Thinking about Land Acknowledgements? Here Are Some Resources

Recently, the COCo team put aside a few hours to dig into some questions that have been on our minds for a while. One of those questions was how COCo wants to integrate land acknowledgements– that is, recognizing the indigenous territories where we do our work- into our meetings, facilitation, and events. Our conversation about land acknowledgements is a work in progress, and we are seeking feedback on it, if you have any! In the meantime, we wanted to share our process with those of you who might be considering this as well.

If you are new to the idea of land acknowledgements, here is a nice description of what they are and why to do them.

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10 Practical Ideas to Make Your Non Profit an Awesome Place To Work

We’ve been celebrating the month of May by engaging in conversations about labour conditions in the community sector. You can read our other instalments here, here, and here. 

It is common sense that liking your job, and staying in it, has to do with a lot more than just salary. In the years I spent as a primary caregiver, flexibility in when I worked my hours and being able to leave for emergencies were my top priorities. Now, at a new job, I am hungry for learning opportunities for myself to better my own practice working with organizations. Thinking through all of the ways we can provide great workplaces can help non-profits retain staff—which, as is laid out here, here, and here, is a very smart thing to do.

Here our some ideas we’ve come up with that can help Quebec non-profits create great working conditions for the people who give so much.

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Grant Opportunity for Community Technology Projects

A grant recently caught our eye that we thought to share with our network, offered by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA), a federal nonprofit. The Community Investment Program funds projects that innovative projects that support the development and/or enhancement of the internet for the benefit of all Canadians, including:

• Community access to the internet, internet tools, and/or devices;

• Online services for vulnerable or disadvantaged groups; (these online services must create efficiencies);

• Digital literacy and/or web safety;

• Infrastructure and internet security; (infrastructure must bring new or improved internet services to regional, rural and remote communities);

• Research focused on technological aspects of the internet;

• Knowledge-sharing activities that lead to more effective internet governance;

• Increase public participation in policy making and political processes;

• Address social, economic and/or environmental needs

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Donated Computers for NonProfits & Charities

A new resource is now available in Montreal for nonprofits in charities looking to get refurbished and donated computers and laptops. The equipment is either free, or costs up to $100, and applications can be made on their website, here.

The organization bottomlining this initiative is the Electronic Recycling Association (ERA), a non-profit organization founded in 2004 to address the growing problem of e-waste and the increasing ‘digital divide’. For over ten years, ERA has offered simple solutions to help individuals and organizations prevent operational equipment from premature destruction. With a focus on recovery, refurbishment and reuse, ERA continuously supplies charitable groups with donated IT equipment while securely managing the retiring IT assets of organizations and individuals across Canada.

For those of you who are more interested in making a donation, ERA also accepts those. Equipment is accepted in any condition, operational or non-operational, as well as computer parts. Items may be dropped off at one of our depots, or a prompt and professional pickup can be scheduled within any major Canadian city and surrounding areas, depending on the amount being disposed of. You can find out more about that here.

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