Posted on Tuesday, 29th September 2009 by chris wignall

Again this week I’ve had conversations about the need for charities to find new ways to generate revenue. I really believe that if we can’t find our way past being entirely dependant on donors we are putting our future at risk. During a meeting last night one strong leader referred to the idea that non-profits [...]

Posted in Leadership, Vision | Comments (2)

Posted on Tuesday, 29th September 2009 by chris wignall

The short answer is no. The slightly longer answer is that while both the Executive Director and the founders of Catalyst are deeply committed to a life-changing experience of Jesus Christ we don’t work with only organizations that label themselves as “christian” and we don’t label Catalyst that way either. We are eager to work [...]

Posted in Catalyst | Comments (1)

Posted on Tuesday, 29th September 2009 by chris wignall

In a couple hours I’m meeting with about 100 high school students inviting them to join in our Leadership Program where they’ll be challenged to discover, explore, and take action on their dreams of doing good for others. I really love the time I get to spend with tenagers in this program. One of the [...]

Posted in Catalyst, Great Stories, Leadership | Comments (0)

Posted on Friday, 18th September 2009 by chris wignall

I just got home from a meeting with young adults who are considering how to become more involved in the work of Opportunity International. It was the first gathering for the group and I am really excited about what could emerge from this. Opportunity is ahead of the curve simply by acknowledging the value and [...]

Posted in Great Stories, Leadership, Philanthropy | Comments (0)

Posted on Tuesday, 15th September 2009 by chris wignall

A: CHANGE?!?!?!? (Feel free to substitute your favourite denomination, political affiliation, corporate entity, nonprofit organization, or other suitable target where Baptists appears in the title). Change is both difficult and inevitable. At the Willow Creek Leadership Summit this summer Gary Hamel observed quite pointedly that being obsolete is simply a matter of changing more slowly [...]

Posted in Leadership | Comments (1)

Posted on Thursday, 10th September 2009 by chris wignall

A few brief thoughts on the opportunities and challenges of social media: -I can learn more from a good blog then I can from most books -I love facebook, but can’t get excited about twitter; yet -These are the perfect vehicles for building Tribes -Your nonprofit should have someone assigned to blog at least weekly [...]

Posted in Leadership, Resources | Comments (1)

Posted on Thursday, 10th September 2009 by chris wignall

Next month I will be participating in the Why Everything Must change conference in Oakville, ON. It promises to be an excellent gathering of some of the most intriguing people involved in global matters of justice and spirituality. I’ll have the chance to be among an inspiring gathering and also lead a post-conference session on [...]

Posted in Catalyst, Resources | Comments (0)

Posted on Tuesday, 1st September 2009 by chris wignall

As Catalyst has become a slightly more mature in our funding programs we have learned the importance of establishing and communicating clear criteria for our grants, both in applications and in reporting from grantees. Today a part of me wishes we hadn’t done so quite so much. Almost a year ago I had a long [...]

Posted in Great Stories, Philanthropy | Comments (0)