AgentsC News

The Costs and Rewards of Activism as a Business Owner with Olumide Akerewusi

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 13:07:42 GMT

"As much as I know the market has embraced AgentsC, I also believe that there are some organizations, because of the makeup of AgentsC and because of the activism of its founder and CEO, kind of make a choice not to work with or partner or invite us to support their work. But I also just celebrate those who have partnered with us and come to us and sought our help and expertise. And that's where I put the lens." - Olumide Akerewusi

The Costs and Rewards of Activism as a Business Owner with Olumide Akerewusi

Mide Akerewusi, founder of AgentsC, joined us for an inspiring conversation about courage, activism, and building a business with purpose. Mide shared his journey of stepping into his power as a vocal leader for equity and justice, despite facing discrimination and barriers as a Black business owner.

Highlights:

Pursue your purpose. Mide started AgentsC to follow his calling for transformative change, even without a clear plan or safety net. Saying "yes" to your purpose will open up opportunities you can't yet imagine.
Find your co-conspirators . Mide found strength in numbers by joining forces with others pushing for change. Seek out allies with a shared vision of justice and abundance. Together, you have the power to accomplish more than you ever could alone.
Speak your truth. Mide acknowledged the costs of being a vocal activist, but said staying silent in the face of oppression is even more dangerous. Share your experiences to liberate yourself and educate others. Your voice matters.
Keep learning and growing. Mide confessed that running a business is difficult, especially without role models or a template to follow. Approach each day with a willingness to experiment, make mistakes, and find the "right thing to do." Growth and progress, not perfection, should be the goal.
At the end of the day, we all have a role to play in creating a just world where everyone can thrive. Mide's story is a reminder that when we embrace our purpose, use our voices, and support each other, we become an unstoppable force for positive change. The time for courage is now. How will you answer the call?

Healing, Reconciliation, and Action: Lessons from Mide Akerewusi's Journey

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 13:00:08 GMT

Olumide (Mide) Akerewusi talks to Tim about the Giving Black Conference and the dynamic of Black philanthropy as it relates to the larger philanthropic sector. They also discuss the events within the AFP Toronto Chapter and the lessons that need to be learned to move forward as a community.

Position Brief: Senior Development Officer

Tue, 17 Oct 2023 12:50:16 GMT

Black Opportunity Fund (BOF) has engaged AgentsC Inc. to recruit a talented senior fundraiser with a proven track record of Major Gifts fundraising in the role of Senior Development Officer (SDO). The ideal candidate will have strong leadership skills and significantly grow major gift fundraising revenue for BOF. In partnership with the Executive Director and the Board of Directors, the SDO will accelerate momentum to build sustainable philanthropic partnerships for BOF. Successful achievement of BOF’s fundraising goals will also present a career development opportunity for the SDO to build the capacity of BOF’s fund development program and grow into a new role of Director of Fundraising at the organization.

Please review this position brief for further details about the opportunity. For more information, please contact Vibhuti Mehra by email at bof@agentsc.ca . We assure you that your inquiry and/or application will be held in strict confidence.

To apply, please submit a Letter of Interest and Resume to bof@agentsc.ca as a single PDF attachment by November 15, 2023. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. In the subject line of your email application, reference “ BOF Senior Development Officer ”. We thank all applicants for their interest, but only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

April 2023 Job Opportunities

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 12:39:25 GMT

We’re looking for great people. Are you looking for a great role?

Apply today for an opportunity to join our team.

Associate, Administration & Communications

Summary

We are looking for a talented professional to enhance internal communications and operational systems at AgentsC as well as amplify the organization’s brand and social media profile. If you possess strong, creative and analytical skills, can effectively support project timelines with great attention to detail, and have superior communication abilities, this exciting new role may be for you!

To apply, please send your resume and cover letter to tawa@agentsc.ca by April 28, 2023. Applications without a cover letter will not be considered. We appreciate all interested applicants. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

WRN Part 2 - Black Philanthropy with AgentsC

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 21:05:40 GMT

Olumide Akerewusi CEO of AgentsC, Black Philanthropists join Ahzjah for an exploration of world and black economic structures and mindsets, and his journey into a successful leadership role to change the world and creating a more equitable landscape for all!

WRN Part 1 - Black Philanthropy with AgentsC

Tue, 17 Jan 2023 20:59:18 GMT

Olumide Akerewusi CEO of AgentsC, Black Philanthropists join Ahzjah for an exploration of world and black economic structures and mindsets, and his journey into a successful leadership role to change the world and creating a more equitable landscape for all!

Philanthropy Is The Heartbeat Of The World!

Mon, 31 Oct 2022 19:13:16 GMT

BBC World News: Focus on Africa Interview. AgentsC's Founder and CEO, Olumide Akerewusi discusses the importance of African philanthropy and what makes it unique.

From Pie in the Sky to EDI

mide@agentsc.ca (Mide Akerewusi) — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 08:05:37 GMT

What’s Wrong With Attempts to Solve Systemic Anti-Black Racism?

I’m about to leave town. I am going on a well deserved break. By the time I return, Black History Month will be over. I plan on having fun. My flight is boarding. Before I go, I want to get something off my chest. It’s something that has been bugging me since I first heard about it in 2021, and it was recently confirmed by Canada’s Ministry of Housing, Diversity and Inclusion.

No doubt, to coincide with Black History Month, the government recently put out a call for concepts for a $200-million Black-led Philanthropic Endowment Fund. All good so far, you may be thinking; how generous; that’s a lot of money; at last; Black people deserve this. Well, not quite!

