Fundraising by selling impact and showing how to help

Written by Stuart McNish

Guest: Michelle Vanderzon (director of philanthropy)

How does the Kettle Society, a mental health and housing nonprofit, get its funding? That is the challenge that Michelle Vanderzon tackles, in her role as the director of philanthropy. This is often in the form of grant writing and applications, which relies on a variety of strategies, such as storytelling and building relationships with companies, family foundations, and those who care about the mission.

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Fundraising by selling impact and showing how to help
Fundraising by selling impact and showing how to help

How does the Kettle Society, a mental health and housing nonprofit, get its funding? That is the challenge that Michelle Vanderzon tackles, in her role as the director of philanthropy. This is often in the form of grant writing and applications, which relies on a variety of strategies, such as storytelling and building relationships with companies, family foundations, and those who care about the mission.

Read more →
Using empathy to succeed in the nonprofit and business world
Using empathy to succeed in the nonprofit and business world

Can “encourager” be a job? For Joe Roberts, that is how he sees himself in a world full of change and uncertainty. In his Push For Change Foundation, he seeks to better protect kids so they don’t fall through the cracks. And he isn’t just all talk – he draws on his own struggles with being a homelessness youth in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. On top of his foundation, he also does public speaking at conferences, where he uses his empathy to understand how to speak to each audience.

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Allowing men to live longer and healthier lives
Allowing men to live longer and healthier lives

How do you allow men to live longer and healthier lives? As CEO and president of the Canadian Men’s Mental Health Foundation, that is Kenton Boston’s job. To be successful, he had to be good at elevating each member of his small team, so that they can solve difficult tasks and challenges, especially when spanning provinces, time zones, and community types.

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Addressing affordable housing solutions
Addressing affordable housing solutions

How do you build affordable housing? This is Muktar Latif’s job, as CEO of the Pomegranate Housing Consultancy. He supports governments and other entities in figuring out ways to address housing solutions – it is a job he loves, to the point where it doesn’t feel like work. This is a far cry from his background in chemistry but due to science not paying well in the 1980s, he switched careers to real estate, revealing the path to his future career.

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Stuart McNish
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Connecting to Vancouver’s residents and businesses as their mayor