An extended cut of our episode with Ronen Tal

An extended cut of our episode with Mike Machargo.

An extended cut of our episode with Drew Vincent.

An extended cut of our episode with Candies Kotchapaw.

An extended cut of our episode with Bailey Greenspon and Sarah Mariani.

An extended cut of our episode with Adya Afanou, Camila Pereira Ph.D and Melissa Leite.

An extended cut of our episode with Nneka Allen, Joy Gooding and Nicole Salmon.

An extended cut of our episode with Logan Hussein.

Logan Hussein had a complicated arrival on November 26, 2008 at the Queensway Carleton Hospital. He was born with a collapsed lung and was immediately taken to CHEO’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in a specialized incubator. Logan remained in the NICU for nine days.

From the day Sue and Wael Hussein took Logan home from the NICU, they knew their lives would never be the same. Filled with gratitude on their son’s recovery, they wanted to find a way to give back to CHEO, help save the lives of other children and give families hope.

Instead of traditional fundraising options, such as golf tournaments, auctions or formal dinners, the Hussein’s decided to have an event that was more unique and personalized for their family and friends.

For Logan’s first birthday, the Hussein’s hosted their first fundraiser, asking that guests make donations to CHEO’s NICU in lieu of gifts. 12 years later, Logan has established a lifetime of fundraising for CHEO, his birthday fundraiser has since become an annual tradition.

Logan’s ultimate goal is to raise $200,000 for a Neonatal Transport Incubator.

Logan is the youngest recipient of the CHEO Foundation’s ORDER of the GOOD BEAR. He also participates each year in the CHEO Telethon and his family participates in CN Cycle for CHEO. At the 2019 AFP Ottawa Philanthropy Awards, Logan was awarded the Youth Philanthropy Award.

From the day Sue and Wael Hussein took Logan home from the NICU, they knew their lives would never be the same. Filled with gratitude on their son’s recovery, they wanted to find a way to give back to CHEO, help save the lives of other children and give families hope.

Instead of traditional fundraising options, such as golf tournaments, auctions or formal dinners, the Hussein’s decided to have an event that was more unique and personalized for their family and friends.

For Logan’s first birthday, the Hussein’s hosted their first fundraiser, asking that guests make donations to CHEO’s NICU in lieu of gifts. 12 years later, Logan has established a lifetime of fundraising for CHEO, his birthday fundraiser has since become an annual tradition.

Logan’s ultimate goal is to raise $200,000 for a Neonatal Transport Incubator.

Logan is the youngest recipient of the CHEO Foundation’s ORDER of the GOOD BEAR. He also participates each year in the CHEO Telethon and his family participates in CN Cycle for CHEO. At the 2019 AFP Ottawa Philanthropy Awards, Logan was awarded the Youth Philanthropy Award.

Working with clients across Canada and internationally, he develops and executes successful strategies for annual giving and legacy marketing programs that build value through meaningful donor relationships and empower donors of modest means to achieve their philanthropic dreams.

David is the founder of Western Canada Fundraising Conference, Canada’s only multi-award winning conference for professional fundraisers.

In our conversation, David and I discussed

• Legacy Marketing Fundamentals
• Choosing the right story
• Not talking about death
• And getting your website legacy ready

A certified Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Master Trainer, he received the Outstanding Fund Raising Executive Award from the AFP Western PA chapter in 2013, has had numerous articles published in professional journals and has written curriculum for The Fund Raising School® at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University.

He is the current board treasurer for the Brentwood Athletic Association where he also coaches youth softball. He is also serving on the UpPrize Advisory Committee. Dave has served in leadership positions on additional nonprofit boards including the Pittsburgh Planned Giving Council, Young Nonprofit Professionals Network of Pittsburgh (YNPNPgh), APRA Western PA, PA Kiwanis, and Brewhouse Artists.

She loves analogies and anything absurd and she never replaces an appliance until it can no longer be duct-taped together and then she cries while bidding her old friend adieu.

One of her career highlights, among many, has been designing the uniforms for tourism Toronto. She has many artistic lines and projects, all of which you can learn about in the show notes for this episode. You can also find links if you’re looking for a mask with an artistic flare. 

In our conversation, Nadia and I spoke about 

• Repurposing your talents for social good
• Doing what you can do
• And following your passions

Tom Ahern is considered one of North America’s leading authorities on donor communications.

Tom works with dozens of clients nationwide every year. They include brand names like the Sierra Club and Save the Children, as well as hospitals, universities, foundations, and local charities. He specializes in bequest marketing; donor communications evaluations; direct mail; newsletter interventions; and case statements for big-ticket campaigns.

