Beyond the Bake Sale

On this episode, I sat down with Cindy Wagman, President and CEO of the Good Partnership and the author of Raise it! The reluctant fundraiser's guide to raising money without selling your soul. "Cindy's goal is to unlock the potential of small nonprofits through fundraising. Having spent her entire career in fundraising, Cindy knows how to make it accessible to small nonprofits in a way that is mission-enhancing and empowering. Cindy is the host of the top-rated podcast, The Small Nonprofit and we also did an episode together that you can find in the show notes below. And Cindy has a special treat for you, our listeners - 10% off when you use the code btbs. In our conversation, Cindy talked about how to not be a reluctant fundraiser. We discussed what the good fundamentals are to kicking to reluctant fundraising to the curb - and whether you're a small nonprofit or a fundraising machine this episode has something for you. I hope you enjoy this episode

On this episode I sat down with Jasmine Shaw, an amazing leader in the women and STEM space and the co-founder of the Ontario Sick day relief project Jasmine Shaw is an engineer, entrepreneur, speaker, and advocate for positive change in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). She has over 5 years of experience in system design and project management in the aerospace sector, leading both engineering and enterprise-level activities. In 2021, she started a service-based business that helps women in STEM achieve their full career potential through mentorship, networking, and storytelling. That same year, she co-created the Ontario Sick Day Relief Project – an emergency fund to support Ontario's essential workers through the third wave of COVID-19. The project raised $66,000 in paid sick days for over 130 people. This is episode is for you if you're looking at how to raise money for an ‘unsexy' cause, if you have a puny budget, and if you want to hear a masterclass in capitalizing on a moment in time to galvanize support for your cause. I hope you love listening to this episode as much I loved recording it.

On this episode I sat down with Lauren Ott, Chief Kits Officer at Kits for a Cause Lauren Ott is a social entrepreneur who connects leading Canadian businesses, families, and organizations to the causes they care about. After spending time teaching at a public high school on the side of a volcano in Ecuador, Lauren returned to Canada and turned her passion for community into a career of driving impact across the country and beyond. She has worked on Parliament Hill, one of the largest education boards in Canada, and WE (Free The Children). Lauren worked in communities in the Amazon region, as the right-hand for strategy and engagement, and eventually, as Director of Business Development responsible for 5 markets and operations from Saskatchewan to Atlantic Canada. In 2018, Lauren took on a new challenge as the Chief Kits Officer of the newly launched social enterprise, Kits for a Cause driving meaningful connections and impactful engagement. Lauren was recently nominated for Canada's Top 40 Under 40. In our conversation Lauren and I talked about how charities and nonprofits can best engage the newest generation of donors and supporters and points to some organizations doing some very cool work. This episode is for you if you're looking for some new ideas on how best to engage the younger generation in a meaningful way I hope you enjoy this episode

On this episode, I sat down with Amanda Weingarten Amanda is the Chief Development Officer of the International Crisis Group. The International Crisis Group is an independent organisation working to prevent wars and shape policies that will build a more peaceful world. She oversees Crisis Group's fundraising efforts in the philanthropy, foundations and government sectors, and oversees the Communications and Outreach team. Within her first year as Chief Development Officer she increased Crisis Group's revenue by 10%, established a foundation relations team and a development operations team, and launched a number of new fundraising programs.  In our conversation we discussed How to evaluate your team's performance without metrics How to retain your talent at your organization  How to match passions to the position  And so much more I hope you enjoy this episode

An extended cut of our episode with Ronen Tal. Ronen currently oversees Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC) Integrated Marketing & Fundraising department. His team interacts with donors at all touchpoints along their journey, from initial awareness of NCC to their first gift and, ultimately, to becoming a monthly donor or leaving a bequest. In his own words, he loves the work because “It is complex and fun. Messy and full of opportunities to experiment. An Excel-driven playground that is only limited by our imaginations and the stories we tell donors.”Somewhere within the numbers lies a perfect spot for every organization, where spending is optimized and donors feel engaged. It is the search for this admittedly personal fundraising utopia that drives Ronen.  

