COCo’s mission is to help create a more just world by supporting the well-being of community organizations in Quebec. We are driven by our belief in localized, bottom-up, collective action that prioritizes leadership from the people who are most affected. We aim to, in bell hooks’ words, “center the margins”.
COCo’s uniqueness lies in our ability to “see the whole”- bringing together the wisdom of organizational development, social justice and anti-oppression, and information and communications technology to best support the community sector in Quebec.
Our facilitation approach is guided by the following principles:
- “Moving with”- Facilitation work is done in partnership with the client and we move at the “speed of trust”! Our work is a dialogue and a conversation, not an imposition. We ask more than we tell!
- Creative, Fun, Solutions Oriented– We try not to get stuck and instead invite new ideas, and new ways, and ask how things could be different.
- Capacity building– We focus on building skills and capacities within organizations so that learning and development continue long after our time with your organization comes to an end.
- Accessibility: making our processes accessible, not only physically or visually, but also in terms of language, literacy, and other barriers to access that different folks may face.
- Anti-Oppression: COCo is committed to anti-oppression internally and is an advocate for anti-oppression within the Quebec community sector. We hold a belief that we can do better and a new, more just world is possible So we push for better – from ourselves and others. We try to look at the bigger picture, ask hard questions, and underline that change is possible and necessary, and to always bear in mind the context of exclusion and inequity that is foundational to our society and our sector.
The stance we take in our work is based on deep listening, continuous learning, collaboration, and connectedness with our clients. Our work is tailored to organizations’ readiness and context. We believe sustainable, positive change requires the active involvement of participants in the development of their organizations and communities, and we foster this engagement at every step of the way!
Organizational Health & Development
We provide consulting to individual organizations to support their organizational health and development. This can include training on new skills, facilitating large or difficult conversations, helping you with a strategic plan, doing program evaluation, and more. We do so by using a made-to-measure, participatory, popular education approach to organizational well-being.
Conflict Resolution
One of the biggest roadblocks to organizational health is conflict. COCo provides a variety of conflict resolution services, including conflict mediation, conflict prevention training, and conflict coaching.
Anti-Oppression
COCo offers training and accompaniment to organizations looking to deepen their practice of anti-oppression or address issues of exclusion and discrimination in their workplaces. Our anti-oppression work, even the most basic workshops, are always custom made for the context and reality of your organization. We understand anti-oppression as part of the overall health of your organizations, and particularly love doing long term, holistic change work with groups in this area.
Workshops and Events
COCo organizes workshops and events to convene different actors in the nonprofit sector in Quebec for discussion and learning. We want to build bridges between organizations and individuals seeking to change or transform our community.
Technology & Communications
The technology infrastructure and the communications skills of your community group have a direct impact on how much your voice is heard. COCo helps organizations build websites and client relationship management systems (CRMs), will guide you through communications planning or building a social media policy, help you manage your data and statistics, and more. We do it hand-in-hand with your organization, to make sure that at the end of the day, you are comfortable using and maintaining the systems we create.
Information Sessions
Our free information sessions are meant to help your nonprofit think through a sticky issue, refer you to useful services, offer legal information about nonprofits, or just help you make sure you’re on the right track.
You can also check out our Frequently Asked Questions page here.
Online Resources
Our online toolbox includes resources to support your Board of Directors, your HR practices, to help your team have conversations about anti-oppression, to create social media strategies, and offers legal information for nonprofits.
Research & Projects
Our research projects allow us to deep dive into questions that are important and emergent for the nonprofit sector in Quebec, including around the idea of learning organizations, anti-racism in nonprofits, the particular realities of grassroots organizations, the profile of English-speaking organizations in Quebec, anti-oppressive practice in community organizations, and more.