Here’s where some may view me as ungrateful and downright hard to please. Perhaps I am, but there’s validity to my thoughts. The Brits say, one should never look a gift horse in the mouth. But some gift horses do warrant scrutiny. And this is one of them.

This rising conscious moment of EDI geared towards Black people was globally ignited by a brutal dehumanising act that followed millions of brutal dehumanising acts towards Black people in North America, South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and the African Continent throughout our history. Much damage has been done and much is needed to restore our universal civil rights. How those rights are restored is up for debate, some say training for white people, some say reparations, some say confronting, some say funding. I say Black economic empowerment is the best solution. But what happens when a $200 million EDI fund wears the cloak of Black economic empowerment, but may actually disempower Black people?

This fund is the result of government thinking. It probably began with the question, "what can we do to make Black People in Canada happy, and if not happy, then maybe show them we care – a bit?" The answer came with a word salad of a call that is as lofty as it is vague:

“This call seeks to innovate ideas from Black communities to ensure the Fund meets their expectations and addresses the unique challenges they face…Announced in Budget 2021, the Fund is dedicated to supporting Black-led charities and organizations serving youth and social initiatives and will create a sustainable source of funding to improve the social and economic outcomes in Black communities.”

In other words, we don’t know precisely what this fund may fund, but we hope it benefits Black people to do whatever it is Black people do with funding – social initiatives serving youth, addressing challenges and all that good jazz.

The pledge of $200 million to Black people is a lovely idea, until we look deeply into the horse's cakehole. Without meaning to sound harsh, my idea is to scrap the idea of a Black Philanthropic Endowment Fund altogether! There, I said it! Why did I say it? Well here are three reasons and fundamental flaws that confront this fund when it is eventually awarded:

1. The Math Does Not Work

There are 1.2 million Black people in Canada possibly even more if we consider undocumented people. In theory, if this $200 million fund is shared equally among us, every Black person in Canada would potentially end up with $2.50 each. But hold on, there’s a catch. That $2.50 will not be placed directly into our hands. No, it will go to a privileged investor who will tuck it into his/her/their investment portfolio and dole out (if we are lucky) 5% of our $2.50 per year, infinitum. That’s a whopping 12.5 cents for we lucky Black people every year. Let’s not spend it all at once. It will likely be another year before the next twelve and a half cents will come our way. Supposing we have a repeat of 1981 when Canada’s Black population grew by 596 per cent? I can’t do the math on that, but I bet it equates to less than a penny for each of us on average.

2. It Creates Competition Instead of Collaboration

Audre Lorde put it best when she said, “In our world, divide and conquer must become define and empower.” In the Black community, we are all too familiar with the effect of divisions within our community. Black people needed to be divided during times of slavery, so they would not conspire against the interests of slave owners. Colonization of the African continent occurred through a system of divisions between people groups and tribes that were pitted against each other. It’s not lost on me that this fund is established by the Ministry of “Inclusion” with criteria that creates competition and exclusion. It has all the traits of divide and conquer. In this winner takes all euro-centric approach to gift giving there can only be one “victor” and there must inevitably be “losers”. In an effective EDI framework, the idea would surely be to prioritize true equity, diversity and inclusion using a collectivised approach to administer the fund so that the community as a whole wins, not just one organization. This is what community-centric fundraising is all about.

3. It Lacks Imagination and Ambition

As a Black tax-payer in Canada, I am miffed as to why the Canadian government would essentially immobilize a $200 million fund through an endowment, when the interventions sought by the Black community are so immediate, so urgent and so long in coming. We know that the urgency of economic empowerment runs contrary to the drop-by-drop intention of an endowment. We need imaginative investments that can accelerate the pace of progress. An immediate cash fund with the intention to invest in projects that catalyze the most ingenious ideas for community transformation and economic empowerment would be fantastic. Our communities need jobs, access to credit, and the dismantling of racist systems that the government itself constructed. A few such imaginative approaches would be to support Black people to own their homes, acquire tax credits to overcome systemic ant-Black racism, and for Black students to clear loan debt.

To my mind, this endowment fund needs some re-imagining. It is a reflection of some institutional approaches to EDI. Often EDI ideas seem great as they are conceptualized, however, all such ideas must bear further scrutiny before turning them into practice.

EDI is not about gimmicks and sound bites; pie in the sky or bluster. EDI is about honestly staring at the problem and collaboratively working with communities to affect solutions that are authentic and not tokenistic; ethno-centric and not purely euro-centric; immediate, rather than long-term.

I hear the final call for boarding. I’ll end my thoughts by stepping down from my soap box and wishing you a wonderful Black History Month, along with the challenge to re-imagine your EDI strategy so that it is more contemplative and ambitious. Thereby closer to the transformation we all want to see.

Olumide Akerewusi

Founder and CEO

AgentsC Inc.

mide@agentsc.ca

P.S. Please forgive my typos and grammar!

Mide Akerewusi & Ade Oguntoye On The Power Of Black Philanthropy

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 22:55:55 GMT

When you think about philanthropy, what image comes to mind? White men with deep pockets opening up their chequebooks writing big donations that barely make a dent in their wallets.

August is black philanthropy month, a time to question their image of philanthropy and offer a space to amplify black voices in the industry. To create a real call for change and be active in creating a more diverse and inclusive space for all philanthropists.

Mide Akerewusi and Ade Oguntoye join the podcast to discuss the Giving Black conference. A global conference drawing philanthropic voices and viewpoints from across Africa's diaspora to explore how collective action can elevate equity in our unequal world.

We talk about the meaning of black philanthropy and how we can challenge our past and make way for a better future.