Ronen currently oversees Nature Conservancy of Canada's (NCC) Integrated Marketing & Fundraising department. His team interacts with donors at all touchpoints along their journey, from initial awareness of NCC to their first gift and, ultimately, to becoming a monthly donor or leaving a bequest. In his own words, he loves the work because “It is complex and fun. Messy and full of opportunities to experiment. An Excel-driven playground that is only limited by our imaginations and the stories we tell donors.”Somewhere within the numbers lies a perfect spot for every organization, where spending is optimized and donors feel engaged. It is the search for this admittedly personal fundraising utopia that drives Ronen.

The idea for One Day's Pay came out of the frustration Josh felt for how Indigenous Peoples are treated in Canada, in particular the disconnect in creating a federal statutory holiday that would not directly benefit those for whom the day is meant to recognize – Indigenous Peoples. In describing himself and One Day's Pay, Josh explains, “I'm someone who had an idea that might make a difference if business leaders and regular Canadians get on board. I hope to create a groundswell of support. I was lucky enough to have some amazing friends who saw the potential impact in One Day's Pay and so we ran with it. 100% team effort.” Kris Archie, a Secwepemc and Seme7 woman from the Ts'qescen First Nation, is passionate about heart-based community work and facilitating positive change. Kris is the Chief Executive Officer of The Circle. In all of her roles, Kris works to transform philanthropy and contribute to positive change by creating spaces of learning, relationship-building and activation.

Nicole is a Panamanian-American, workforce development specialist, published author of Game On! Relentlessly Pursue Your Dreams and the 101 Note-taking Affirmation Journal Series, motivational speaker, blogger podcast host of From The Suggestion Box; Navigating Feedback The Good The Bad and the Say Whaaatttt??? and dancer.  She earned her Bachelor's degree via a Division I full-ride track scholarship. After graduating, she founded Step It Up! Inc., a non-profit dance organization. Her experience in sports and entertainment, radio, TV and the performing arts has spanned nearly 20 years covering the Chicago, Houston and Miami markets. She has danced and cheered for four Professional and Semi-Professional sports teams, has prepared more than 500 interns to enter the workforce and has inspired crowds upwards of 2000. She was a contributing writer for The Life of a Single Mom for two years and in  October 2020 she was awarded an Emerging Leader Award from Alive Impact Awards  for Volunteer Engagement Professionals and in November 202 joined the Board of the Association for Leaders In Volunteer Engagement.  In 2019, She joined the Board of the Arts and Business Council of Miami, was listed as one of WLRN's “Local Women Who Inspire You” and was selected as one of Legacy Miami's Most Prominent and Influential Black Women In Business and Industry of 2019.

An extended cut of our episode with Mike Machargo. For his entire adult life, Mike has been running the CHEO BBQ. It started from the humble roots in his Grandma's backyard 27 years ago, to the premier event that it has evolved to today. It is difficult to think of Mike without thinking about the CHEO BBQ, for the most part they are one and the same. Mike is proud of what the CHEO BBQ has become and his efforts have not gone unnoticed. He has earned him some impressive recognition along the way. The CHEO BBQ has raised over $750,000 and engaged hundreds of volunteers.

For his entire adult life, Mike has been running the CHEO BBQ. It started from the humble roots in his Grandma's backyard 27 years ago, to the premier event that it has evolved to today. It is difficult to think of Mike without thinking about the CHEO BBQ, for the most part they are one and the same. Mike is proud of what the CHEO BBQ has become and his efforts have not gone unnoticed. He has earned him some impressive recognition along the way. The CHEO BBQ has raised over $750,000 and engaged hundreds of volunteers.

