and shifting values. All of these experiences culminated to a very real assessment of what I values and how to build a life of joyful resonance and abundance.

In this episode Cindy and I chat about what we value, how we define it and how our actions are aligned with our values. Using your values as a compass for decisions you make can have a huge impact on your life.

We hope this episode inspires you to explore whether your actions are aligned with your values and what shifts might you want to make in the coming year. If you would like to chat about this further and could use a guide to help you please reach out. Visit www.intersectionhub.ca and book a chemistry session with me so we can chat about it more.

Well, that’s it for season three of our podcast. It’s hard to believe that have had 54 amazing conversations with so many incredible leaders in our sector. I’ll be taking a break for a few weeks, resting and then hatching plans for season four. If you have ideas for conversations you would like to see, please do send them along.

In the meantime thank you for listening today. It would be amazing if you would consider writing a review, rating this podcast or sharing it with your friends.