Audio Podcast available here

AgentsC is Hiring

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 11:42:09 GMT

Director of Strategy, Research and Evaluation

The Director of Strategy, Research and Evaluation is responsible for providing the highest level of strategic solutions to AgentsC’s clients. The Director will leverage their research, design and evaluation skills to sustain AgentsC’s reputation for client satisfaction. Click to apply: https://charityvillage.com/jobs/director-of-strategy-research-and-evaluation-in-toronto-ontario-ca/

The Driven Podcast: Listen to Mide Akerewusi speak about African Philanthropy

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 11:03:57 GMT

Fundraising "Superhero" shares his views on African philanthropy

Listen to this engaging podcast hosted by Driven: https://www.trustdriven.com/listings/podcast/episode-59-mide-akerewusi-on-african-philantrophy-and-the-duality-of-giving

The Duality of Giving Webinar

mide@agentsc.ca (Mide Akerewusi) — Tue, 02 Mar 2021 20:46:07 GMT

A Celebration of African Philanthropy

On February 25, 2021 we invited incredible panellists to share their perspectives on philanthropy on the African continent. Click the image above to watch the video .

Panellists

Atlegang Matlala, Director of Partnerships at Save The Children South Africa;

Dr. Camila Pereira, Senior Development Officer at the Child Development Institute, and also our research advisor;

Keratiloe Mogotsi, a PhD candidate in philanthropy at the Wits Philanthropy School, and also a participant in our research;
Andrew Chunilall, CEO of Community Foundations of Canada.

Celebrate African Philanthropy

Tue, 23 Feb 2021 12:52:20 GMT

Join Us In Celebrating Black Heritage Month 2021

Click the image above to register at our Eventbrite site

Agents Inc. Awarded B Corp Certification

mide@agentsc.ca (Mide Akerewusi) — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 10:55:06 GMT

This is a proud moment for us at AgentsC

At AgentsC, our values are at the heart of what we do. Since our inception in 2015, we have worked with global non-profit organizations and philanthropists to save lives, strengthen communities and channel funds to those who need them most. Thanks to the dedication of our team and the commitment of our clients we are now recognized as a leading B Corp company delivering social good to the world.

Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

Society’s most challenging problems cannot be solved by government and nonprofits alone. The B Corp community works toward reduced inequality, lower levels of poverty, a healthier environment, stronger communities, and the creation of more high quality jobs with dignity and purpose. By harnessing the power of business, B Corps use profits and growth as a means to a greater end: positive impact for their employees, communities, and the environment.

B Corps form a community of leaders and drive a global movement of people using business as a force for good. The values and aspirations of the B Corp community are embedded in the B Corp Declaration of Interdependence.

Mide Akerewusi: Fracture to Failure to Philanthropy

mide@agentsc.ca (Mide Akerewusi) — Fri, 29 Jan 2021 10:01:45 GMT

MADE TO LEAD PODCAST

Abdul-Aziz Garuba Jr., MBA, CFE, CPA, CMA invited me on his excellent #Madetolead podcast. It ended up being one of the most frank, enjoyable, and entertaining discussions I've ever had about my journey as a Black British African man living and working in Canada.

The Duality of Giving: Conversation With Jamil Jivani on Newstalk 1010

mide@agentsc.ca (Mide Akerewusi) — Thu, 12 Nov 2020 04:42:51 GMT

Hear Mide Akerewusi and Newstalk 1010's Jamil Jivani discuss AgentsC's critical research into philanthropy on the African continent, its implications for global development, and how this shifts our understanding of giving among diaspora communities.

Imagine Canada's Multicultural & Newcomer Charitable Giving Study

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 17:44:53 GMT

Imagine Canada’s Multicultural & Newcomer Charitable Giving Study is the single most exciting research produced on Canadian philanthropy that I have read – ever!

Why? Because it acknowledges the truth that philanthropy is not one monolithic act uniformly undertaken by all people in the same way. Metaphorically speaking, philanthropy consists of a multitude of flavours and textures. It can be esoteric, nuanced, and complex, especially when we try to compare attitudes among genders, races, and cultures. Imagine Canada has opened our eyes to this important reality. Giving is not the sole practice of White people. People of colour are equally and sometimes more so engaged in philanthropy.

We all know one size does not fit all but what this study does is to share a range of cultural attitudes that may shift our fundraising perspectives and goals. I wholeheartedly commend the many organizations that participated in and funded this important piece of work. I am especially pleased that Imagine Canada and its partners have undertaken this work because it also provokes fundraisers to stop treating donors with a broad brush when it comes to asking, stewarding, and renewing. We now have the important basis to understand attitudinal differences and can now act on these with smartly tailored approaches to the task of fundraising and relationship building.

Stratifying giving attitudes according to generations of newcomers in Canada does a lot in helping us learn about each other. This understanding will hopefully spark more responsible and inclusive approaches to engaging, acknowledging, and celebrating diverse people in our fundraising sphere.

Knowing that some racial groups are more likely to donate to social issues and that others are more directed to funding health-related institutions is actually helpful. Additionally, knowing that new immigrants to Canada are involved in what we, at AgentsC, call the “Duality of Giving,” an active commitment to give informally through remittances sent to one’s friends and family in their country of origin, as well as giving formally to registered charities in one’s adopted country.

This duality leads us to understand that immigrant communities often give more of what they have than their White multigenerational peers in Canada. Next month, AgentsC will publish critical research that speaks more to this duality. It is marvellous to read about the acknowledgement of informal giving in the narrative of how immigrants give formally.

