Moving from Defence to Offence: Practical Tips for Planning in a Period of Uncertainty

05/28/20 • 5 min

The attention of organizations over the last weeks and months has been almost exclusively focused on how to adapt, adjust, and frankly survive these unprecedented times. It’s now time to start to think ahead. But since we will need to navigate volatility and uncertainty for a while yet, the biggest challenge in the next while will be to find the right balance between addressing immediate challenges with starting to plan for the future. In this episode, we provide some practical tips to guide your planning over the next months to marry a focus on the now with starting to set your organization up for recovery and future success.

Previous Episode

Collaboration: Stronger Together

Many non-profit organizations struggling to remain relevant and resilient amid an evolving and crowded market place are considering new and innovative ways to remain viable, including collaborating with like organizations. Two such organizations breaking new ground are Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada and Make-A-Wish Foundation, who joined forces in 2019 with the goal of reaching their full mission potential - granting the wish of every eligible child across the country. Jennifer Ritter, Co-CEO of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Canada, the resulting amalgamation, shares the process the two organizations undertook, from assessing the potential for collaboration, to integrating business practices and melding two very different organizational cultures. Despite challenges, the organizations were able to take similar missions, passion and drive to form one highly competitive organization that is now able to achieve far more, far faster than they were able to accomplish separately.

Next Episode

The Big Rethink

Unprecedented. Uncharted. Uncertain. These are just a few of the words being used to describe the times we’re navigating as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and its fallout. And given the degree of uncertainty we continue to face, it’s hard to know exactly what this will mean for Canadian charities and their fundraising. What will be the impact of the pandemic on Canadian charities? What are the challenges and opportunities? How will this change how organizations raise money?

We’re delighted to bring you the perspective of five of the sector’s most knowledgeable and thoughtful voices who will share their thoughts and advice on these questions. In this first conversation, we hear from with Bruce MacDonald, President & CEO of Imagine Canada.