Each year, he delivers dozens of workshops on the techniques of (and psychology behind) effective fundraising communications. He is also the author of four well-received books

Tom is also an award-winning magazine journalist, for articles on health, women’s rights and other social justice issues. He has his MA and BA in English from Brown University, and a Certificate in Advertising Art from the RI School of Design. His office is in Rhode Island. He writes his books at his second home in France.

In our conversation we discussed:

• How fundraising is about activity
• Why now, why us, why anyone would care
• How nonprofits and charities need authenticity 

In the last 15 years, Scott has raised over 25 million dollars with the multiple agencies he has worked with including the Ottawa boys and girls club, the Nanaimo child development centre, and Phoenix Human Services.

Leah is an idea-generator and strategic thinker with a wide and varied background in charitable fund development. Over the past 25 years, Leah has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for organizations around the world.

After many years as a practitioner, Leah now works as a consultant to the non-profit sector. She partners with her clients to help tell powerful stories through direct marketing, cases for support, legacy giving and social media. She has a particular interest, and extensive experience, in strategic planning and ‘looking under the hood’ of fundraising programs to help tune up revenue-generation activities and build stronger relationships with donors.

Learn more about Leah on the Guest section of our website!

We will be speaking with him about COVID-19 and its wide-reaching impact on the charitable sector, and what volunteer managers can do during this time!

As a professional fundraiser Sam works closely with generous donors to impact some of the most vulnerable people in her community. Sam’s extensive experience, for close to three decades, in fundraising, media and municipal politics has created an impressive network of community and business leaders. Over a 28-year period Ms. Laprade has raised money for important charities in her community such as: The Ottawa Hospital Foundation, the Ottawa Humane Society and the Ottawa Mission Foundation. In 2009, Sam started as Director, Gryphon Fundraising (www.gryphonfundraising.com).  Ms. Laprade shares the importance of donor database analytics with fundraising professionals worldwide.In addition to her work with Gryphon Fundraising, in October 2017, Sam launched her full-time consultancy to assist non-profits with fundraising strategy, stewardship, board relations, coaching and audits.

Sam is the creator and radio host of “An Hour to Give” on 1310 News, Ottawa. This show highlights non-profit organizations in Ottawa, Canada.

He recently returned to his alma mater, at Carleton University, to lead community partnerships and community engaged learning programs for students. Prior, Dwaine held several roles at WE Charity (formerly Free the Children), including most recently Associate Director of Business Development.

Alice was the 90th professional to receive the Advanced Certified Fundraising Executive (ACFRE) credential and is a three-time honoree as AFP-Northern Arizona Fundraising Professional of the Year. She currently serves on the ACFRE Credentialing Board, the AFP Northern Arizona Board, and the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at the Wisconsin School of Business Advisory Board, among other volunteer commitments.

In our conversation, we discussed modern agile, tech for good, and complex problem solving.

Some call Charity Intelligence a “charity watchdog”. We see ourselves as research analysts who help Canadian donors give better. Yes, we hold charities accountable for the generous support they receive from Canadian donors and expect them to be financially transparent, and yes, we call out exorbitant overhead costs or charities that don’t need more funding.

During our conversation, we talked about the genesis of measuring charity’s effectiveness, the Nepalese earthquake of 2015, and why “doing good” is no longer good enough

Charity Intelligence researches Canadian charities for donors to be informed and give intelligently. Charity Intelligence’s website posts free reports on more than 740 Canadian charities. Today over 300,000 Canadians use Charity Intelligence’s website as a go-to source for information on Canadian charities reading over 1.3 million charity reports.

He is one of the founders of the Ottawa Giving Group: A giving circle located in Ottawa. Michael has also been recognized for his volunteerism and philanthropy with the Ottawa Police Community Leadership Award; the Diamond Jubilee Medal Award; and Volunteer of the Year Award from the Ottawa Food Bank, to name a few.

As an avid skier and snowboarder; a Calgary 40 under 40, he helps create memories that last a lifetime, often planting seeds for a child’s future interests or career.

For Evan, he’d love to see Kids Up Front become the Ticketmaster for non-profits.

For almost a decade, Kate has been focused on Community Development and the social sector; building opportunities for people to connect and thrive is her jam! Kate is an accomplished development and event manager who loves to listen and share stories about the people she meets. A lifetime in the hospitality industry has taught her that everyone is a VIP and that is just as important to have a strategic plan as it is to be able to think on your feet. can help you exceed your goals, build your community and foster relationships with your stakeholders.

What Kate knows for sure: that knowledge is power and best when shared; grumpy people are usually just hungry or tired; Paul Simon’s Graceland is the one album she would listen to forever; and that when approached with kindness and thoughtfulness, anything can happen.