In July of this year, AgentsC brokered a discussion about equity in the Canadian non-profit sector. What came from that discussion was a commitment to work with a small team to create an Equity Charter. We are close to sharing our work in this area, which also overlaps with the world of philanthropy. Three connected streams of the soon-to-be shared charter are:

A commitment to undertaking research into the role of Black people and other people of colour engaged in the world of philanthropy.
Adapting current philanthropic models to include multi-cultural perspectives on giving, such as the Circle of Courage and Ubuntu.
Recruiting more diverse non-profit teams that truly reflect and represent Canada’s rich and diverse cultural tapestry.

There’s more to come from the Equity Charter team. However for now, I am excited that with this one research project, Imagine Canada has once again shown leadership by giving voice to people of colour.

If there is one critique I have of Imagine’s research, it is that the first-person narratives are missing. These would help us to humanize the attitudes we keenly read about. Equally as important, why is a distinction made between Arab and Iranian participants who are geographic neighbours on the global stage, yet Black Caribbean and Africans are lumped together despite their respective countries being thousands of miles apart? Why are Chinese donors included and Korean donors not? What about Latin Americans and recent White European immigrants? And what might we learn from the numbers if a baseline of the White majority could be used as comparison for a more holistic understanding of race and philanthropy differences and similarities?

These questions are meant as an incentive to all of us, to continue to research this most interesting of subject areas, so that we may expand our knowledge about people who give. Notwithstanding, Imagine Canada’s research is groundbreaking and I, for one, value it so much. Thank You!

I magine Canada’s Multicultural & Newcomer Charitable Giving Study

Equity & COVID-19 in the Non-Profit Sector: Resilience, Risk and Innovation

mide@agentsc.ca (Mide Akerewusi) — Mon, 22 Jun 2020 19:54:14 GMT

This is a subtitle for your new post

AgentsC is hosting a special spotlight on equity, and resilience building in the non-profit sector on Thursday, June 25th, 2020 at 8:00am.

This session will be presented by Mide Akerewusi and Steve Richter of AgentsC Inc., and Monica Merrifield who is an internationally recognized strategic risk leader and author.

The presenters will explore how equity translates into action, and the resilience imperative for purpose-driven organizations to navigate through these times of unprecedented change.

We will also share practical approaches for building capabili ties that help us understand and solve the problems that matter, while managing uncertainty in productive ways.

Learning Outcomes:

Pursuing equity in current times
Non-Profit sector research results - connecting risk management with fundraising
Principles and practices for building resilience, managing risk, and innovating in times of uncertainty
Equity as a driver for positive change and future results

Click here to register: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/106977781424

Join AgentsC's Google Meet on Thursday 28th May, 2020

mide@agentsc.ca (Mide Akerewusi) — Fri, 15 May 2020 13:08:20 GMT

Google Meet Details

AgentsC is hosting a Google Meet to share results of our COVID19 Non-Profit Sector Survey.

About this Event.

Hosted by: AgentsC team members, Mide Akerewusi and Steve Richter

Day: Thursday 28th May, 2020

Time: 8:00am to 9:00am

We'll have the answers to the most important questions being asked by non-profit employees and volunteers:

1. What are the factors for fundraising success during COVID-19?

2. What priorities is the non-profit sector addressing during this time?

3. What personal concerns do employees and volunteers have for their jobs?

4. Who's staying and who aims to leave the sector?

All attendees will receive a complementary copy of AgentsC's COVID-19 NonProfit Survey Results

Spots are limited. Register for free today to be a part of the conversation.

We look forward to the discussion!

The Future Of Giving, For Our Post-COVID-19 World

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 02:38:46 GMT

During and after the COVID-19 era, change will be the key to our survival. Perhaps the biggest change in society we will see is not from a reactionary global economic decline, but an acceleration of changes brought on by social distancing. Even now, attitudes to working from home, business continuity, and service delivery are setting new standards for how we will interact post- COVID-19, and technology seems to be at the centre of it all.

Donors identify a wide range of social problems as most important for our future:

Developing treatment or cures for a disease; Hunger and access to nutritious food; Access to basic health services; Protecting and preserving the environment; Access to quality basic education; Access to clean water and sanitation; Violence and conflict; Access to shelter and affordable housing; Economic development and growth; Access and opportunities in higher education; Preservation and advancement of arts and culture; Expanding opportunities for women and girls; and Access to opportunity for racial and cultural minorities:

In our Post COVID-19 world, how will charities engage technology to leverage their expertise, and engage the aspirational dreams of the people they serve, as well as donors in addressing the complex needs of those most at risk in society?

Transparency and technology empower donor giving:

Salesforce’s Nonprofit Trends Report states that 41 per cent of nonprofits are scaling their technology and infrastructure to meet the growing needs of their constituents. Indeed, more than 60 per cent of nonprofits do not have an integrated omni-channel response to fundraising where digital, marketing, communications, events, direct marketing, and major gifts operate on a shared platform with a diversity of people skills.

Charities face a new landscape where accelerated adoption and integration of technology can no longer be a luxury that they delay. It is now an immediate necessity. A digital-first strategy seems more common-sense than nice-to-have.

One benefit of an omni-channel digital-first strategy is the emergence of a culture of team collaboration in gathering, using and sharing critical information. The second benefit of a digital first approach is linked to how technology will bridge the important intersection between fundraising and public trust. Donor trust and loyalty depends on effective communication. By integrating communication technology such as webinars, video messaging, and texts, charities could once and for all eliminate one of the biggest barriers to giving - transparency.

At AgentsC, there are five technological considerations that we see forming the core of charities' omni-channel digital-first fundraising strategy, post-COVID-19. These are not necessarily new platforms; indeed, we argue for an increase in the use of technology that is already at our disposal to increasingly permeate traditional analogue-based fundraising in charities:

Using existing digital tools:

A new reality

1. An Augmented Reality: Augmented reality, where virtual elements are integrated into real life, has successfully been used by a host of organisations including the NHS in the UK to seek blood donors. It can be adapted to attract the participation of major donors to a variety of activities, including site visits, donor walls, and even to connect with field workers across the globe, and almost all situations we can imagine.