An extended cut of our episode with Kris Putnam-Walkerly. Kris Putnam-Walkerly is a trusted advisor to the world’s leading philanthropists.  For more than 20 years, wealthy families, ultra-high net worth donors, foundations, Fortune 500 companies, and celebrity activists have sought and benefited from her advice to transform their giving and catapult their impact.  As President of the Putnam Consulting Group, a philanthropy advisor, speaker, and award-winning author, she’s helped over 100 philanthropists strategically allocate over half a billion dollars in grants and gifts. Additionally, Kris works closely with estate planning attorneys, financial and wealth advisors, and family offices to serve wealthy families who wish to deepen their philanthropic commitments. Kris has been named one of America’s Top 25 Philanthropy Speakers for the past three years running. She is the author of the book, Delusional Altruism: Why Philanthropists Fail to Achieve Change and What They Can Do To Transform Giving (Wiley, 2020)and Confident Giving: Sage Advice for Funders, and is a Forbes.com contributor on philanthropy. Kris’s clients include the J.M. Smucker Company, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, National Center for Family Philanthropy, Blue Shield of California, and the Cleveland Foundation.

Kris Putnam-Walkerly is a trusted advisor to the world’s leading philanthropists.  For more than 20 years, wealthy families, ultra-high net worth donors, foundations, Fortune 500 companies, and celebrity activists have sought and benefited from her advice to transform their giving and catapult their impact.  As President of the Putnam Consulting Group, a philanthropy advisor, speaker, and award-winning author, she’s helped over 100 philanthropists strategically allocate over half a billion dollars in grants and gifts. Additionally, Kris works closely with estate planning attorneys, financial and wealth advisors, and family offices to serve wealthy families who wish to deepen their philanthropic commitments. Kris has been named one of America’s Top 25 Philanthropy Speakers for the past three years running. She is the author of the book, Delusional Altruism: Why Philanthropists Fail to Achieve Change and What They Can Do To Transform Giving (Wiley, 2020)and Confident Giving: Sage Advice for Funders, and is a Forbes.com contributor on philanthropy. Kris’s clients include the J.M. Smucker Company, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Charles and Helen Schwab Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, National Center for Family Philanthropy, Blue Shield of California, and the Cleveland Foundation.

  An extended cut of our episode with Drew Vincent. Drew is the Founder and Creative behind Stay At Home Fundraising.  Drew and his team’s first event the Stay at Home Gala was born out of necessity to support charitable endeavours at the start of COVID. Launching March 27th after 11 days of planning,  Since March of 2020 Stay at Home Fundraising has worked with over 45 communities and organizations to help make engaging and innovative online events a reality, helping organizations raise over 1.6 Million for their cause. Drew has a background in large scale events including Ironman Triathlons and TEDx, as well as a Masters Degree in International Business From the University of Worms in Germany.  

Drew is the Founder and Creative behind Stay At Home Fundraising.  Drew and his team’s first event the Stay at Home Gala was born out of necessity to support charitable endeavours at the start of COVID. Launching March 27th after 11 days of planning,  Since March of 2020 Stay at Home Fundraising has worked with over 45 communities and organizations to help make engaging and innovative online events a reality, helping organizations raise over 1.6 Million for their cause. Drew has a background in large scale events including Ironman Triathlons and TEDx, as well as a Masters Degree in International Business From the University of Worms in Germany.

An extended cut of our episode with Candies Kotchapaw. Candies Kotchapaw is a passionate change maker focused on amplifying the excellence within Black communities in Canada and beyond. She holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in social work from York University, and a Diploma in Child and Youth Work from George Brown College in Toronto, Canada.  Candies’ work centers around education, training, and mentorship in careers where Black talents are stereotypically under-represented. Over the course of the last 3 years, she has successfully spearheaded the development of two community-based leadership development programs. #LeadLikeAGirl is a program for Black girls ages 8-17. Young girls in this program are mentored by Black women and allied women to disrupt the gender wage disparity in professional careers. From her own lived experience of lack of access to the diplomatic education and training space, she developed the Black Diplomats Academy for young professionals interested in careers in diplomacy and negotiation.

Candies Kotchapaw is a passionate change maker focused on amplifying the excellence within Black communities in Canada and beyond. She holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in social work from York University, and a Diploma in Child and Youth Work from George Brown College in Toronto, Canada.  Candies’ work centers around education, training, and mentorship in careers where Black talents are stereotypically under-represented. Over the course of the last 3 years, she has successfully spearheaded the development of two community-based leadership development programs. #LeadLikeAGirl is a program for Black girls ages 8-17. Young girls in this program are mentored by Black women and allied women to disrupt the gender wage disparity in professional careers. From her own lived experience of lack of access to the diplomatic education and training space, she developed the Black Diplomats Academy for young professionals interested in careers in diplomacy and negotiation.

