Author: Peter Cantelon, Executive Director Out of my years working within the information technology and software industries I have come to believe strongly in the idea that, as a whole, non-profits are (or should be) an open-source sector. What do I mean when I say – open source? Well, what better place to find a… Read more →
The Member Led Non-Profit
Author: Peter Cantelon, Executive Director Throughout my professional career I have had the opportunity to work for and connect with many non-profit organizations and I can tell you this – those with an active and robust membership are often the healthiest. Conversely those with little to almost no membership are very often unhealthy, stagnant and… Read more →
Having to Say No
Author: Peter Cantelon, Executive Director Working in the Non-Profit sector helping to finance initiatives that, in one way or another, contribute to the reduction of poverty throughout Winnipeg and Manitoba is one of the most gratifying roles I have ever held. If you ask most people who work in the sector either on the front-line… Read more →
When You Don’t See a Difference
Author: Peter Cantelon, Executive Director You know that feeling you get sometimes when something continues to happen that you wish wouldn’t so often that you feel like giving up? As the parent of three now adult, formerly young children, I can relate. There’s only so many times you can say “clean your room” or “bring… Read more →
Managing Growth
Author: Peter Cantelon, Executive Director Ah growth – the ever-present challenge of any organization, especially the non-profit. Grow too fast and structural needs outpace resources (not unlike the cycle of cancer). Grow too slow and you could end up withering on the vine, or worse, maintaining the organization on life support like some form of… Read more →
To Speak of Need
Author: Peter Cantelon, Executive Director Jubilee Fund is Manitoba’s only non-profit charitable social finance impact investment fund. But what does that mean? What is social finance? Why do we care and how do we transform donations and investments into fuel for poverty reduction initiatives? Put simply, social finance is the use of assets, typically money,… Read more →
The Curse of Abundance
Author: Peter Cantelon, Executive Director It’s an odd thing to say there can be a curse to abundance, particularly when you hear it coming from the Executive Director of a non-profit focused on poverty reduction. Shouldn’t we seek as much abundance as we can? Absolutely – but there is a right way and a wrong… Read more →
Trickle-Down Housing
Author: Peter Cantelon, Executive Director In the 1980s during the Reagan administration of the United States the theory of trickle-down economics was popularized and widely embraced by many at the top end of the economic pyramid. The theory, which in one form or another has been around for as long as wealth, proposes the following… Read more →
The Importance of Showing Up
Author: Peter Cantelon, Executive Director Have you ever been invited to a wedding or birthday and found yourself in a circumstance where the best you could do is send a gift? We’ve all been there to one degree or another and typically we don’t feel great about it. Sometimes life and circumstance get in the… Read more →
Social Finance: What is it and why do I Care?
Author: Peter Cantelon, Executive Director Have you heard? The Social Finance Fund has finally begun flowing thanks to the federal government moving ahead on an announcement made five years ago. You haven’t? That’s ok. For those of us steeped in the space it seems like you cannot throw a metaphorical rock these days without hitting… Read more →