Currently, she works at a harm-reduction clinic treating people with opioid addictions and resulting health consequences. Dr. Kainth is a strong advocate for the social determinants of health such as income, health literacy and access to safe housing. She works with many underserved populations and does clinics on a mobile health bus for women without health insurance. She teaches medical trainees practical ways to become daily advocates and has spoken about these issues at many medical conferences. During her training, she was appointed “Exceptional Resident with Refugees” for helping this population navigate the transition to Canada, such as learning to use public transit. Through her involvement with the Calgary Hub, she was able to get culturally appropriate swimwear donated for 54 students to attend swimming lessons.

Sonika is now Vice Curator for the Toronto Hub and employing Agile techniques to improve group communication and Hub efficiency.

On a community level, Brian is on the board of Community Foundations of Canada,  which represents the 191 community foundations across Canada. He was on the board of the Ottawa Community Foundation (OCF) for 10 years, three as Board Chair and four as Chair of its Investment Committee, where he led an initiative to implement Responsible Investing and Impact Investing at the foundation. He is currently a member of OCF’s Impact Investing Committee as well as its Investment Committee. He is also Chair of Impact Hub Ottawa, a collaborative co-working space that incubates social purpose businesses.

On a community level, Brian is on the board of Community Foundations of Canada,  which represents the 191 community foundations across Canada. He was on the board of the Ottawa Community Foundation (OCF) for 10 years, three as Board Chair and four as Chair of its Investment Committee, where he led an initiative to implement Responsible Investing and Impact Investing at the foundation. He is currently a member of OCF’s Impact Investing Committee as well as its Investment Committee. He is also Chair of Impact Hub Ottawa, a collaborative co-working space that incubates social purpose businesses.

After many years as a practitioner, Leah now works as a consultant to the non-profit sector. She partners with her clients to help tell powerful stories through direct marketing, cases for support, legacy giving and social media.

After many years as a practitioner, Leah now works as a consultant to the non-profit sector. She partners with her clients to help tell powerful stories through direct marketing, cases for support, legacy giving and social media.

He teaches fundraising with the postgraduate fundraising program at Georgian College, is Chair of the Advisory Committee at the Humber College postgraduate fundraising program, an instructor with the Canadian Association of Gift Planners and speaks nationally on online, major and planned giving.

He has been a speaker at almost every Association of Fundraising Professionals Chapter in Canada and has been featured in the Globe and Mail and Forbes on the topic of personal branding and networking.

He teaches fundraising with the postgraduate fundraising program at Georgian College, is Chair of the Advisory Committee at the Humber College postgraduate fundraising program, an instructor with the Canadian Association of Gift Planners and speaks nationally on online, major and planned giving.

He has been a speaker at almost every Association of Fundraising Professionals Chapter in Canada and has been featured in the Globe and Mail and Forbes on the topic of personal branding and networking.

Sarah has enjoyed every opportunity for learning and personal growth that philanthropy has provided her along her journey! 

Sarah has enjoyed every opportunity for learning and personal growth that philanthropy has provided her along her journey! 

When he’s not giving workshops or presenting at conferences, he’s helping clients merge the time-tested principles of public relations with the new online realities.

Eric Collard spends his days as the Managing Partner of the Ottawa Media Group. 

When he’s not giving workshops or presenting at conferences, he’s helping clients merge the time-tested principles of public relations with the new online realities.

Daniel Brunette is the Director, Development and Donor Services for the Ottawa Community Foundation. During the past 17 years, he has worked and volunteered in a number of different capacities in the not-for-profit sector. He began his career by working on the Passing the Torch Campaign to build the new Canadian War Museum, before being recruited to the  University of Ottawa and then by the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa. In 2012, he was invited to join the Ottawa Community Foundation and has served on the Management team since in January of 2015.

Daniel Brunette is the Director, Development and Donor Services for the Ottawa Community Foundation. During the past 17 years, he has worked and volunteered in a number of different capacities in the not-for-profit sector. As a volunteer, Daniel has spoken extensively about fundraising. In 2015, he was recognized with a Community Builder Award from United Way Ottawa for his sector involvement and capacity-building work.

Eric raised over $2100 from his friends and family. He used social media to secure his donations and identified strategies along the way that really helped to drive donations and promote his cause.

This is definitely, Beyond the Bake Sale.

Eric Lauer is a 26-year-old marketing and events professional who has been working in the events industry since he was 17. He currently works for a boutique style marketing agency in Toronto, Ontario called Satori CGI. Eric’s drive is to provide creative and disruptive experiences that create lasting impressions!