Finding Abundance: A Symposium for our Community

Check out the amazing workshops and speakers below!

Program

Plenary 1

Funding Futures: Strategies for Diversifying Sustainable Revenue Growth, presented by Alex Snelgrove
In uncertain times, the need for non-profits and charities to diversify their revenue streams has never been greater. This plenary session explores the importance of revenue diversification as a tool for building financial resilience and sustaining impactful work. Through an engaging presentation, attendees will learn why reliance on a single funding source can limit growth and innovation and how a diversified approach unlocks new opportunities. The session will include case studies on diverse revenue streams, such as corporate partnerships, social enterprise, and social finance. Attendees will also gain a simple framework to assess organizational readiness for new revenue opportunities tailored to their mission and strengths as well as a framework for assessing new revenue streams.

 

Workshop 1 

A) Beyond Grants: How Charities Can Build Revenue Through Social Enterprise, presented by Justin Chan, The Community Company
Charities across Canada are facing rising service demand and increased competition for funding. In this session, we’ll explore how social enterprise can offer a practical path to long-term financial resilience. Designed for nonprofit leaders and board members, this workshop breaks down what a social enterprise is, how it can align with your mission, legal ways of operating one, and what steps are involved in getting started. We’ll share real examples of charity-led businesses generating revenue. Whether you’re just curious or already exploring new revenue strategies, this session will help you better understand what’s possible.

B) Exploring Modern Strategies and Approaches to Getting Funded, presented by Ishan Angra & Liz Robson, Collective Results
This interactive workshop will explore grant and proposal writing in today’s competitive and rapidly changing funding landscape. Drawing from our experiences with government and non-profit agencies, we will discuss and examine strategies to support your current and future funding applications. The session will provide an introduction to Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to support grant and proposal writing process & Expanding your organization’s funding strategy, including identifying non-traditional funding sources & utilizing strategic partnerships for collaborative grant applications.  This workshop will include a presentation, activities to apply the strategies you have learned, and an opportunity to ask questions of the presenters and those in the room to harness the collective grant writing wisdom of the group.

 

Workshop 2

A) Social Finance: What is it and is it useful?, presented by Alex Snelgrove
This workshop will provide an introduction into the concept of social finance, an approach to funding that blends financial returns with social and environmental impact. During the workshop, we will spend time defining social finance and clarifying the role it can play for non-profits and charities. The workshop will also introduce some of the more common tools used in social finance, such as social impact bonds, outcomes contracts, and impact investments. Participants will explore how social finance can unlock new opportunities for scaling impact, building resilience, and fostering innovation in the face of limited traditional funding. Through case studies and interactive discussions, participants will gain insights into whether and how social finance could align with their organization’s goals. If you are curious about diversifying revenue streams or simply looking to better understand social finance, this workshop will help you clarify whether the social finance approach is a fit for your organization.

B) Reimagining video strategy: Accessible ways to amplify your impact and fundraising, presented by Devin Smith, Hello Adventure Animation
The majority of non-profits see video as a nice to have, often out of reach for their organization. The reality is that video is increasingly how Canadians consume information, sometimes the only way they consume information, and a robust video strategy can be well within your reach. This workshop will help shift your paradigm to see possibilities and opportunities that our previous attendees hadn’t considered possible, and which now seem painfully obvious to them.

We will examine how to overcome the very real and sizable barriers that nonprofits face in producing video and the common reasons nonprofits don’t see results from their videos; how to produce 10- 20X more videos within your current budget and team capacity, by changing how you approach video (not about AI); how to strengthen community relationships in ways that generate engaging videos, that will vastly expand the reach of your message and the ownership these partners show towards your mission; how to build your audience so that vital messages see greater reach and higher engagement; how to address the privacy concerns that can prevent success stories from being told.

 

Workshop 3

A) Fueling Growth through Volunteerism: Lessons from The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital, presented by Julie Byczynski
Leveraging volunteer networks can be a powerful way to expand your organization’s impact. What’s more, research shows a strong correlation between volunteerism and donor engagement. In this interactive session, we’ll explore how The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital has successfully harnessed the power of volunteers to fuel its mission. You’ll hear what worked, what didn’t, and the key lessons learned along the way. Participants will be encouraged to share their own experiences, ask questions, and leave with practical ideas to strengthen their own volunteer and community engagement strategies.

B) See, Think & Create with +Ai: A mindset for nonprofit leaders navigating what is next presented by Curt Hammond, Pearl Street Communications
AI is not just a tool—it is a turning point. It is a human moment that invites us to reflect on who we are, how we work together, and what truly matters. In this interactive session, Curt Hammond introduces the +AI Mindset: a practical, people-first approach to working with AI. With nonprofit examples, optional real-time demos, and a little fun, we will explore how to see, think, and create with AI to build capacity.  If you are curious to try AI out during the session, bring a smartphone with the free ChatGPT app already downloaded and set up. You will need to create a free account in advance using your email or mobile number. This only takes a few minutes, but we will not take time during the session for setup. The live demo is optional, beginner-friendly, and designed to show how accessible and useful this technology can be.

