Our Mission
The Centre for Community Organizations (COCo)’s mission is to help build a more socially just world by supporting the health and well-being of community organizations in Québec. Through supporting organizational development, offering training, disseminating resources, producing research, and by strengthening links between nonprofit organizations, COCo helps to promote the vitality of the community sector in the province.
Our Theory of Change
In 2016, we chose two areas of focus that we believe are the most effective ways for us to nurture an inclusive, social-justice oriented Quebec community sector:
- To bolster the impact and amplify the voices of grassroots organizations
- To strengthen inclusion and diversity within the Quebec community sector by stewarding dialogue and learning in partnership with other coalitions and training groups.
Over the last 21 years, COCo has maintained a unique commitment to prioritizing deep capacity-building and organizational change over technical or expert-based consulting. We have continued to be one of the only organizations able to offer support to organizations working in English and multilingually. As we move forward, we want to use these strengths to meet systemic oppression with systemic change. We are committing to building the skills, knowledge, and diversity required to meet the needs of the on-the-ground organizations facing the biggest challenges.
In addition to this support provided directly to grassroots organizations, COCo has been partnering with coalition groups and other key actors in the community sector so that we can work together to foster an increase in diversity and inclusion practices in the sector. Through events and learning exchanges, we hope to help grow the sector our communities deserve.
Where We Are
COCo’s office is situated on the Island of Montreal, also known as Tiotia:ke, on the traditional territory of the Kanien’kehá:ka people. This place has also been a historical meeting place for other Indigenous nations, including the Omàmiwinini or the Algonquin people. Today, Tiotia:ke is the home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present, and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples in our work, and we are grateful to live and work on this territory.