When the onset of the global pandemic forced us to pause, deep inequalities in Canada and around the world were exposed. In the face of Covid-19, it is impossible to ignore longstanding systemic injustices. 73% of Canadians expect a “broad transformation” of society as we emerge from the pandemic.

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At MakeWay, our shared platform is home to over 60 projects based from coast to coast to coast. Initiatives benefit from the support of a mission-aligned community, charitable expertise, and shared resources, so they can focus on the work closest to their heart. Over the last few months, we’ve been sitting down with our shared platform projects to learn more about what they do, and share what they’re up to. Recently, we connected with Turtle Island Institute, an Indigenous social innovation "think and do tank" enabling transformative change. Led by Melanie Goodchild (Anishinaabe) and Terrellyn Fearn (Mi'kmaq), the teaching lodge is reframing social innovation by drawing on Anishinaabe Gikendaasowin (original ways of knowing and being). Turtle Island Institute is striving to support the application of decolonized systems thinking concepts and processes by holding niche space to...

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Wow, time flies. It has been two decades since this organization began as a scrappy environmental non-profit working on conservation in the Great Bear Rainforest. Given that we can’t get together to dance and share stories of old times, we thought we would share 20 reasons to celebrate (because we all need some good news these days):  1. Back in 2000, Tides Canada (now MakeWay!) was born when a small group of caring and daring philanthropists including Carol Newell, asked “how can we bring more capital to tackle pressing environmental and social problems in Canada?" 2. Over the last 10 years, 59% of our funding in the Pacific region went to Indigenous-led initiatives, totalling over $29.2 million in grants to further people and place, thriving together.  3. We’re growing up—from a few staff in Vancouver to a team...

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At MakeWay, our shared platform is home to over 60 projects based from coast to coast to coast. Initiatives benefit from the support of a mission-aligned community, charitable expertise, and shared resources, so they can focus on the work closest to their heart. Over the next few months, we’re sitting down with our shared platform projects to learn more about what they do. Recently, we connected with the Western Arctic Youth Collective! Read on to find out all about them. Where is your Project based? We are based in the Western Arctic region (the Beaufort Delta region) of the Northwest Territories. Our goal is to have a physical base in Inuvik to operate out of post-COVID-19. When was your Project founded and by whom? WAYC is created by Inuvialuit and Gwich’in youth, for youth with connections to the Beaufort Delta...

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Many grassroots and community-based initiatives struggle to drive real-world change while managing the demands of a stand alone charity. And so, MakeWay launched the shared platform model in Canada, one of the first of its kind. It takes a lot of hard work to create positive and lasting change. The precious time and energy available to changemakers should be spent on making it happen. With the shared platform, more time and money goes towards achieving greater impact as projects benefit from sharing important administrative resources and expertise. We host over 60 projects on our shared platform, all across Canada. Over the next few months, we'll be sitting down with each of them to find out more about what they do and how they work. This week, we touched base with Jake Miller, Director of Project Neutral, an initiative...

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September 16, 2020 For Immediate Release Algonquin Anishinabe Nation / Ottawa, ON –Nicole McDonald will lead MakeWay’s national program strategy, connecting efforts across existing MakeWay programs in the Pacific, the North, and Manitoba, and pursuing emerging opportunities for MakeWay to build partnerships and solutions that enable nature and communities to thrive together. Based in Ottawa, she will also play a key role in federal government relations for MakeWay. “For some time, it has been clear that we need to increase our expertise in national policy and build on our strong foundation of support for Indigenous-led solutions. I am thrilled to welcome Nicole to MakeWay at such an exciting time of growth and exploration for our organization. She is a highly respected leader of immense skill and experience with values that are beautifully aligned.” said MakeWay CEO, Joanna Kerr. “I...

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Earlier this summer, we heard from Geraldine Cahill, Director of UpSocial Canada, about the initiative's work to collectively look after Toronto-based community organizations, and how that work has been shaped by COVID-19. As mid-September looms around the corner, she gives us an update on where UpSocial is at.   I'd be lying if I said I've had no doubts about the progress of our Caring Community Challenge over the last few months. When we launched the project back in March, COVID-19 was just revealing its menacing intent in Canada and the nonprofit sector was poised to spring into action to support those most affected by it. In my last article, I was candid about my internal battle with patience, knowing that the most important thing to do first in social project work is to build relationships. So, while I...

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Across the globe, we have all been forced to make changes in our lives, to pause and reflect. Many plagues have passed the earth, yet the COVID-19 pandemic is the first experienced by our generation, on such a grand scale. For inhabitants of the Canadian arctic, the health crisis has also created economic, social, and spiritual uncertainty. Just as Indigenous peoples have responded to many great changes in the past, what remains constant during this time is our grounding in our culture, language and land.  For our people, connection to the land, water, and ice is foundational to us. In our history, our migratory patterns, our sources for shelter, food and clothing, our times of renewal and celebration, were all dictated by the environment. Our connection to the land remains so intimate, that we conceive ourselves...

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Remember March 1, 2020? The world felt very different then. On that day, we officially launched our UpSocial Canada Caring Communities Challenge, extending an invitation to Toronto-based community organizations to join us in exploring how we might collectively look after each other better in the places where we are. In defining what we meant by "looking after each other", we used three prompts: How do we ensure people feel like active participants in their city; that people feel seen and heard? How do people make use of the spaces between our soaring towers to engage with each other and look out for one another? How do we respond to each other in a time of disruption - from transit cancellations to extreme weather events? Of course, disruption looks very different today. The global pandemic and the powerful movement...

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