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 Hello hello everyone…

Through working with Small Change Fund, I’ve realised that many of you have had the experience of using your voice in a way that has created change.  I’ve come to realize that this is exactly what the projects here on the Small Change Fund website are, the realities of lives and communities from all across the nation. From B.C. to New Brunswick and all in between, there are people using their voice to express their concerns, issues, plans and ideas in hopes that those who may be unaware will be inspired to support these causes. Small Change Fund offers a place to share our unified voice; speaking together to create an immediate impact and possibly, lasting change. Our voices can raise awareness, create understanding, break down barriers and leave a profound impact when we express from the heart.

An example close to me comes from a community I consider home, Whitecap Dakota First Nation which is in Saskatchewan. I spent a good chunk of my life growing up there, I remember skipping rocks at the beaver dam, picking chokecherries and travelling to the city for school each day on the school bus from the reserve. This community has recently been in the spotlight for the self-governance direction they are taking and being recognised for. Here are a couple links to take a look at:  http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/whitecap-dakota-first-nation-saskatchewan

http://www.globalsaskatoon.com/video/whitecap+operation/video.html?v=2191933566

Elder Vern Harper

I share this example because it was the continued voices and efforts of the Chief, Council and community which helped to make something of this stature happen.  I recently had the opportunity to meet Elder Vern Harper who shared many valuable life teachings with a group of youth.

One of his quotes which resonated so well was: “From the moment we’re born till the moment we take our last breath, we only got one thing: time. It’s what we do with that time that counts.”

It is about using this time we have, as Elder Vern Harper mentioned, in a way that helps, whether it’s an individual, a family, a community, a nation. The voice we have from our first cry, to the last words we speak, can be utilized in a way that is conscious, meaningful and true.

One of the many things I’ve taken away from this story is how powerful our voice is when we speak about the experiences in our life. Our voice can express our hopes, our fears, our dreams as well as help those around us understand the realities our life has tasted.

What would you like to say?

Leave your comments and questions below, I’d love to converse with you!

Best wishes

-Brad Stone

The Give Forward Fund was launched in early 2012 with support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation as a way to get targeted funding as far into grassroots community projects as possible.

We agree with Chet Tchozewski of Global Greengrants Fund that too often foundation leaders incorrectly assume that small grants are not strategic.  We are delighted that the Ontario Trillium Foundation agrees with Chet and Small Change Fund that a well-conceived small grants strategy can have a huge impact when executed with discipline on a visionary scale!

Small Change Fund’s project partners have extensive networks in their communities, and we asked them to become grant-makers with us; spreading the love, and funds, into their own networks to smaller and smaller groups. This is important because it allows us to strengthen the resiliency of smaller groups and communities in Ontario: it allows us to use the power of the Small Change Fund network to reach exciting and impactful groups that we might never have known about. It also allows us to harness the power of local knowledge to make decisions about where small amounts of money can have the best impact, and finally, it builds the capacity and experience of these small groups, hopefully enabling them to generate more support for their work in the future.  A win-win strategy, don’t you agree??

Small Change Fund selected 5 of our past past projects, and asked them in turn, to select 5 groups they know and work with to receive $1000 each.  The groups we selected are:

1. Pelee Island Bird Observatory
2. East Scarborough Storefront/Tides Canada
3. Canary Research Institute
4. EcoSpark
5. Conservers Society/Environment Hamilton

Anpetu Waste! (Dakota for “It is a good day!”)

Reflecting on a successful Canada Water Week 2012, I would like to share a little bit about one of the many sacred relationships we as native people have, and that is with the water.

But before I do so, I would like to take a quick moment to mention that I don’t necessarily reflect each and every First Nations person’s point of view in regards to what I speak about in these blogs. We are a nation of many (the 2006 census listed us at just over 1.1 million here in the country of Canada, woohoo we’re getting back up there!), with many who are along many different walks of life. And just like the saying goes, “If you ask 100 people a question, you’ll get 100 different answers”. All I can do is share what I have been able to learn along my travels and what has been shared with me throughout my experiences. 

With that being said, I would like to touch on something Emma Hebb mentioned on the Small Change Fund Facebook page, and that is the situation in Pictou Landing in Nova Scotia. First off, it comes as no surprise that they voted to reject the deal from the provincial government, but unfortunately they are now highly in debt as a result of this legal situation. You see, when it comes to the matters of the land, money is of no major importance. The land and water was once our sustenance and source of life, in this situation a woman from Pictou Landing stated they used to be able to get food from the water in both the winter and the summer seasons. But now the water has been so polluted that there are no longer any fish there, nor is it safe for anyone to swim there.

I remember hearing the saying “The land is who we are”; it was and still is a strong spiritual connection for us as native people. I doubt I can do real justice to the situation going on in Pictou Landing, as I’m not in the community and it seems to be somewhat of a complex issue with all the legal technicalities and history in regards to people involved. But I will say this, many of our decisions stem from our forethought to the generations to come and doing our best to ensure we are able to leave a world for them that is healthy, respected and clean.

This also reminds me of a documentary I watched on Netflix, which is called Homeland: Four Portraits of Native Action (if you get a chance, check it out, it’s awesome), in it there’s a Chief of a reservation in Maine who was battling the state government and paper companies as a result of water being contaminated so greatly. There is a whole different mind state between those who respect the water and those who don’t.

