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CEO Update | January 2023

Blogs

Read our latest CEO Update, as originally published in our Winter 2023 newsletter. As someone who never makes resolutions, the start of the new year began as most other days in the still kind-of-but-not-really pandemic haze that has changed my sense of time. The bigger barometer of the passage of time had always been the … Continued

Muslims Turn to Pop Culture to Challenge Stereotypes

Blogs

Inspirit was featured in New Canadian Media’s recent story on narrative change. CEO Sadia Zaman, Program Manager Angie Balata, as well as Lab Cohort members Adnan Khan and Yazmeen Kanji discuss the Narrative Change Lab and its work to shift narratives about Muslim Canadians. Read New Canadian Media’s feature here.[mk_divider] An excerpt from the article: … Continued

Using Narrative Change to Advance Social Change

Blogs

Inspirit was featured in The Philanthropist Journal’s recent story on narrative change. CEO Sadia Zaman discusses the Narrative Change Lab and strengthening the Foundation’s support of Indigenous narrative sovereignty. Read The Philanthropist Journal’s feature here.[mk_divider] An excerpt from the article: In 2019, Sadia Zaman, then a new CEO at the Inspirit Foundation, pressed pause on … Continued

CEO Update | October 2022

Blogs

Read our latest CEO Update, as originally published in our Fall 2022 newsletter. In the aftermath of the senseless killings on James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, the rules of traditional journalism were challenged once again.  The community collectively determined when it would speak, who it would allow onto its lands, and who would speak.  … Continued

CEO Update | April 2022

Blogs

Read our latest CEO Update, as originally published in our Spring 2022 newsletter. Spring has always been the most unpredictable season for me.  This March was no exception; after two years of dodging COVID, the virus hit nearly every member of my immediate family. And it all started with my friends. I hosted a dinner. … Continued

CEO Update | February 2022

Blogs

Read our latest CEO Update, as originally published in our Winter 2022 newsletter. In Toronto, where the Inspirit office is located, 2022 began with yet another lockdown. The collective fatigue is overwhelming as public systems we imagined would be there for us are crumbling, even as we knew about their fragility well before a global … Continued

Fostering Reconciliation & Building Trust with Indigenous Communities

Blogs

Inspirit Foundation was recently highlighted in PANL Perspectives, as part of the Shifting Power in Philanthropy series.   Run by faculty of Carleton University’s Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership program, PANL Perspectives publishes evidence-based research, reports, and stories—and offers insights that inform professional practice, public policy, and deeper conversations about philanthropy and the nonprofit sector in Canada.  For this series, several Canadian foundations—both public and private, signatories to The … Continued

A Post-Pandemic Agenda for the Environment

Blogs

Canada’s leading funder groups, including Inspirit, together with The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada have made a commitment to push climate and environment action to the forefront of philanthropic activity in the country.  “Indigenous leadership is fundamental to respond to the climate emergency,” said Kris Archie, CEO of The Circle. “Our stewardship emerged at … Continued

Leading Canadian Foundations Increase Investments to Advance Reconciliation

Blogs

On the first anniversary of the Indigenous Peoples Resilience Fund, we acknowledge not only the truth of the legacy of residential schools, but also the ongoing efforts at reconciliation.  At the closing event of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 2015, Inspirit Foundation, Laidlaw Foundation and The Sprott Foundation were among the original signatories to The Philanthropic … Continued

Inspirit CEO on the Power of Narrative, Impact Investing, and Reshaping Philanthropy

Blogs

Inspirit CEO Sadia Zaman speaks about the power of storytelling and Inspirit’s work in making the media and arts, impact investing, and philanthropy sectors more equitable and inclusive on the Impact Conversations podcast. Sadia talks to host Lynn Fergusson about several Inspirit initiatives, including the inaugural Narrative Change Lab. The 2021 theme is focused on amplifying Muslim voices. Read all about the Lab here. She also highlights Inspirit’s significant milestone of meeting 100% of its … Continued