On this episode Christian sat down with Bailey Greenspon, Co-CEO of Girls20 and Sarah Mariani, a participant in the Girls on Boards program.  Bailey is a global advocate for young women’s participation and has served in progressive leadership roles overseeing programming and global engagement at G(irls)20 since 2017. Sarah is an emerging voice on inclusive innovation and leads digital transformation projects at North America’s largest urban innovation hub while supporting Young Diplomats of Canada and the Canadian Women’s foundation as a Young Director. In this episode, we discussed The Girls on Boards program; Increasing young women’s representation and participation on boards of directors; Reimagining governance models; Combating microaggressions and much more.

An extended cut of our episode with three young black fundraisers; Adya Afanou, Camila Pereira Ph.D and Melissa Leite to talk about their experiences in the sector. In the conversation, Christian discussed with Adya, Camila and Melissa a range of topics from how to recruit young people of colour into a variety of roles in your organization; why transparency in culture and compensation is critically important; how to set boundaries as a young professional and much more.

On this episode, Christian sat down with three young black fundraisers; Adya Afanou, Camila Pereira Ph.D  and Melissa Leite to talk about their experiences in the sector. In the conversation, Christian discussed with Adya, Camila and Melissa a range of topics from how to recruit young people of colour into a variety of roles in your organization; why transparency in culture and compensation is critically important; how to set boundaries as a young professional and much more.

An extended cut of our episode with Nneka Allen, Nicole Salmon and Joy Gooding. three accomplished black women fundraisers who shared with me a message of hope for young black fundraisers, and young fundraisers of colour who work  in the charitable sector.  In our conversation, we spoke about sponsorship vs mentorship, filling our souls, living by our values and virtues, agency, and much more. If you’d like to learn more, as well as connect with  Nneka, Nicole and Joy, please visit our show notes for this episode on our website. While you’re there, I highly encourage you to take a look at the important work of the Black Canadian fundraisers’ collective, and also look at ‘collecting courage: joy, pain, freedom, love that is co-edited by both Nneka and Nicole.

On this episode I sat down with Nneka Allen, Nicole Salmon and Joy Gooding, three accomplished black women fundraisers who shared with me a message of hope for young black fundraisers, and young fundraisers of colour who work  in the charitable sector.  In our conversation, we spoke about sponsorship vs mentorship, filling our souls, living by our values and virtues, agency, and much more. If you’d like to learn more, as well as connect with  Nneka, Nicole and Joy please visit our show notes for this episode at www.btbs.ca. While you’re there, I highly encourage you to take a look at the important work of the black canadian fundraisers’ collective, and also look at ‘collecting courage: joy, pain, freedom, love that is co-edited by both Nneka and Nicole.

  An extended cut of our episode with Logan Hussein. Logan Hussein had a complicated arrival on November 26, 2008 at the Queensway Carleton Hospital. He was born with a collapsed lung and was immediately taken to CHEO’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in a specialized incubator. Logan remained in the NICU for nine days. From the day Sue and Wael Hussein took Logan home from the NICU, they knew their lives would never be the same. Filled with gratitude on their son’s recovery, they wanted to find a way to give back to CHEO, help save the lives of other children and give families hope. Logan’s ultimate goal is to raise $200,000 for a Neonatal Transport Incubator. Logan is the youngest recipient of the CHEO Foundation’s ORDER of the GOOD BEAR. He also participates each year in the CHEO Telethon and his family participates in CN Cycle for CHEO. At the 2019 AFP Ottawa Philanthropy Awards, Logan was awarded the Youth Philanthropy Award.  

