Posted on Monday, 28th July 2008 by chris wignall

When is leadership development not worthwhile? I spent some time recently with my old friends at Medeba Adventure Learning Centre. I’ll confess that I’m biased in their favour. Several years ago I was part of their second class in the leadership internship program they’ve developed. It was great to catch up with some old friends [...]

Tags: Leadership, Vision
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Posted on Tuesday, 22nd July 2008 by chris wignall

A telemarketing call made me feel guilty last night. About 8:20pm yesterday Kristen was finishing up bedtime with my sons and I was tidying up the kitchen when the phone rang. I grabbed it quick (don’t disturb bedtime) and was greeted by a friendly voice who identified herself as from the Cerebral Palsy foundation, calling [...]

Tags: Partners, Philanthropy
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Posted on Sunday, 20th July 2008 by chris wignall

I’m very proud of my son’s friend Mackenzie. See why. One of the challenges for many philanthropic families is in seeing the values of generosity extended to succeeding generations. It’s not easy to do. We are inviting the children of our principals to explore the things we are doing now at Catalyst, present us with [...]

Tags: Great Stories, Philanthropy
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Posted on Sunday, 20th July 2008 by chris wignall

Why can’t the organizations I meet with each week tell me the real cost of their programming? Time and time again I have conversations in which people who are hoping to receive support from Catalyst explain their desire to offset some of the fees required by their participants, but need to be prompted to explain [...]

Tags: Leadership, Philanthropy
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Posted on Sunday, 20th July 2008 by chris wignall

The real measure of an organization’s strategy is often not found in the results when they have their best people performing, but when the human resources are below the desired level. Top notch people can overcome the deficiencies of almost any structure. Mediocre people need the advantages of developed approaches to be effective. You can [...]

Tags: Catalyst, Leadership
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Posted on Sunday, 20th July 2008 by chris wignall

One of our highest values at Catalyst is synergy. We love to see compatible organizations and people drawn together to multiply their impact. Our hope is that as we become familiar with various aspects of ministry, relief, and development work we can help to make some of those connections; truly serving as a catalyst to [...]

Tags: Catalyst, Partners
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Posted on Sunday, 20th July 2008 by chris wignall

Ten days with Medical Ministry International in the Dominican Republic was both enjoyable and informative. Having two days of discussions with Executive Director Willie Hunter and his wife Janice (who is the administrator of their permanent hospital in Santo Domingo) gave me a much stronger understanding of the goals and philosophy that drive the organization. [...]

Tags: Partners
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