2. A.I. Revolution: Artificial Intelligence gives a new window into understanding philanthropic potential. Whether it’s in the use search for hidden donor potential, the creation of donor personas to better understand motivations for giving, predictive modelling for donor potential, or planning your next bequest/estate gift, A.I. will increasingly provide scientific support for rapid growth in revenue in the future.

Inclusion transforming philanthropy

3. Virtual Donor Engagement: The Covid -19 pandemic recently caused Camp Oochigeas’ Sporting Life 10K event to be adapted from one big race to individualised runs in participants’ own communities. There are obvious savings on venue hire and licence fees to making events virtual, as well, the potential to be more inclusive by reaching large numbers of diverse participants from a range of online communities. Incorporation of the applications that allow donors to participate in virtual social spaces and among their peers could offer the next best thing to being there in person.

Better Monitoring and Use of Big Data

4. Constant Donor Cultivation: We are now used to the constant flow of news and information about the spread of COVID-19. In keeping with this emerging custom, charities’ Facebook Live feeds and Twitter accounts can be utilised to produce hour by hour seamless updates about key decisions made within the organisation, to track how projects and programs are evolving, or even provide real-time information flows about how donations are being put to use to support the lives of stakeholders. Such methodologies may yet replace the traditional quarterly newsletter while also leveraging insight and access to information that tells us about donors’ online networks, thoughts, opinions, likes, and actions.

5. Digital Meeting spaces: Conference meeting apps and platforms are here to stay: Zoom, VidyoCloud, GoToMeeting, and a plethora of other platforms have been designed to keep people all around us and across the world from spending money on travel. Virtual meetings will be prioritised over local, domestic and international travel, vastly reducing travel expense, time, and our carbon footprint.

Imagine a world where recorded webinars replace dense annual reports, or where data from digital connectivity drives decision-making. This is the essence of a digital-first strategy. Omni-channels simply occur when we combine that technology with the best minds in our teams.

Digital connectivity makes it easier for charities to amass important data on donor behaviour, attitudes, giving history and interests. These provide the basis for organisationally specific research that can better inform effective fundraising strategies. Such an approach removes the guesswork and the random nature of some fundraising practices to far better effect than traditional methodologies.

The Girl Scouts of America found this to be true when they optimised their Salesforce database to digitise the supply chain of cookie sales. In making this leap, the organisation demonstrated that it was perfectly feasible to use databases not just to capture donation data but to also expand product sales. If an openness to technology and the right people and skills are available, even the seemingly impossible may be achieved.

Crowd-Funding will continue to play a robust role in social change:

Donors are adopting new definitions of giving, while being more determined than ever to drive social change as part of an online community. The role and importance of charitable giving will not diminish. Individual giving is part of our society’s fabric. However, COVID-19 is yet another indicator that crowd-funding is seen by many as a viable alternative to formalised charitable donations.

There's an important consideration of how an omni-channel approach to donor engagement can embrace crowd funding. This is especially important as a new formula for cultivating donations among communities of colour.

Integrating Change Strategies:

At AgentsC we’re keen to support charities in building and implementing integrated change strategies towards transformational fundraising. Tell us how you and your charity are embracing change during COVID-19. Click below for our anonymous survey:

COVID-19's Impact on Non-Profit Organizations - English

COVID-19's Impact on Non-Profit Organizations - French

References:

Fundraising Around The World, More Strategic, 2019

Plethora of Platforms

Creating a Digital First Strategy

Black Toronto Community Support

AgentsC's COVID-19 Survey

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 16:14:43 GMT

Thank you to all who participated in our COVID-19 Survey. The Survey is now closed. Please stay tuned for our webinar later this month where we will share results.

Football’s international response to the COVID-19 crisis

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 16:11:34 GMT

The arrival of COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact on each country’s healthcare system, so much that several of them are being pushed to the brink . The crisis is truly global and the response from all us needs to be as well. In recent days, the players of the World’s truly global sport, football (soccer) have begun to issue theirs.

Many playing in Europe’s top domestic leagues (which have now all been suspended) are mobilising their financial clout to raise all-important funds for combating the COVID-19 threat. Sweden’s Zlatan Ibrahimovic, recently launched his campaign to “Kick Coronavirus Away” , an ambitious plan that seeks to collect 1 million euros to the Italian health care system. Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola have donated a combined 2 million euros to the Spanish effort against COVID-19. English defender Ashley Young, who just started playing in Milan, has also been keen to use his celebrity to instruct people on how to stay safe during the crisis.

Yet, the need for aid is far from being exclusively European. Liverpool forward Sadio Mané, whose philanthropy is fairly well-known , has offered 45,000 euros to his native Senegal, where a state of emergency was just declared. Tottenham winger, Heung-min Son pledged his support in the form of 65,000 pounds to his native South Korea, one of the first countries hit by the virus.

Why has COVID-19 resonated so much with footballers and why are we hearing so much about it? Perhaps where football stands out from other internationally popular sports is its truly global reach – it’s played everywhere, from the development to the world class level. Therefore, the response is necessarily international. Many of these players feel strongly about helping both their host and home countries at the same time. Their response is simple: they see a need, they leverage their celebrity and they act.

It’s worth exploring the power of sporting figures to raise awareness about societal issues. However, the main question is how can we in the non-profit sector leverage our leadership and contribute to the end goal of stopping COVID-19? Following in the footsteps of these footballers by donating to our local health charities that need our support, especially those dealing with the most vulnerable, and making it public, would be a start.