Logan Hussein had a complicated arrival on November 26, 2008 at the Queensway Carleton Hospital. He was born with a collapsed lung and was immediately taken to CHEO’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in a specialized incubator. Logan remained in the NICU for nine days. From the day Sue and Wael Hussein took Logan home from the NICU, they knew their lives would never be the same. Filled with gratitude on their son’s recovery, they wanted to find a way to give back to CHEO, help save the lives of other children and give families hope. Logan’s ultimate goal is to raise $200,000 for a Neonatal Transport Incubator. Logan is the youngest recipient of the CHEO Foundation’s ORDER of the GOOD BEAR. He also participates each year in the CHEO Telethon and his family participates in CN Cycle for CHEO. At the 2019 AFP Ottawa Philanthropy Awards, Logan was awarded the Youth Philanthropy Award.

David believes philanthropy’s power belongs to all – not just the 1%. Working with clients across Canada and internationally, he develops and executes successful strategies for annual giving and legacy marketing programs that build value through meaningful donor relationships and empower donors of modest means to achieve their philanthropic dreams. David is the founder of Western Canada Fundraising Conference, Canada’s only multi-award winning conference for professional fundraisers. In our conversation, David and I discussed Legacy Marketing Fundamentals Choosing the right story Not talking about death Getting your website legacy ready

Dave is Vice President of Advancement at ACHIEVA and an adjunct professor of informatics at Muskingum University’s Master of Information Strategy, Systems and Technology program. A certified Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Master Trainer, he received the Outstanding Fund Raising Executive Award from the AFP Western PA chapter in 2013, has had numerous articles published in professional journals and has written curriculum for The Fund Raising School® at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University. Dave is a past president of the AFP Western PA chapter and has served in many volunteer roles for AFP International and his own chapter, where he is currently the Vice President of Resources. He is the current board treasurer for the Brentwood Athletic Association where he also coaches youth softball. He is also serving on the UpPrize Advisory Committee. Dave has served in leadership positions on additional nonprofit boards including the Pittsburgh Planned Giving Council, Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Pittsburgh (YNPNPgh), APRA Western PA, PA Kiwanis, and Brewhouse Artists.

Meridian Swift was hired for her first volunteer manager job in 1995 because she was “nice.” Since that fateful day, she earned the CVA accreditation in 2005, has won several volunteer program awards and has presented workshops on the state and national level. She poured her passion for elevating volunteer programs into authoring two books, The Volunteer Shelf Life and The Disruptive Volunteer Manager. She blogs on her website, VolunteerPlainTalk.com, and because she can’t stop talking about volunteerism, she podcasts on the Volunteer Plain Talk podcast. She loves analogies and anything absurd and she never replaces an appliance until it can no longer be duct-taped together and then she cries while bidding her old friend adieu.

Nadia Lloyd is a Toronto-based artist and entrepreneur who is sewing and donating face masks for front line care workers in Toronto. Thanks to community support, and her entrepreneurial and artistic spirit, she’s been donating 60 masks/week. Nadia shared with me that her sewing skills and entrepreneurial spirit manifested themselves at age 6 when she started sewing pencil case in order to make money for herself. At age 36, her artistic pursuits took shape when she picked up a paintbrush for the first time...and the rest is history.

Tom Ahern is considered one of North America’s leading authorities on donor communications. Tom works with dozens of clients nationwide every year. They include brand names like the Sierra Club and Save the Children, as well as hospitals, universities, foundations, and local charities. He specializes in bequest marketing; donor communications evaluations; direct mail; newsletter interventions; and case statements for big-ticket campaigns. Each year, he delivers dozens of workshops on the techniques of (and psychology behind) effective fundraising communications. He is also the author of four well-received books Tom is also an award-winning magazine journalist, for articles on health, women’s rights and other social justice issues. He has his MA and BA in English from Brown University, and a Certificate in Advertising Art from the RI School of Design. His office is in Rhode Island. He writes his books at his second home in France. In our conversation we discussed How fundraising is about activity Why now, why us, why anyone would care How nonprofits and charities need authenticity 

Scott is an award-winning executive director who is passionate about helping not for profits and associations develop and sustain excellent leadership at the board, CEO/Executive Director, and key staff levels. In the last 15 years, Scott has raised over 25 million dollars with the multiple agencies he has worked with including the Ottawa boys and girls club, the Nanaimo child development centre, and phoenix human services. Scott has been recognized for his work with the Ottawa Boys and Girls club for over a decade of service with a united way community builder award and has also been recognized with the Queen’s Diamond jubilee award, the chamber of commerce non-profit of the year award, and multiple accreditations from the commission of the accreditation for rehabilitation facilities. He also has a music studio named after him for his work with the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club.

