The Financial Mentoring program, concentrating on financial management and planning, is a partnership with the Waterloo Region Resiliency Initiative. It is the first in what will be Capacity Waterloo Region’s broad peer mentoring program, eventually extending to areas including governance, strategic planning, information and technology management, HR management, programs and services, community relations, fundraising, and research and development. The program will support non-profit Executive Directors and CEOs in Waterloo Region in gaining greater mastery in all organizational areas, ensuring strong, vibrant, sustainable, and innovative organizations.

The mentoring program grew out of early needs identified through our Executive Director in Residence program, our growing peer network, and the complementary developments taking place within our funding community here in the region.

Over the past year, ten funding organizations and foundations – The Waterloo Region Resiliency Initiative – have been working together, focused on facilitating funder and community learning, creating resiliency, and supporting transformation in the non-profit sector. This past February, the Resiliency Initiative sponsored a workshop called “Enabling Resilience: How to Restructure and Revitalize your Non-Profit Organization.” Attended by leaders from 35 Waterloo Region non-profits, the workshop identified an interest in further coaching related to the challenges and opportunities related to financial planning. The workshop was conducted again this June with the volunteer financial mentors.

The leaders of the 35 organizations who attended the February workshop are now being invited to participate in the Financial Mentoring program with confidential matches being made by Capacity Waterloo Region.

We look forward to sharing more news this fall on other mentoring opportunities. For more information, you can contact Cathy Brothers, Executive Director in Residence.

Cape was in Waterloo Tuesday night as Capacity Waterloo Region’s fourth Change Agent series social entrepreneur (previous talks were from George Roter, Tal Dehtiar and Jon Dellandrea). An Ashoka Fellow and self-described “relentless entrepreneur,” Cape founded Evergreen in 1991 as a response to what he saw as the paving over of our communities. Evergreen’s mission is to bring nature back into cities – not an easy task when half the world now lives in cities compared to just 12% a century ago.

Evergreen’s programs have helped transform 3,000 school yards and 2,000 community green projects across Canada. That alone would be an accomplishment but Cape doesn’t come across as a guy who would rest on that success. He says that when the organization went from a budget of $800,000 to $5.2 million in two years, thanks to large corporate partnerships, it gave Evergreen a boost that pushed growth, injected confidence, and developed new thinking that eventually led to Brick Works.

“It’s been a very powerful change agent for the organization internally,” said Cape, dramatically transforming the organization, evolving its mandate and broadening its strategic agenda.

This September, Brick Works will officially open with ongoing programming from Farmers’ Markets to seminars and plantings (though activities are taking place all summer long). Its mission is to inspire and educate the community to embrace a sustainable future. Cape expects a half million visitors next year.

Some key messages from Cape’s talk:

• Time spent debating and designing partnerships is time well spent. Cape estimates Evergreen spent $100,000 in staff time discussing and creating the Toyota corporate sponsorship program but ended up with a co-developed partnership and charter that works for both organizations.
• Ideas can evolve into something much better if you take time to listen to feedback. The original idea for Brick Works was an urban native nursery (submitted to a social enterprise competition spearheaded by Social Capital Partners’ Bill Young). Eight years later, it’s a multi-million dollar, year-round complex.
• Be bold and think big! The boldness of ideas is directly proportional to the outcome.
• Strong relationships and networks make bold ideas work, even in the face of enormous challenges. The Brick Works idea was an unproven concept with no capital or collateral.
• There’s no boundary on inspiration. Central Park and Angkor Wat are just two of the inspirations Geoff has used for Evergreen and Brick Works.
• Recognize when your organization is being pulled in a new direction and when you’re pushing it. Both are good if you recognize it for what it is.

The way we choose to think about things will determine the outcomes of the non-profits we’re involved with said Cathy Brothers, Executive Director in Residence at Capacity Waterloo Region, during a recent speech to the United Way of Cambridge & North Dumfries.

“As a social worker, I know that thinking is at the basis of how we act,” explained Cathy. “Ask any competitive athlete. If they think they’re going to fail, there’s a pretty good chance that will happen. If they believe they are going to ‘own the podium’, there’s also a pretty good chance that will happen.”

The nonprofit sector has never been as strong, vibrant, relevant, supported, and connected to the whole community as it is today. Cathy challenged the audience to examine six components of successful non-profits and figure out which non-profits “own the podium?”

Here is a condensed version of her talk. Let us know your thoughts on these points by sending us an email or commenting on this post.

A Vibrant Mission and Vision
Successful non-profits can clearly communicate and articulate their purpose and direction. They understand that mission and vision are the driving forces that reflect their passion and commitment. Visions aren’t about looking in the rear-view mirror and describing what an organization is doing today, or about responding to crises and set-backs. Vision is about creating the future.

Successful non-profits have vision statements that are explicit, straightforward and concise. These vision statements don’t just happen over the back fence. They are a result of continuous, inclusive conversations. Organizations that are really committed to success budget for the resources to communicate the vision and give it the sunlight that the vision needs to grow and thrive.

