In this powerful new episode of Let’s Imagine, host Bruce MacDonald welcomes Eden Fineday — award-winning nêhiyaw (Cree) journalist, changemaker, and Publisher of IndigiNews. Eden leads IndigiNews through a lens of cultural safety and actively works to decolonize journalistic practices. She is also the founder and CEO of tâpwêwin media, an Indigenous-led nonprofit that acquired IndigiNews in 2025, and co-founder of the Indigenous Media Association of Canada. Eden recently contributed a series of...
Jun 17, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 31
In this episode of Let’s Imagine, host Bruce MacDonald sits down with Andrea Barrack, SVP, Sustainability & Impact at RBC, and Claudia Hepburn, CEO of Windmill Microlending—a charity that helps skilled immigrants and refugees leverage their talents and build successful careers in Canada. Together, they unpack the evolving relationship between companies and nonprofits, exploring how authentic partnerships—rooted in trust, flexibility, and shared purpose—can drive meaningful community impact. ...
May 28, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 30
For this week’s episode of Let’s Imagine, host Bruce MacDonald is joined by Émilie Pontbriand, Senior Manager of Strategic Communications at Imagine Canada. Together they review and highlight some revealing findings from a series of public opinion polls Imagine Canada conducted in the past year, thanks to the generous support of BMO . Each poll focused on a theme or topic related to the nonprofit and philanthropic sector, with the objective of collecting data that would shed light on where Canad...
Apr 29, 2025•18 min•Season 1Ep. 29
Pour cet épisode spécial du balado Imagine, Mélanie Valcin, membre de notre conseil d’administration et présidente directrice-générale de l'organisme Littératie ensemble, se joint à nous pour examiner en profondeur certains résultats révélateurs d’une série de sondages d’opinion publique réalisés au cours de la dernière année grâce au généreux soutien de BMO . Chaque sondage portait sur un sujet ou un thème concernant le secteur à but non lucratif ou de la philanthropie et visait à recueillir de...
Apr 29, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 28
Dans cet épisode d’Imagine, nous recevons Céline Füri, directrice des politiques et campagnes à Oxfam-Québec . En cette période marquée par les bouleversements et les changements politiques et sociaux, nous discutons de l’importance pour les OBNL de se faire entendre en employant des stratégies de communications et de plaidoyer efficaces. Nous abordons les relations gouvernementales, les communications avec le grand public, qui sont devenues plus complexes, et le pouvoir d’unir ses forces pour p...
Mar 26, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 27
With rising political uncertainty, misinformation, and growing polarization, advocating for change can feel more challenging than ever. How can nonprofits engage in advocacy responsibly and ensure their voices are heard? In this episode, Kathryn LeBlanc, social impact communications expert and Principal Consultant at LeBlanc & Co Communications , joins us to discuss how nonprofits can leverage communications to accelerate social change. From relying on trusted sources when navigating electio...
Feb 26, 2025•23 min•Season 1Ep. 26
In 2020, the world experienced a seismic jolt of awareness related to issues of systemic racism in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd. From global protests to bold declarations by the leaders of governments, companies and nonprofits, there was a deep desire to do better. Four year later, how are things progressing? In this episode, Emira Woods, Executive Director of Green Leadership Trust based in Washington, DC, shares her perspectives as well as insights and learnings from her work. A...
Nov 28, 2024•38 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Nonprofit organizations have had to navigate a lot of change in recent years—shaping the sector toward increasingly digital experiences and processes. Based on these needs, Blackbaud compiled the results of their annual The Status of Canadian Fundraising survey into a comprehensive benchmark report on how Canadian charities and nonprofits are faring in the current fundraising climate. Tanya Turschic, Customer Success Manager, and Phil Hunt, Senior Demand Generation Marketing Manager at Blackbaud...
Oct 29, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Joining us in this episode of Let’s Imagine is nonprofit leader and author Angie Peters. Together we explore Angie’s experiences and learnings from working in the poverty reduction space as the CEO of the Toronto-based charity Yonge Street Mission, as a social service provider tackling poverty in the city, and the 3 key elements integral to her organization’s approach to systems: lived experience leadership, cross-sector collaboration and creating shared goals. We also discuss managing time expe...
Oct 02, 2024•21 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Community foundations are created to support local community needs, using donated funds from a wide variety of sources. Every community foundation selects their own areas of focus, and how the funds will be invested and distributed within the community. This episode of Let’s Imagine features Danielle Gibbie, Executive Director, and Udloriak (Udlu) Hanson, co-founding member of Annauma Community Foundation , the first community foundation in Nunavut. They join us for a conversation on their found...