Leah Eustace, M.Phil, MInstF, CFRE, ACFRE. President, Blue Canoe Philanthropy Leah is an idea-generator and strategic thinker with a wide and varied background in charitable fund development. Over the past 25 years, Leah has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for organizations around the world. After many years as a practitioner, Leah now works as a consultant to the non-profit sector. She partners with her clients to help tell powerful stories through direct marketing, cases for support, legacy giving and social media. She has a particular interest, and extensive experience, in strategic planning and ‘looking under the hood’ of fundraising programs to help tune up revenue-generation activities and build stronger relationships with donors.  Leah’s volunteer work is extensive. She is Immediate Past Chair of the AFP Foundation for Philanthropy – Canada, a Board Member of AFP International, a member of the ACFRE Credentialing Board, and on the Board of the newly formed AFP Canada.   Leah speaks internationally in the areas of legacy giving, donor psychology, leadership, and philanthropic trends. As well, she’s a regular contributor to Advancing Philanthropy, Hilborn e-news, and many other publications. In 2014, Leah became the 101st person in the world to receive the ACFRE accreditation (and only the 8th in Canada). She was also honoured with the 2014 AFP Ottawa Chapter Outstanding Fundraising Executive Award. 

Rob Jackson has worked in the volunteering movement for more than 25 years, during which time he has led and managed volunteers and volunteering in education, advice, fundraising and children’s services settings at local, regional and national levels. We will be speaking with him about COVID-19 and its wide-reaching impact on the charitable sector, and what volunteer managers can do during this time!

As a professional fundraiser Sam works closely with generous donors to impact some of the most vulnerable people in her community. Sam’s extensive experience, for close to three decades, in fundraising, media and municipal politics has created an impressive network of community and business leaders. Over a 28-year period Ms. Laprade has raised money for important charities in her community such as: The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, the Ottawa Humane Society and the Ottawa Mission Foundation. Sam is the creator and radio host of “An Hour to Give” on 1310 News, Ottawa. This show highlights non-profit organizations in Ottawa, Canada.

In this episode, I sat down with Dwaine Taylor - a development and social impact professional with experience in strategic planning, program development, cross-industry impact partnerships, and major gifts fundraising. He recently returned to his alma mater, at Carleton University, to lead community partnerships and community engaged learning programs for students. Prior, Dwaine held several roles at WE Charity (formerly Free the Children), including most recently Associate Director of Business Development.

Alice L. Ferris, MBA, CFRE, ACFRE, founding partner of GoalBusters, has more than twenty-five years of professional fundraising experience. Alice was the 90th professional to receive the Advanced Certified Fundraising Executive (ACFRE) credential and is a three-time honoree as AFP-Northern Arizona Fundraising Professional of the Year. She currently serves on the ACFRE Credentialing Board, the AFP Northern Arizona Board, and the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at the Wisconsin School of Business Advisory Board, among other volunteer commitments.

Brett Tackaberry is a digital solution professional that uses his tech skills for the greater good. He has 15 years of experience helping people and companies do business online, starting with his co-founding 76design, a digital agency. Brett is currently the CTO at Rebel, where he is responsible for the technical team and product direction. In his mission to help people be great online, Brett runs Random Hacks of Kindness, a hackathon for social good; he assists in running Tech4Good, a community organization that bridges the gap between the digital and technology sectors; and contributes to great initiatives like Ottawa Civic Tech and Code4Canada. He has also been known to rock a pretty sweet mustache each November to raise funds for Mustaches for Kids. In our conversation, we discussed modern agile, tech for good, and complex problem solving.