Take part in a Canada-wide COVID-19 survey for people in the non-profit sector.

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 16:11:32 GMT

Do you work in the non-profit sector in Canada?

Has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted your work?

Would you like to know how others in the sector are responding?

This survey is intended for non-profit employees, volunteers, and board members.

Share your thoughts and experiences and we will publish the results as a benchmark report for this unique moment in time. Results will be freely available and published when the survey closes on Friday 1st, May 2020.

Click here to take part:

COVID-19 Non-Profit Sector Survey (English)

Cliquez ici pour remplir le sondage en (Français)

Please share with your networks and encourage them to take part in the survey. The more responses we garner, the more we can share with government, policy makers, and leaders across the sector. We will also be able to pinpoint areas for support for post-COVID-19 recovery.

This survey is produced by AgentsC.

AgentsC is an international, non-profit consulting firm, based in Toronto, Canada. We offer comprehensive, transformational change to clients wanting to achieve sustainable, revenue growth, as well as rigourous program evaluation and impact measurement of their projects.

Contact Mide Akerewusi, Founder and CEO at mide@agentsc.ca

Mide Akerewusi, Founder and CEO of AGENTSC on overcoming fear

Sat, 04 May 2019 17:28:01 GMT

Mide Akerewusi is the Founder and CEO of AGENTSC , a fundraising and social change agency helping organizations attract significant financial investments. Mide’s story reminds us that fear can be a powerful emotion in holding us back from accomplishing our dreams, no matter where we are in our career. But when we overcome the voice in our head holding us back, we have the freedom to achieve. Mide’s success shows us the power of perseverance and grit and shares some practical tips for a career with impact.

What does meaningful work mean to you?

Meaningful work is mindful work. We often equate the value of our roles with job titles or perks. However, a friend helped me understand years ago that my vocation – my purpose – is more important than my career and what I do.

I have never aligned with the concept of the 9 to 5. For me, my work is meaningful when it involves a 24/7 commitment to getting things done. I think meaningful work also requires partnering with meaningful people, meaningful teams, and meaningful organizations.

There is a meaningful eco-system and I am glad to be part of it.

Tell me about your company and why you started it.

AGENTSC is an agency specializing in fundraising and social change. We help social impact organizations attract significant financial investments. Our clients are some of the world’s most successful nonprofits, spanning Australia, Canada, UK and USA.

I had a pretty exhilarating ascension through the ranks of fundraising, working for a number of inspiring nonprofits in the UK and Canada. By the time I had reached the top of my profession, I was only 37 years-old and knew deep inside that I had missed the opportunity to fine-tune some of my leadership skills. Thus I took a step down the career ladder to work for Pathways to Education for almost five years, acquiring the skills and experience that I lacked.

I knew entering into my job at Pathways, that the mark of accomplishing my mission would be the successful completion of their $185 million fundraising campaign and a marked reduction in the number of youth dropping out of high school. When we achieved these goals, I had the confidence to launch AGENTSC.

Today AGENTSC is respected and recognized in different parts of the world for our great work.

What is the greatest challenge you had to overcome to make this idea a reality and how did you go about doing it?

Fear was my greatest challenge. To be precise, fear of not having clients and money to sustain the business felt stifling. As much as I felt ready to go it alone with AGENTSC, I was scared to take the first step. Though I have always been someone who throws caution to the wind and takes big risks, I am far from cavalier. I wanted AGENTSC to be really successful and that added to my anxiety. Three things helped me overcome my fear:

I had support from an excellent career coach who helped me set goals and important steps towards my vision
I built a network of trusted self-employed people who were supportive of the concept of AGENTSC and shared advice and expertise to launch the business
My family encouraged me to go for it. They believed in what I was trying to do.

What advice do you have for people looking for meaningful jobs?

In her book entitled Grit , Angela Duckworth talks about passion and perseverance as the hallmarks of success.

On a practical level, grit helps you continually work to refine your ambition, embrace a commitment to lifelong learning, and stay focused even when you experience knock-backs or encounter barriers on the way.

My advice to people seeking a meaningful job is don’t settle for anything less than your dream job. Have some grit. Be 100% committed to the search. If you get knocked down seven times, stand up eight times.

Do you have a philosophy you live/work by?

I have three philosophies I live and work by:

Always put the interests of others above your own
Dream big dreams
Never let a mistake leave the kitchen (thank you, Gordon Ramsey)

The Challenge Of Funding Social Innovation In Nonprofits

Mon, 08 Apr 2019 01:41:00 GMT

The UK’s Department for International Development (DfID) recently decided to pull funding for a pioneering program promoting girls’ rights in Ethiopia. Seemingly under pressure from @MailOnline), DfID parted ways with Yegna, leaving many in the nonprofit sector wondering what could have justified this about-face.

The Coles Notes: Yegna is not your typical food program doling out protein wafers and soluble carbs to the needy. Neither is it a general invitation to surprise aunty Helen and uncle Roy with the gift of a chicken or goat for Hanifa in rural Mozambique. Based in Ethiopia, Yegna is a trailblazing socially innovative program of Girl Effect , which, in turn, was created by the Nike Foundation and @NoVoFoundation to help us all think differently about the power and potential of girls in global development. Yegna incorporates non-traditional development programming such as a musical radio drama, a girl band churning out hit music, and a popular and impactful talk show that encourages debate between parents and their children. It is the jewel in the Girl Effect crown.

But that is precisely what @MailOnline was upset about. Why, they ask, do British taxpayers have to pay for a pop band in Ethiopia while funding problems are affecting the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK?