Strong Governance
Never be fooled into thinking that a strong CEO or ED is the key to organizational success. It helps to have a solid ED, but, in the long run, it is the leadership of the Board of Directors that truly ensures a nonprofit’s success. A successful non-profit has a board who would die for the mission, vision, and cause of the organization. A board that passionately believes in the work of the agency, is totally engaged, is representative of the community, and is made up of high-quality leaders.

Good governance means that the board had defined governance practices with board members that are educated and supported with continuous learning about their roles. Board members take ownership for the success of the board’s work and make board succession planning a priority. Successful board governance means that board members understand the needs and realities of the communities they serve. In successful board governance, board members work hard to ensure that there are a whole army of folks in the community who care deeply about the work of the organization.

Sufficient Resources
Budgets and financial plans in successful organizations are clearly aligned with the mission and long-term goals of the organization. Adequate financial resources are totally connected to our successes in telling our story. To have sufficient resources we must have high visibility and credibility with our stakeholders. We must also have a plan to link clear strategic messages to all of our resource development efforts. The story is never about the money. It is always about the good that we are doing and who we are doing it for.

Highly Regarded and Relevant Programs and Services
Successful non-profits are constantly mining for emerging ideas and new models of service. They learn from the successes and failures of others in delivering programs. They are not afraid of failure, and have a culture that supports new ideas, with no expectation that they will all turn out to be brilliant. Successful organizations have exit strategies for programs that are no longer working and are able to quickly stop services that don’t meet expectations. Successful non-profits don’t get too hung up on the concept of “best practices”, knowing that by the time services are recognized as best practice, they are on the road to extinction, and, there are probably emerging ideas on the fringes that are worth exploring.

Strong Infrastructure
For too long, non-profits lulled themselves and funders into believing that they could operate successfully without an adequate foundation to support programs. This belief system has changed and there is now widespread recognition that to be efficient, effective operations, successful organizations must have a strong management support system.

Strategic Relationships
Successful non-profits are respected and well connected within the community. They enjoy a range of strategic alliances and partnerships. They understand that the era of solo flights has passed. Today’s success is judged by the extent of the agency’s intelligent and meaningful collaboration activities. Successful non-profits know that partnerships and collaboration are not just window dressing. It is about meaningful relationships across multiple sectors that bring together new knowledge and resources to solve society’s problems. Successful non-profits are finding ways to move beyond traditional partnerships and share the responsibility for solving social problems with many sectors and individuals beyond the usual walls of the non-profit.

“We are kidding ourselves if we think that inclusivity is about welcoming folks different than ourselves to Kitchener-Waterloo and then working in so many subtle and not-so-subtle ways to force them to be cookie cutters, comforting to the dominant culture,” said Cathy.

Subtle acts of rejection and prejudice still show themselves everyday in our community. Whenever you want a dose of real public opinion, tune in to a radio talk show.

A recent local show featured two Canadian-born women of the Islamic religion who spoke about their choices to wear head scarves.

“The hostility and ignorance of the callers who rudely told these Canadians to go back to their own countries was so hurtful and embarrassing that I wanted to deny or repress what I was hearing,” said Cathy. The callers were saying that these women had no right to be different from mainstream culture.

“What distresses me is the depth of bigotry expressed by some residents of Kitchener-Waterloo who truly believe they have the corner on righteousness.”

Cathy urged the audience to recognize and address the great amount of work still to be done in creating an inclusive society, while also celebrating our success to date. The best way to start doing that is to get bigotry out in the open, out of the “dark, secret places” where it breeds.

How will we know that we’re making real progress?

• When we have the courage to have honest, and open conversations about our differences
• When we are not afraid of respectful discussion and debates and arguments
• When it is apparent to all that we truly value conflicts and differences
• When we sincerely believe that it’s what inside the person that counts
• When acceptance and trust are more than words on a page

What do you feel we can all do to create a meaningfully inclusive community in Waterloo Region? Are we on the right track?

That was the message from Jon Dellandrea in last week’s talk, Revolutionary Thoughts on the Non-Profit Sector. Dellandrea currently serves as counsel to Perimeter Institute, assisting with the establishment of a major endowment campaign to help secure Perimeter’s future.

Donors are bombarded with requests from countless organizations. How do you rise above the noise and make your organization stand out? Here are some thoughts Dellandrea shared with the 100 or so attendees in the audience last week:

• Start with a vision. Without it, it’s difficult to make people believe in your organization, let alone give money.
• Have a vision, the money will follow.
• Get the story right. Craft something unique then communicate the heck out of it. Show people why what you’re doing is important.
• Cultivate relationships. Don’t just take the money and run.
• Celebrate every gift, small or large. Be careful about being seduced by the big give.
• Thank, thank, and then thank some more.
• Be bold and persevere. Don’t take no for an answer.
• Challenge the good time/bad time paradigm for fundraising. There is never a “perfect” time to raise money.
• Figure out how you use your board members and other volunteers. It’s more than optics. Ask them to live and breathe the vision. Be brave and weed out non-performers.