Kate Bahen, CFA is the managing director for Charity intelligence and is a retired equity analyst. Some call Charity Intelligence a “charity watchdog”. We see ourselves as research analysts who help Canadian donors give better. Charity Intelligence researches Canadian charities for donors to be informed and give intelligently. Charity Intelligence’s website posts free reports on more than 740 Canadian charities. Today over 300,000 Canadians use Charity Intelligence’s website as a go-to source for information on Canadian charities reading over 1.3 million charity reports.

Michael Sangster is an award winning executive and community leader with over 30 years of experience. Michael has an unprecedented talent for activating change, cultivating relationships and rescuing troubled partnerships through skillful negotiation and consensus building.  Michael is currently the Chief Commercial Officer of PAL Aerospace: A global leader in airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) providing comprehensive and custom solutions.  Michael has worked for organizations in senior leadership roles at TELUS, The Waterloo Group, and C-COM Satellite Systems Inc to name a few where he’s delivered impressive business development results and motivated large teams to reach their goals.  In the community, Michael has raised over $1.5 million for children at risk through his founding of the Hill Charity Golf Classic tournament; Is a board member of OutCare foundation; is the community chair of the Ottawa Police Service Gala, and is one of the founders of the Ottawa Giving Group: A giving circle located in Ottawa. Michael has also been recognized for his volunteerism and philanthropy with the Ottawa Police Community Leadership Award; the Diamond Jubilee Medal Award; and Volunteer of the Year Award from the Ottawa Food Bank, to name a few.

Evan Patterson is the executive director of Kids Up Front Ottawa, an organization that distributes donated tickets for a variety of arts and sports events to children and youth who otherwise would not have the opportunity. As an avid skier and snowboarder; a Calgary 40 under 40, he helps create memories that last a lifetime, often planting seeds for a child’s future interests or career. For Evan, he’d love to see Kids Up Front become the Ticketmaster for non-profits.

Parvathi “Parv” Santhosh-Kumar is Senior Director of Impact at StriveTogether, a national movement of 70 regions working to advance equitable outcomes for children and families from cradle to career. She is a Results Count leadership practitioner who coaches teams of cross-sector leaders to dismantle structural barriers to opportunity and achieve impact at scale towards economic mobility for 10.5 million youth. She also serves as managing director for StriveTogether’s Chicago office. She is Curator of the Chicago Global Shapers Community and she was selected as one of 50 young leaders to participate in the 2018 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, where she contributed to dialogues with world leaders on creating a shared future in a fractured world.

Kate Swift is the Manager of Community Engagement at Extend- A - Family Waterloo Region. For almost a decade, Kate has been focused on Community Development and the social sector; building opportunities for people to connect and thrive is her jam! Kate is an accomplished development and event manager who loves to listen and share stories about the people she meets. A lifetime in the hospitality industry has taught her that everyone is a VIP and that is just as important to have a strategic plan as it is to be able to think on your feet. can help you exceed your goals, build your community and foster relationships with your stakeholders.

Dr. Sonika Kainth is a family physician in Toronto. Her expertise lies in combining her knowledge of medicine with a passion for addressing the systemic issues that negatively impact health. Sonika's work focuses on the opioid crisis which has killed 50 times more people in Ontario than SARS. Currently, she works at a harm-reduction clinic treating people with opioid addictions and resulting health consequences. Dr. Kainth is a strong advocate for the social determinants of health such as income, health literacy and access to safe housing.

Brian Toller is President of Tolcor Investments Ltd., a private investment firm. He is also Co-Owner of Cognitive Workshops, which provides cognitive therapy training for mental health professionals across Canada and in the UK. On a community level, Brian is on the board of Community Foundations of Canada,  which represents the 191 community foundations across Canada. He was on the board of the Ottawa Community Foundation (OCF) for 10 years, three as Board Chair and four as Chair of its Investment Committee, where he led an initiative to implement Responsible Investing and Impact Investing at the foundation. He is currently a member of OCF’s Impact Investing Committee as well as its Investment Committee. He is also Chair of Impact Hub Ottawa, a collaborative co-working space that incubates social purpose businesses.