Aug 21, 2024•34 min•Season 1Ep. 22
Joining us in this episode is Dan Pallotta , American entrepreneur, author, and humanitarian activist. His experiences with dysfunction in the nonprofit sector have influenced his work, from his viral TED talk to his most recent project, the Uncharitable Movie . Together, we delve into deeply held perceptions about charities, how they are problematic, and how we can reframe the narrative and move forward. We also explore the potential of creative, breakthrough thinking, unburdened by costs &...
Jul 24, 2024•36 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Les méthodes et approches éducatives non-autochtones ont contribué à la colonisation des peuples et communautés des Premières Nations, Métis et Inuit. Quelles mesures les organismes à but non lucratif peuvent-ils prendre pour décoloniser les cadres et mettre la justice au centre du dialogue pour les peuples autochtones? Dans cet épisode du balado Imagine, nous acceuillons Mélanie Valcin, présidente et directrice générale, et Krystyna Slawecki, gestionnaire des programmes de Littératie ensemble -...
Jun 12, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 20
Non-Indigenous instructional methods and approaches have contributed to the colonization of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples and communities. What steps can organizations take to decolonize frameworks and center justice for Indigenous people in the nonprofit sector? In this episode of Let’s Imagine, we’re joined by Mélanie Valcin, President and CEO, and Kristen Miller, member of the board of directors of United for Literacy - a national charity focused on improving the lives of children, y...
Jun 11, 2024•37 min•Season 1Ep. 20
In a study from the Environics Institute , Future Skills Centre , and Diversity Institute , findings showed that nonprofit sector workers are less satisfied with their jobs than workers in either the public or private sectors. This dissatisfaction is exacerbated by lower salaries, precarious employment, and part-time contracts - just a few of the challenges facing today’s sector workers. Joining us on this episode are Laura McDonough, Associate Director, Insights & Knowledge Mobilization at ...
May 29, 2024•39 min•Season 1Ep. 19
Two major interconnected challenges the nonprofit and charitable sector is facing today are changes to the way volunteerism is working - a shift from formal to informal and the lack of data to inform program design and decision-making to improve the work of organizations in serving our communities. With our guest Megan Conway, President & CEO of Volunteer Canada , we discussed two major initiatives led by Volunteer Canada that aim to help address these challenges: the National Volunteer Acti...
Apr 10, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 18
On this episode of Let's Imagine, we welcome Paul Taylor, co-founder of Evenings and Weekends Consulting to discuss the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion in board governance, and why many organizations struggle to actualize these principles. We also delve into the concept of decent work, the intersection of board governance with the promotion of decent work practices, and the role of board members in facilitating fair employment practices. 00:45 The Birth of Evenings and Weekends Co...
Mar 13, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 17
On this episode of the Let's Imagine podcast our host, Bruce MacDonald and our guest Terry Carter of Carters Professionals looked back at some of the regulatory files the charitable sector followed closely in 2023 - such as the new guidance on qualifying disbursements and the alternative minimum tax. They also explored the key policy files that the sector should watch in 2024, and discussed the increasing complexity that charities have to deal with - for example, the new T3010 reporting requirem...
Feb 07, 2024•25 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Social finance is an alternative to traditional finance models. While it may not be a panacea to solve all social problems, it has tremendous potential to propel organizations by offering a funding model that can help them ensure their long-term financial sustainability. While we’ve been hearing more about social finance in recent years, it is not a new concept. The origins of this type of financing are found at the grassroots level - it was created a long time ago by communities to finance comm...
Dec 11, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 17
In Imagine Canada’s recent research , statistics showed that our sector bats over the average when it comes to the employment of newcomers. While about a quarter of employees in the rest of the economy immigrated to Canada at some point in their lives, nearly half of nonprofit workers did so. With guests Senator Ratna Omidvar and Dr. Kimahli Powell, Executive Director of Rainbow Railroad , we discuss the unique strengths and contributions of newcomers to the nonprofit sector. Listen in for thoug...
Nov 22, 2023•32 min•Season 1Ep. 16
Description: Saviez-vous que depuis le début de la pandémie, la proportion des Québécois et Québécoises qui font des dons a bondi de 50 - 60 % à 80 %? Pour cette épisode du balado, nous avons le grand plaisir de recevoir Caroline Richard, directrice générale de l’Institut Mallet, pour discuter de divers sujets, dont l’état de la situation philanthropique au Québec, les tendances en terme de dons et le très attendu Sommet de la philanthropie qui se déroulera à Québec en novembre. Écoutez et parta...
