Posted on Thursday, 29th March 2012 by chris wignall

We would all agree that it is unethical to keep to separate sets of financial reports, targeted to get better receptions from certain people. We know that presenting ourselves as one thing on a first date that is really not true is a recipe for eventual trouble. And yet, in many situations the resolution of [...]

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Posted on Friday, 16th March 2012 by chris wignall

Last December I retweeted CBC host Jian Ghomeshi: Lots of other people retweeted it, which makes sense because it represents what has become common understanding in the development field. There are lots of reports supporting the idea that aid given to women results in benefits to their family and community, while aid given to men [...]

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Posted on Wednesday, 15th February 2012 by chris wignall

In the last week I’ve read two interesting articles from Outside magazine on prominent American charity figures who have brought both great positives (in terms of raising both profile and funds), and significant negatives (critical press and serious questions about the real impact of the organization) to their causes. While the stories on Greg Mortensen [...]

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Posted on Friday, 16th December 2011 by chris wignall

In conversations with a few charities this week there has been a repeated theme of how to engage and appreciate donors. It’s been encouraging that the ones I met with have moved beyond simply seeing their supporters as cash machines they can get funds out of if they push the right buttons. Still, there does [...]

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Posted on Thursday, 15th September 2011 by chris wignall

Earlier this week the Toronto Star reported that former US President George W. Bush would be speaking at an invitation only breakfast for donors to Tyndale University, one of Canada’s most prominent Christian post-secondary schools and probably North America’s most diverse. Not surprisingly, this generated some strong responses. Yesterday Tyndale announced that the event has [...]

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Posted on Tuesday, 13th September 2011 by chris wignall

For me one of the most difficult, and often frustrating, aspects of my role in funding and working with charities is dealing with inconsistency. Stated simply, I want to know what to expect.This is usually fairly straightforward in smaller organizations where the dominant influencers are just a couple people and there is general sameness in [...]

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Posted on Monday, 22nd August 2011 by chris wignall

About ten minutes ago the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation released this statement: NDP Leader Jack Layton has died at age 61 after a long battle with cancer, CBC News has learned. Layton died at his home in Toronto early Monday, surrounded by family, according to a statement from his wife, Olivia Chow, and his children, Sarah [...]

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Posted on Tuesday, 9th August 2011 by chris wignall

As I’ve been becoming more educated in the field of global relief and development I’ve started to form some reasonably strong opinions. The strongest is that I don’t know enough to support my strong opinions. I have become convinced by reading, site visits, and conversations with trusted, experienced professionals that effective long term improvement in [...]

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Posted on Monday, 8th August 2011 by chris wignall

If wordpress is correct, this is my 200th post on this blog. My hope is that somewhere along the way there has been some value in it for those who read here, I know there has been value for me in the process of writing. Today, a glimpse behind the curtain. As Catalyst has grown [...]

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Posted on Tuesday, 19th July 2011 by chris wignall

Two weeks ago I spent a few hours in a garbage dump outside the city of Sosua in the Dominican Republic helping illegal Haitian immigrants scavenge for recyclables, and food. I was there leading a group of young people who have been recipients of the Catalyst Award. Having been chosen for their demonstrated commitment to [...]

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