Brian Toller is President of Tolcor Investments Ltd., a private investment firm. He is also Co-Owner of Cognitive Workshops, which provides cognitive therapy training for mental health professionals across Canada and in the UK. On a community level, Brian is on the board of Community Foundations of Canada,  which represents the 191 community foundations across Canada. He was on the board of the Ottawa Community Foundation (OCF) for 10 years, three as Board Chair and four as Chair of its Investment Committee, where he led an initiative to implement Responsible Investing and Impact Investing at the foundation. He is currently a member of OCF’s Impact Investing Committee as well as its Investment Committee. He is also Chair of Impact Hub Ottawa, a collaborative co-working space that incubates social purpose businesses.

Leah Eustace, M.Phil, MInstF, CFRE, ACFRE and currently the President of Blue Canoe Philanthropy. Leah is an idea-generator and strategic thinker with a wide and varied background in charitable fund development. Over the past 25 years, Leah has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for organizations around the world. After many years as a practitioner, Leah now works as a consultant to the non-profit sector. She partners with her clients to help tell powerful stories through direct marketing, cases for support, legacy giving and social media.

Leah Eustace, M.Phil, MInstF, CFRE, ACFRE and currently the President of Blue Canoe Philanthropy. Leah is an idea-generator and strategic thinker with a wide and varied background in charitable fund development. Over the past 25 years, Leah has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for organizations around the world. After many years as a practitioner, Leah now works as a consultant to the non-profit sector. She partners with her clients to help tell powerful stories through direct marketing, cases for support, legacy giving and social media.

Spending 18 years in the sector, Paul has been a philanthropic advisor with Scotiabank and spent over a decade with charities like the University of Toronto and the Catholic Church of Greater Toronto. He teaches fundraising with the postgraduate fundraising program at Georgian College, is Chair of the Advisory Committee at the Humber College postgraduate fundraising program, an instructor with the Canadian Association of Gift Planners and speaks nationally on online, major and planned giving. He has been a speaker at almost every Association of Fundraising Professionals Chapter in Canada and has been featured in the Globe and Mail and Forbes on the topic of personal branding and networking.

Spending 18 years in the sector, Paul has been a philanthropic advisor with Scotiabank and spent over a decade with charities like the University of Toronto and the Catholic Church of Greater Toronto. He teaches fundraising with the postgraduate fundraising program at Georgian College, is Chair of the Advisory Committee at the Humber College postgraduate fundraising program, an instructor with the Canadian Association of Gift Planners and speaks nationally on online, major and planned giving. He has been a speaker at almost every Association of Fundraising Professionals Chapter in Canada and has been featured in the Globe and Mail and Forbes on the topic of personal branding and networking.

Sarah is a 25-year-old entrepreneur born and raised in Ottawa. During the day, she works at a local tech company dedicated to changing the face of healthcare. But on evenings and weekends, she is a wedding planner dedicated to making life stress-free for local brides and grooms to be! Sarah has enjoyed every opportunity for learning and personal growth that philanthropy has provided her along her journey! 

Sarah is a 25-year-old entrepreneur born and raised in Ottawa. During the day, she works at a local tech company dedicated to changing the face of healthcare. But on evenings and weekends, she is a wedding planner dedicated to making life stress-free for local brides and grooms to be! Sarah has enjoyed every opportunity for learning and personal growth that philanthropy has provided her along her journey! 

Samantha Banks has been working and volunteering in the philanthropic sector for over a decade. She is a graduate of the Humber Fundraising and Volunteer Management Program and has held positions on both the fundraising and granting side of the industry. She loves to dance and throw events that bring amazing people together. She has worked in Montreal and Ottawa, and served as the Chief of Staff for a Family Office and Foundation in Toronto. Sam is now the Director of Philanthropy, Under 40, for UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

Samantha Banks has been working in the philanthropic sector for close to eight years. She is a graduate of the Humber Fundraising and Volunteer Management Program and has held positions on both the fundraising and granting side of the industry. She loves to dance and throw events that bring amazing people together. Samantha loves to say, “I’ll continue to change lives until the day people stop changing mine!”