In 2008, the University of Toronto awarded Dellandrea an honorary doctor of laws for his “transformative influence on the advancement of the profession and the culture of philanthropy in Canada and internationally.” In 1996, he was recipient of the Outstanding Fundraising Executive Award, given by the Toronto chapter of the National Society of Fundraising Executives. A member of The Order of Canada, Dellandrea has served at several universities including the University of Waterloo, the University of Toronto, and Oxford University. While at the University of Toronto in 2003, he and his team closed a campaign in excess of $1.2 billion – a campaign that was $400 million when it was launched in 1997 .

A podcast of the talk will be posted soon. In the meantime, here are Jon’s slides.

Tim is Capacity Waterloo Region’s steering committee chair, a founder and Partner of Tech Capital Partners, CEO of the Accelerator Centre, and Associate Vice President Commercialization at the University of Waterloo. He’s part of an informal Canadian contingent that includes Ashoka Fellows like Al Etmanski, Brandaid’s Tony Pigott, Rotman dean Roger Martin (who is also on the board of the Skoll Foundation), and Ilse Treurnicht of MaRS.

The Skoll World Forum is a sold-out event again this year. Its purpose is to engage the world’s most influential social entrepreneurs, social investors, and thought leaders from all sectors in critical discussions, debates and work-sessions designed to create partnerships, networks, knowledge and collaborations.

“The complexity and scale of today’s ‘wicked problems’ demand we raise our game,” says the forum’s website. “Social entrepreneurs with innovative solutions to critical issues of climate change, water scarcity, poverty, education and public health, cannot achieve impact at scale without forging cross-sector partnerships and alliances.”

This year, you can follow a bit of Skoll from wherever you are via the Virtual Forum page. Follow tweets, blogs and register for the free podcasts (you can listen to the 2009 sessions too). Follow Tim on Twitter at @timothyjackson.

Jon Dellandrea (BA., M.Ed., MA (Oxon) EdD, LLD) is currently serving as counsel to Perimeter Institute, assisting with the establishment of a major endowment campaign to help secure Perimeter’s future.

In 1996, he was recipient of the Outstanding Fundraising Executive Award, given by the Toronto chapter of the National Society of Fundraising Executives. In 1999 the Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education awarded him their “prestigious” Outstanding Achievement Award and a couple of years later, he became the first Canadian to receive the Laureate Award of the Institute for Charitable Giving in the United States. Jon was appointed as a member of The Order of Canada in 2006 for his contributions to higher education.

Jon received his degrees from the University of Toronto and Oxford University. He served as Vice-President, University Development, for the University of Waterloo and spent several years as President of the Mount Sinai Hospital Foundation. He served as the University of Toronto’s Vice-President and Chief Advancement Officer for 11 years. The initial goal had been to launch a fundraising campaign for $300 million (CAD) to establish more endowed chairs and student aid. By 2000, the University had raised $705 million; the campaign was extended to the year 2004, with a new target of $1 billion which Jon and his team surpassed a year ahead of schedule. The campaign closed in excess of $1.2 billion.

From 2005 to 2008, Jon was Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Development and External Affairs) at the University of Oxford, where he launched a campaign for over $2.5 billion, making it the largest campaign to date in Europe.

All the details you need are here:

Date: April 27, 2010
Time: 6:30pm
Location: Accelerator Centre, 295 Hagey Boulevard, Research & Technology Park, University of Waterloo
Cost: $29.00
Click here to register. Register early – space is limited.

For a recap, why don’t you read what one attendee, Ramy Nassar, had to say. His post is hosted here, over at RQ Magazine, a blog by Hilary Abel.

Thanks to Tal, everyone who attended, our sponsors, and partners. We look forward to bringing you another one in the spring.

“We are very pleased to welcome Cathy into her new role with Capacity Waterloo Region,” said Tim Jackson, chair of the project’s steering committee. “Our community is going to benefit tremendously from her vast leadership experience and passion for social change. We couldn’t ask for a better champion for the sector.”

In addition to playing a lead role in shaping this one-of-a-kind program, Brothers will work one-on-one with top leaders in Waterloo Region’s highly diverse non-profit and social venture sector to accelerate their organizational innovation and personal growth.

“I’m looking forward to helping our community’s social leaders reach their full potential,” said Brothers. “Leading an organization can be a challenging and sometimes lonely job. My role will make it a little easier by giving our community leaders a sounding board and the tools, resources, and cross-sectoral connections they need to continue to grow and innovate.”

Brothers was most recently Executive Director of Mosaic Counselling and Family Services, a position she held since 1992. Over the past 17 years the professional family service agency grew from helping 1,000 persons each year to helping 25,000 persons annually. In 2006, she established the Family Violence Project, a first-of-its-kind program in Canada that brought together a specialized police unit and 14 agencies under one roof.

Before Mosaic, Brothers held senior management roles at Homewood and St. Mary’s hospitals. She is a founding member of several social service organizations, and a current board member of St. Jerome’s University. She is a recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, an Honorary Senior Fellow at Renison College, and a member of the Barnraiser’s Council.