#mpnl

My lack of putting pen to paper for my MPNL Musings was more than the overlap of my summer and fall courses through the month of September, made up of what felt like never-ending essays. It was in fact that nothing grabbed my attention enough where I felt compelled to write.

But this past week, I’ve heard of a new campaign - Grow It! Be It! Value It! - spear-headed by the dynamic & passionate nonprofit champion Tony Elischer and Fundraiser Grrl Rory Green, about the current leadership crisis within the nonprofit sector. 

At the heart of it is the need to intentionally grow, nurture and invest in leadership within the sector, especially in young people like myself who will eventually take the reins from our predecessors (some of whom already have!) As an emerging young professional, I am constantly seeking out opportunities to further develop my talents and skills; and furthermore, be adequately prepared to inspire and lead others, not only for the success of an organization, but also allow people to develop to become their best selves, and carry this model forward.

I wholeheartedly agree there is a leadership crisis within the nonprofit sector; people are staying in their jobs for shorter periods of time because they feel overworked, underpaid and generally unsatisfied in their day to day. But it’s not enough to sit back and simply let it continue. One of the main responsibilities in creating change is identifying the roadblocks before us, and seeking innovative ways to eliminate them while constantly challenging the status quo. 

I’m all in, and have taken the pledge; I hope many others will follow, and be part of what's to come.

Be bold.

Listen carefully.

Ask questions.

Below is my topic as presented to my professor for a 20-25 page research paper I'm in the midst of writing for my Policy and Legal Environment graduate course. In addition to the many other assignments and papers I have to write this month, you could say it's what I'm musing about these days (and explains my lack of a post last week).

PANL 5002 Research Topic In my research paper I wish to explore the role of advocacy as one of the most important activities that can be played by a nonprofit, and argue that service delivery alone is not enough to advance an organization's mission. Furthermore, I will look at how Canada's advocacy within the sector (or rather, lackthereof) is influenced by certain organizational characteristics, CRA rules that are too restrictive and the misunderstanding of these rules due to lack of education. I then want to consider how Canada can strengthen its advocacy voice with the creation of a proper assessment framework and cross-sector collaboration.

My professor's response?: "Great topic. Please proceed."

The #ALSicebucketchallenge has been a hot topic these last few weeks, and reading many pieces of both praise and critique, about this now global fundraising phenomenon, drew me to this particular article asserting that the donations the ALS continue to receive are in fact causing other charities to lose out on their donations. 

While the numbers from ALS seem to relay that Canadians are giving more, Wyman says the patterns of charity will remain constant. "We as a nation tend to give roughly the same amount ever year," he says, so an increase to ALS means other charities will likely lose out. "The size of the pie generally stays the same and where it gets distributed changes depending on the trends."

Although a valid argument, I counter-argue Wyman's viewpoint and say that this particular campaign will not negatively influence the number of donations or amount of money other nonprofit organizations receive. Although hundreds and thousands of individuals have made donations to the ALS or a similar organization, one of the biggest challenges faced by all nonprofits is getting a donor to give again, and ultimately become a monthly donor. Worldwide, ALS organizations are increasing their donor base at a rapid rate, and now have access to more individuals than ever before, but a high retention of these individuals and conversion into recurring donors will be a huge feat to conquer. And there is also the question of sustainability: bringing in $88.5 million dollars and counting is amazing, but I highly suspect this level of success will not repeat itself for the ALS. Long-term monthly donors should be the focus; they are the lifeline of all organizations and their on-going commitment is heavily relied on as a predictable source of income from year to year.  

This Friday August 15th, Creative Mornings Toronto is hosting a talk with Ashley Good, founder of Fail Forward. The topic, failure, is interesting, and one my classmates and I discussed during our Summer Institute last month, with mention of Engineers Without Borders Canada’s Failure Reports, which Ashley continues to play a significant role in, with respect to their ongoing development and refinement.

Over the years, I've developed a significant interest in the power of education. I believe there is enormous opportunity and need to reconstruct the way we teach and use more innovative approaches tailored to an individual's interest, particularly for young people, in order to spark active and practical involvement for positive change. 

I've done my fair share of research on the topic of alternative means of education in Canada, but had yet to come across any nonprofits comparable to the many American organizations with a focus on education inequity. That is, not until a few weeks ago, on the final day of this year's MPNL Summer Institute, where I as introduced to Pathways to Education. My cohort was fortunate enough to hear from President & CEO Vivian Prokop who gave a fantastic presentation about the ways Pathways is working to address systemic barriers to education, specifically around increasing high school drop out rates across the country. Since its inception in 2001, Pathways has produced a track record of outstanding results, including an increase of 300% for students going on to college or university.