It’s a bit like asking why we have to spend so much money on space travel when public spaces could do with a bit of touching up. I shouldn’t have to explain that international aid and the NHS have no connection. There’s no zero-sum game. Every pound pulled from Yegna is not going back into the NHS. But some British taxpayers, just don’t care. On the subject of foreign affairs or international aid, they have a negative response to anything that remotely requires collective or social responsibility.

Should Yegna, an innovative approach to social justice, suffer due to the fact that it doesn’t meet the conformist approach to development adopted by most other international nonprofits?

In Yegna, there are no depictions of children crying in orphanages. No distended bellies. No visible Western saviours. No rock bands, wristbands, or headbands. Yegna is different, relevant, real, and representative of where and how girls see themselves. As a social innovation, it presents straight-up Girl Power for the people, by the people, creating impact that has not been seen before; or so DfiD has proudly boasted as it consistently awarded the program an A grade for the last three years of evaluations : 84% of girl listeners say Yegna has helped them become more confident. 76% of girl listeners say Yegna has inspired them to continue their education. 65% of all listeners say the radio show has made them think differently about girls’ rights to safety, independence, and self-determination.

Thanks to this superb program girls are now learning about their rights to protect their bodies, get married when they’re ready, and prevent violence against women and children. But the Daily Mail continued baiting a reaction from taxpayers by labelling Yegna as a waste of their money. Public opinion followed suit, and DfID capitulated, as it announced it was pulling government funding in the new year. Yegna is now a poster child for what not to do, especially if we aim to sustain social innovation.

Where is the justice and what is the nonprofit world to do when the media, the public, and politicians yield so much negative bias towards creative solutions for social and economic change for the poor?

Despite its significant achievements in effectively and efficiently reaching over 1 million people on a weekly basis, Yegna is viewed as a wasteful program. This as Oscar Wilde would say, is the government manifestation of knowing the price of everything, but the value of nothing. No doubt, the organization (only one among many) is the victim of a misunderstanding regarding the role of nonprofits in creating new methodologies to solve old problems.

This phenomenon has implications for our work here in Canada.

In Canada, International Development agencies are among the least trusted of all nonprofit organizations [1] , and as a country, our overall level of global engagement is at an all-time low [2] .

Mental health, social exclusion, homelessness, displaced people, food insecurity, youth unemployment, human trafficking, racism, sexism, gender inequality and homophobia are seemingly intractable challenges that contribute to the high level of need for nonprofit organizations in today’s world. While the number of Canadians who claim tax receipts for charitable donations appears to be in decline, nonprofits are under increasing pressure to demonstrate immediate value to donors. In such a competitive and demanding environment, risk-taking and innovation are the first casualties. The non-profit sector is encouraged not to rock the boat.

They say in Ethiopia that smooth seas do not make skilful sailors. It’s sad that too few funders (private or public) sign up for their donations to be used to trial radical solutions that may or may not work.

So is it time to re-write the script for funding social change? Should we not reward rather than punish nonprofits that try to innovate? Are we too accustomed to traditional approaches to poverty alleviation that deny beneficiaries choice, voice, and control, and negate lasting change? What if we did things differently?

Dynamic investments from microfinance schemes ( Grameen Bank ) to philanthro-capital initiatives ( Regeneration of Detroit ), the creation of movements though volunteerism ( Movember ), social businesses ( Paintbox Bistro ), crowd funding ( GoFundMe ), crowd lending ( FundThrough ) bequests ( Wealth Transfer Explosion ), social responsibility employment programs ( HireUP ) and endowments ( Harvard University ) are emerging as the most innovative, impactful, and sustainable forms of revenue generation. Also, the popularity of apps and technology to solve logistical challenges ( UBER ), are taking root in our society.

The nonprofit sector as a whole needs a chance to develop, trial and scale similar innovations that tackle poverty and its effects. But it’s hard to do so when the steps to innovation place funding at risk or far from reach. Technology surely holds the answer to creating new approaches. However, we will only leverage new opportunities for social change when nonprofits are trusted to use funding in a creative way.

Here’s what every nonprofit can do to kick start a process to engage funders in conversations about social innovation:

Develop a clear vision that is solution oriented, aspirational, and anticipatory of future social needs
Demonstrate your expertise by researching and reporting on the problem you are aiming to solve
Invest time in consulting experts and including stakeholders as leaders in delivering your vision
Invite donors to input into your plan and ensure that expectations are aligned
Engage professional fundraising experts to help you figure out ways to build broader funding partnerships
Go public with your vision and raise awareness for the change you are aiming for
Curate your experience and the steps you are taking, so the broader nonprofit community can learn from your approach

As a board member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Toronto Chapter, I am excited about a new development. It's called AFP Insights - an initiative to better understand innovative fundraising techniques shared by the world’s leading nonprofits and smart thinkers.

Insights will be a resource to those who want to connect, support, or replicate pioneering fundraising and revenue generation practices. It’s an important first step to creating new avenues for fundraising in the 21st century, and a resource for equipping the next generation of nonprofit leaders to continue to spark new Yegnas.

While Insights is a small step in the right direction, we should all do more to spotlight and celebrate the great innovations that exist within our sector and be vocal about the need to sustain them at any cost. Get in touch if you have ideas about fundraising or thoughts you’d like to share about this article.

Mide Akerewusi, Founder and CEO of AGENTSC a company devoted to nonprofit change, sustainability and major gift fundraising.

[1] Lasby, D., & Barr, C. (2013). Talking about charities 2013. Canadians’ opinions on charities and issues affecting charities.

