Canada-Wide Training Program Focused on Ethical and Equity-Centred Fundraising

Special Edition Blog written by Diana Apostolides

In 2022, the Alberta Council for International Cooperation, one of eight members of the national Inter-Council network, sought a consultant team to design and deliver a comprehensive, fully bilingual (French/English) training program on effective fundraising, tailored to Canadian small and medium organizations working in international cooperation.

JN Clarke Consulting was selected to the lead on developing the training content for this training program, and earlier this month, launched the online training component of the “Building Equity: Resource Mobilization for Impact,” training series.The “Building Equity” training program was commissioned and is being managed by the Alberta Council for International Cooperation, as part of the Spur Change program. The Spur Change program is a five year initiative, funded by Global Affairs Canada, which aims to increase the effectiveness of small and medium organizations to deliver sustainable results in support of the Feminist International Assistance Policy and the Sustainable Development Goals, through capacity building and knowledge sharing.

Leveraging existing training on local fundraising developed by Change the Game Academy, an innovative blended learning program for community based organizations and small NGOs, JN Clarke Consulting worked with the Spur Change program team to develop a structured training program and learner experience, that complemented the practices and tools of Change the Game Academy with complimentary training content unique to the Canadian context.

Cross-cutting the training content are considerations related to ethics and equity in fundraising practices. Unit 1 delves into the de-colonizing aid movement and encourages participants to consider how their fundraising work can better reflect the principles of this movement. Unit 2 explores ethical storytelling as well as non-traditional approaches in fundraising, including the community centric fundraising movement, a framework that helps ground the work of organizations to be reflective of the needs, aspirations, and engagement of communities they

are serving.

The ”Building Equity” training program involves a self-paced online learning component, in the form of three online learning units, and in-person components, including provincial level workshops with all provincial councils of the inter-council network, and one-on-one organizational coaching calls. The training is being held between March 20th through to the end of June 2023. As part of this work, Jesse will be travelling to Montreal, Charlottetown, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Saskatoon in May and June, please reach out to jesse@jnclarke.com if you'd like to set up an in-person meeting!

To learn more about the “Building Equity: Resource Mobilization for Impact,” training program and the Spur Change program, please visit here.

Reach out to our team if you’re interested in learning more about our training development and delivery services, and how we might be of value add to your organization’s capacity building needs. Visit here to book an appointment.