Watermark Matters | June 2020

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Vol. 8 Issue 2 | June 2020

Your Philanthropy and the Call for Racial Justice

The call for racial justice in Canada is not new, but it has certainly emerged in these days with greater urgency, intensity and hope. The re has always been debate about the role and influence of philanthropy in society. Yet never has the expectation been greater for those who give to reflect on their own biases and invest thoughtfully, deeply and inclusively.

Organizations addressing racial and other forms of social justice are seeing a bump in donations, but they need you to go the distance with them, even as social change work can feel both amorphous and incremental. According to Paulette Senior, CEO of the Canadian Women's Foundation ,

" People's lives are being changed every day, but systemic change takes longer. That's

why we have to work on multiple levels simultaneously. The change we are seeing

today is a direct result of the giving, volunteering and advocating people have been

doing for decades, and it needs to continue ."

Here are some selected resources as you consider the ways you can advance racial justice through your philanthropy:

Black Solidarity Fund, Canada Helps
Governance and Grantmaking: Approaches to Achieve Greater Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Philanthropic Foundations Canada
Overcoming the Racial Bias in Philanthropic Funding, Stanford Social Innovation Review
Using Your Philanthropy to Advance Racial Justice, Toronto Foundation

Contact Watermark for support crafting a giving strategy that will help change the world.

FAMILY GIVING GOVERNANCE:

STRENGTHENING FAMILY & INCREASING IMPACT

For many generous families, philanthropy and the role of the family in mobilizing their philanthropic capital have been front and centre these days.

The National Center for Family Philanthropy (NCFP) asked Watermark's Dr. Sharilyn Hale to share some insights from her recent study on governance and multi-generational family philanthropy in Canada.

Check out Sharilyn's NCFP blog post, A New Model for How Generous Families Organize Their Giving .

NCFP has a range of tremendous resources Watermark often recommends to our family clients who want to give together and do it well.

Download a summary of Sharilyn's study here

GIVING IN THE TIME OF COVID: THE LAWSON FOUNDATION LEADS

Foundations across the country have been navigating the COVID landscape and how best to evolve and respond - as stewards, funders, partners and employers.

Amanda Mayer is the COO and Program Director at The Lawson Foundation , a vibrant Canadian family foundation. In this interview for the Master in Philanthropy & Nonprofit Leadership Program at Carleton University (where Dr. Hale serves on the Advisory Council), Amanda shares in practical and tactical detail how The Lawson Foundation has adapted, and what this all may mean for the future.

The Lawson Foundation is a signatory to the Give5 Pledge , a campaign advocating foundations give at least 5% of assets this year. This amount exceeds the 3.5% required by Canada Revenue Agency, and has the potential to result in an additional $700 million in charitable funding during these unprecedented times.

For a deeper dive on the future of philanthropy in Canada, register to hear Dr. Susan Phillips on June 25th share her insights on Resilience & Reinvention: Canadian Philanthropy and Nonprofits Post-Pandemic . Dr. Phillips, a globally recognized scholar in Canada, is the founder and Director of the Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership program at Carleton University.

ReImagining Governance:

Transforming the Governance of Nonprofit Organizations

From her board governance consulting and training, and her own board experiences, Watermark's Dr. Sharilyn Hale, C. Dir , knows how difficult it is for organizations and boards to govern well.

The Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) has initiated the ReImagining Governance project with a goal to advance new approaches to governance that may ultimately help organizations govern more effectively. As an ONN Governance Champion, Sharilyn has been engaged in the sector-wide consultation and brainstorming processes which are informing this development. Stay tuned as the results unfold.

In the meantime, want to know what young people think about the current state of boards and governance? Check out ONN's Next Generation Governance: Emerging Leaders' Perspectives on Governance in the Nonprofit Sector.

Are you Family-Philanthropy Savvy?

A Primer for Advisors, Nonprofit Leaders & Fundraisers

There is nothing more personal than a person’s money and the intricacies of their family relationships. That's why it is such a privilege and responsibility to work with generous families. Certainly, for advisors, charitable organizations and their fundraisers, understanding how families give is instrumental to engaging them effectively.

For most of us, family philanthropy often seems like a black box. Pulling back the curtain in a recent study on generous families in Canada was inspiring, instructive, and empowering.