[2] Assessing Canada’s Global Engagement Gap, Robert Greenhill and Megan McQuillan, October 6

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/challenge-funding-social-innovation-nonprofits-mide/

Why A Watched Kettle Never Boils – Explaining Time in the Context of Major Gifts

Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT

Introduction

Aristotle contended that, “time is the most unknown of all unknown things” .

I feel the same way. For a couple of years, I’ve been fascinated at the phenomena of time, and how we as humans have an existential perception of it.

In the next 10 minutes, I am going to help you answer one of the most profound questions concerning time: Why does a watched kettle never boil? This question finds a fundraising equivalency in Why does it take ages to secure a major gift?

Time’s Fake Truths

“Time is on our side, time is against us, we run out of time, there’s plenty of time, time is a healer, there’s a right time and the wrong time, and time and tide wait for no man. ”

These are just some of the fake truths we tell about time. But they also speak to our limited appreciation for the complexity of this phenomena. In many respects time is the most equitable resource known to humans. We all get 24 hours and when they run out, we get 24 more the following day for every day of our lives. And then we die. Or at least, that’s what my mother says!

So, what really is time?

Defining time is tough. There are lots of fairly complex definitions, like Websters’: “Time is the measured or measurable period during which an action, process or condition exists or continues.”

But the definition I like the most is from the physicist, John Wheeler: “Time is what stops everything from happening at once!”

The Brits conquered the world and one of the perks of doing so (apart from feeling superior to everyone else) was the discovery of tea in the east. They brought it home, brewed it and promptly discovered during the process of boiling water that a watched kettle never seems to boil.

Why does it take so long to heat a kettle of water – especially when we are gazing at it during the kinetic process?

Let me put this in more general terms:

Why, when we are paying attention to it, does time seem to slow down and conversely, seem to speed up when we are not paying attention? I mean seriously, watching a kettle boil seems to take forever, yet the decades can seem to speed by. One day I was a teenager, the next day, I woke up and I became middle-aged. Why?

The first major gift I ever raised was $6 million – it took six months to secure. The last major gift I raised was $1 million – it took three years to secure – and arrived on the final day of my employment at the nonprofit. Arguably, I was more pensive about the last gift than the first, but could that be why it took so long for the gift to arrive?

The Short Answer Is That Time Works With Our Imagination!

The short answer is that time works with our imagination! Time itself has no physical aspects it is not an element, like oxygen or hydrogen. We can only imagine time. It is as objective as it is subjective in our measurement of it.

Saint Augustine the Christian Philosopher puts it this way: “In you, my mind, I measure time,”…. “Words, sounds, and events come and go, but their passage leaves an impression….Either time is this impression, or what I measure is not time.”

What Saint Augustine is saying is that the absence of physical attributes lends itself to imagining time through different realities. Time is one thing if we imagine it one way and another thing if we imagine another way.

That may be too poetic an explanation. So, try this:

A watched kettle takes longer to boil only because we measure time more slowly when we pay attention to it, and it seems to pass quickly when we don’t pay much attention. And so, perhaps major gifts merely seem to take longer to secure because, as in my experience, we place so much attention on attempting to secure them. If we were less attentive to the time it takes and less pensive about the outcome, perhaps major gifts would occur with more frequency and greater rapidity.

This theory of time speeding up and slowing down in relation to the degree of measurement has everything to do with the second law of thermodynamics, which states that time is an arrow shot from a mysterious bow. It is omnipresent (it straddles history, exists in the present and inhabits an unknown future). We don’t know where time comes from, but time just keeps moving forward and is irreversible.

The forward motion of time towards a conclusive end is known as entropy. Simply put, entropy is the force that creates chaos and disorder. It’s because of entropy that food rots, people die, and stars disappear. It’s all about the redistribution of mass over time. Eventually all the worlds mass will be spread over time until everything disappears, and the world is no more, and time is no more. If time were a major gift, the theory stands that the world would soon run out of money due to infinite redistribution and therefore major gifts will be a thing of the past. Imagine that!

But I hear you say, what does the arrow of time and entropy have to do with why a watched kettle never seems to boil or why a major gift seems to take so long to secure?

That’s what the Quantum Zeno effect, is all about…

Scientists in the University of Texas proved that - the second law of thermodynamics can actually be interrupted by observing entropy in practice. Experiments have shown that the observer can physically impact what he or she is observing simply by observing it. The act of measuring some atomic particles can either stop or speed up the particles’ decay and measuring more frequently inhibits the decay. Although these principles apply to the atomic world, more loosely they could also explain why a watched kettle never boils and why securing a major gift seems to stretch out over longer periods of time.

Meaning, the reason why a watched kettle may never seem to boil is because it is being watched and measured by our subjective perception of the speed of time. If you left the kettle to boil without observing it, it would do so in no time at all. The true measurement of this theory can be applied to fundraising. Perhaps we should spend less time trying to secure major gifts for a fiscal year or campaign window, and more time looking at our responsibility to build authentic and trusting relationships with donors who are seeking interventions that make our world a better place in their own time.

Time’s Up!

If by now you are looking at your watch wondering when this article will end, the truth is it already has. But if on the other hand you feel that time has flown by as you have been reading, you may very well have lost all track of time because you have been fascinated by what I have had to say. Either way, I’d love to continue sharing thoughts on this important topic, but I am afraid, I have run out of time – or have I?!

Mide Akerewusi is President and CEO of AGENTS-C, a start-up company focusing on building transformational fundraising solutions for nonprofits and engaging philanthropic corporations, foundations and high-net-worth individuals in social change. His career as a philanthropy specialist spans more than 22 years of work on four continents.

https://www.charityinfo.ca/articles/WatchedKettle

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