Oct 10, 2023•18 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Bien que notre secteur dispose de plusieurs points de contact au sein du gouvernement fédéral, aucun ministère ou département n’est chargé d’améliorer le contexte stratégique ou le paysage économique du secteur à but non lucratif au Canada. Par contre, au niveau provincial, il existe des modèles. Au Québec, par exemple, les responsables ont créé depuis quelques années une place au sein de l’appareil gouvernemental provincial pour soutenir les organismes de bienfaisance et à but non lucratif québ...
Sep 24, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 14
While our sector has several touchpoints with the federal government, no ministry or department is responsible for improving the nonprofit sector's policy environment or economic landscape. At the provincial level, however, such models exist. For example, in 2020, leaders in British Columbia created a place inside the machinery of government to support charities and nonprofits with the appointment of its first-ever Parliamentary Secretary - Community Development and Nonprofits. In this episode, ...
Sep 24, 2023•23 min•Season 1Ep. 13
In this episode, we are looking at the current state of the charitable sector, including demand, staffing, revenue, donation trends and how these will affect charities in the future. Charities have been strained for several years now, due to the pandemic and the rising cost of living which created unprecedented needs in our communities. Demand for services continues to rise and many organizations are struggling to keep up - 40% of charities have experienced a lasting increase in demand since the...
Aug 23, 2023•25 min•Season 1Ep. 12
Over the last decade or so we have witnessed the rise of new ways for engaging in the betterment of communities by providing access to investment capital, creating public-private partnerships and expanding the range of possibilities for identifying solutions to complex social problems. In this episode, we are digging into a growing part of the mixed ecology that makes up social good in this country - social innovation. Social innovation is broadly defined by new ideas, methods, and practices for...
Jul 26, 2023•36 min•Season 1Ep. 10
What are charities and nonprofits doing to advance equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) within their organizations? In this episode, we dig into the findings from a new study which provides key insights into our sector’s commitment to EDI. The survey explores areas such as how organizations are integrating EDI into their work, the role of equity working groups in advancing EDI, the factors that enable and hinder organizations as they seek to apply EDI principles, and the role of leadership in a...
Jul 05, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 9
Au cours des dernières années, on a vu des reportages dans les médias - justifiés ou non - qui remettaient en question la gouvernance ou la bonne gestion de notre secteur. Certains organismes ont été scrutés à la loupe en raison de leurs pratiques de gouvernance douteuses - l'organisme UNIS en est un exemple, Hockey Canada en est un autre et, plus récemment, la Fondation Trudeau. Quand on examine ces cas de plus près, on constate que leur modèle de gouvernance soulevait des questions sur leurs p...
Jun 01, 2023•34 min•Season 1Ep. 9
The last few years have seen some media reports that have called our sector’s governance into question - whether justified or not. A few organizations have been under scrutiny for their governance practices - WE Charity is an example, Hockey Canada another, and more recently, The Trudeau Foundation. A pattern that has emerged when looking at these situations has been questions about their governance practices. These range from overly complex structures to issues about what the board knew and whe...
May 31, 2023•32 min•Season 1Ep. 8
The lack of core funding has a dramatic impact on nonprofit organizations and the communities they serve. Not being able to count on reliable funding impacts organizational health, capacity and resilience, which in turn negatively impacts the quality of services organizations can offer their community, but also the employment conditions of nonprofit workers, and the long-term sustainability of their organizations. This week on the podcast we’re joined by Tyler Boyce, Executive Director of The En...
Apr 25, 2023•22 min•Season 1Ep. 7
In this episode, we hear perspectives from a counterpart organization, the National Council for Voluntary Organizations (NCVO), which supports the nonprofit sector in England. Over the past few years, an informal network of leaders from national umbrella organizations like Imagine Canada, NCVO, the National Council of Nonprofits in the US, and the Community Council of Australia, have been meeting to discuss a variety of issues - some that are unique to our respective countries and others that we...
Apr 10, 2023•31 min•Season 1Ep. 6
This week’s episode is a special discussion about the federal budget that was tabled on March 28. With guests David Coletto, Chair & CEO of Abacus Data , and Jordan Gray, Public Policy Specialist, we analyze budget 2023 from a nonprofit sector perspective, and more broadly from a social & economic perspective. Both David and Jordan are members of Imagine Canada 's Public Policy Committee. What are the measures announced that will help support nonprofit organizations and the communities t...
Mar 30, 2023•33 min•Season 1Ep. 5