 

Plenary 2:

Navigating Uncertainty: Next Steps, facilitated by Kris Cummings & Shakiba Shayani, Do/Able
How can we, as a sector, move towards collective success?   How do we build resilience while also acknowledging the issues we face?  Let’s check in with each other – about the day and about the uncertain landscape we find ourselves in right now and look at solutions and better ways of working together now & in the future.

Speakers' Bios

Alexandra Snelgrove (she/her)

Alex is a seasoned social impact leader dedicated to empowering organizations and leaders to achieve transformational change. She specializes in scaling impact by fostering strategic thinking and discipline and nurturing a growth mindset.  Alex has helped a variety of nonprofits and charities in Canada and the US scale their impact and enhance their organizational capabilities and leadership. Most recently, Alex was Vice-President of Social Impact at LIFT Impact Partners where she lead the social impact team, building the capabilities of organizations so that they can deliver meaningful impact. Previously, Alex worked at the consulting firm Aperio where she supported clients in areas such as strategic planning, governance, social enterprise, partnerships, and program design. Earlier in her career, at MEDA, she led initiatives in Africa and Asia that connected low-income entrepreneurs to growing markets. Alexandra started her career in financial services and later worked in trade promotion in Malaysia at the Canadian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur and as Executive Director of the Malaysia Canada Business Council.

 

Justin Chan, The Community Company

Justin is the Executive Director of The Community Company, a Certified B Corporation that helps charities and nonprofits build revenue-generating businesses rooted in community impact. Through direct partnerships, he has developed social enterprises with organizations working in housing, food security, and employment. His work focuses on building economic models that centre equity, lived experience, and community ownership. Justin holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and is currently completing a Master of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Technology.

 

Ishan Angra

Ishan has over 15 years of experience working in the education, public health and health sectors. During this time he has held many diverse roles that involved planning, community engagement, and evaluation at the community and systems levels. When it comes to grants and proposals, he has considerable experience on both the funder and applicant ends of the spectrum. Locally, he led the local administration and coordination of several Ministry of Health funding programs (Healthy Communities Partnership Fund, Youth Engagement Grants) run through the municipality and public health unit. Most recently with Collective Results, Ishan has supported health and non-profit organizations to identify and successfully apply for funding from various funding sources.

Ishan has a Master’s degree in Applied Health Sciences from Brock University and Bachelor’s of Education from the University of Toronto. He has also completed a Professional Certificate in Knowledge Management from the University of Ottawa and is a certified Bridges Out of Poverty trainer. Ishan is currently completing a diploma in social responsibility and sustainability at the University of Toronto.

 

Liz Robson

Liz has over 17 years experience in management and project leadership roles within public health and human service organizations, and 4 years providing consulting services to public sector and non-profit organizations. Liz is passionate about engaging with communities in meaningful ways to inform the development of plans and strategies to mobilize collaborative community action. Additionally, she has significant experience providing strategic support to non-profits looking to diversify their funding in an increasingly competitive funding landscape

Liz has a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Waterloo, a leadership certificate from the University of Waterloo, and she is Lean Healthcare Green Belt certified.

 

Curt Hammond

Curt Hammond is a lifelong nonprofit collaborator, systems thinker, and founder of Pearl Street Communications and Four Simple Words. Across sectors and stages of change, he has walked with organizations moving from good intentions to values-based action, pairing storytelling with strategy and leadership with service.

Having seen the power (and pitfalls) of AI firsthand, Curt co-developed the +AI Mindset: a values-first framework that helps teams approach AI with curiosity, clarity, and care. He is also the co-creator of AskLucky.ai, a conversational and empathy-driven coach designed to support everyday leadership in real time.

Learn more about Curt and his passions for mattering and AI at FourSimpleWords.ca and AskLucky.ai

 

Julie Byczynski

Julie is the CEO of The Foundation of Guelph General Hospital, where she leads efforts to transform healthcare through giving. She has worked in fundraising for over 20 years across sectors including healthcare, higher education, and the performing arts. Her career has taken her to roles in Canada, the UK and the US, where she has partnered with volunteers on boards, gala committees and campaign teams to help organizations grow and thrive. Julie is a proud University of Guelph grad and is currently cheering on the Oilers in the Stanley Cup Final.

 

Devin Smith

Devin Smith is a video producer, strategist and consultant who specializes in supporting non-profits. His commitment to changing beliefs and inspiring action have established his animation studio as a trusted partner across North America, and beyond the nonprofit sector.  His studio’s client list has grown to include governments, agencies, and commercial clients, including nearly a dozen Fortune 500 companies, largely through word of mouth.

He is deeply passionate about ensuring his clients’ audiences develop an authentic connection with the organization or the message they share, with a focus on understanding what changes minds and drives action on each project.

 

Kris Cummings & Shakiba Shayani

Kris is the Principal Consultant at Do/able Consulting.  He is an experienced non-profit leader, community service manager, funder, and consultant known for his insightful leadership, ability to isolate concrete strategies to make things possible, and skill to balance adaptation and intentional process.

Shakiba is a purpose-driven leader with extensive experience working with a broad cross-section of organizations and business. She is known for her ability to build meaningful rapport with stakeholders, and a knack for reconciling diverse perspectives.

Since launching the consulting practise in 2020, Do/able has worked with leaders across dozens of organizations to adapt and deepen their strategic clarity and capacity.