Now, I would like to touch on this relationship with water I mentioned.  Water, to many of us, is respected as a spirit, we talk to it, pray to it, and use it in some of our ceremonies such as the sweat-lodge (which carries many teachings in itself). As many of you know, water is cleansing, life-giving, calming, powerful and makes up a good portion of the blood in our bodies.

I have been told that water is a medicine and has the power to heal. There was a Mother Earth Water Walk done in 2011 to raise awareness on the crisis that many Indigenous people do not have clean water to drink, this walk was done by women, many who were Elders. Many of our native women honor the water through a ceremony called the Full Moon ceremony, which touches on the spiritual connection to water, the moon, and the beautiful, powerful gift that women are blessed with: the ability to carry and conceive life (I’ve had the opportunity to watch over the Sacred Fire at a couple of these ceremonies).

Four inspiring Canada Water Week projects are still looking for your support – can you help Canada’s water heroes?  www.smallchangefund.org/campaigns/cww.

In closing, I thank you for taking the time to read this and hope it may have been helpful in even the smallest way. Til next blog, keep reading and have your fingertips ready in case you may want to submit a question or have an idea for a blog or would like to share something.   JUST LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW! 

Hot on the heels of Canada Water Week 2012, we asked last years water project participants for an update on the impact your donations made to their work.

Project Groundswell

Jennifer West – Project Leader for Project Groundswell – Safe Water from the Ground Up in Nova Scotia.  This project raised $4108 through participating in Canada Water Week 2011.

1) What water work have you been doing since last year?  

The focus of Groundswell has changed a bit by getting out into the community more, and directly appealing to residents and community groups to help locate candidate monitoring wells.  I have tapped into a few networks that have local residents who are really impressed by this community-based groundwater monitoring project, and who want to help out, for example the South West Nova Biosphere Reserve, rural RBC branches, and local Rotary clubs.  It has been great to talk to people about groundwater and Groundswell, and to see more of the province.  

2) How has the funding from Small Change Fund helped/affected your project and organization?

Using funds secured through SCF, we purchased four digital water level recorders, which are ready to be installed in new wells across the province.  Volunteers are looking for candidate wells in Antigonish, Yarmouth, Hants County, Bridgewater, Hubbards and all along the south shore.  With the monitoring devices ready to go, we can install them and start monitoring water levels as soon as a well is located and confirmed! 

3) Can you tell us about a person your project has helped?

Groundswell has been working closely with the Sackville Rivers Association, just outside of the city of Halifax.  This is a great little organization that has made huge steps in cleaning, restoring and protecting the Sackville River watershed.  They were so excited to contribute volunteers to Groundswell, and to have two groundwater monitoring wells in their watershed.  Information from these wells will complement their river monitoring data, and will provide even more information that will be used in planning and protecting this delicate ecosystem. 

4) Why should people support Canada Water Week 2012 projects?

CWW is a fantastic event that focusses on water issues across the country.  This event, and associated website, provides a great way to network with similar projects across the country, to collaborate with other groups, and to learn about innovative projects, tools and resources to complement our own work.  SCF is a fantastic organization that allows small projects to accomplish their goals without bogging them down with long and detailed funding proposals.  In many cases, projects can secure funding for small items or events that would otherwise be very difficult to find funding for.

5) If you were a body of water Jennifer, what/which one would be and why?

If I were a body of water I would be groundwater- mysterious, deep, and misunderstood.  :-)

Lake Winnipeg

Alex Salki – Project Leader for Lake Winnipeg Shoreline Management Guidelines Initiative.  This project raised $3553 through participating in Canada Water Week 2011.

1) What water work have you been doing since last year? 

The Lake Winnipeg Foundation is committed to restoring the health of Lake Winnipeg and other water resources by providing support for research projects, public education and stewardship programs that promote better land and water management practices in the Lake Winnipeg watershed.  

The Lake Winnipeg Sensitive Habitat Inventory and Mapping project which began April 1, 2011 and will be completed March 31, 2012, is an example of LWF efforts to help reduce nutrient loading from shoreline communities to Lake Winnipeg. The LWF is currently considering support for several other proposals including a study of  the Great White American Pelicans that migrate between Lake Winnipeg and Mexico to determine their abundance, distribution, habitat and connections with the Lake Winnipeg food web.

2) How has the funding from Small Change Fund helped/affected your project and organization?

The funds received from Small Change Fund enabled completion of the SHIM report which will be an important science-based resource for municipal governments to make shoreline management decisions that will reduce nutrient and sediment loading to Lake Winnipeg.

3) Can you tell us about a person your project has helped?

When the SHIM project report is completed, it will help community and municipal councils to make wise choices for the protection and restoration of Lake Winnipeg water quality.

4) What would you say to a donor to encourage him/her to donate to this years projects?

Funding for programs that safeguard our natural environment are among the first to be cut when government budgets are slashed. Government support is becoming user-pay centric. As the stresses on our land and water resources continue to escalate, critical surveillance programs will need to be supported by public contributions.

5) If you were a body of water, what/which one would be and why?

We are all bodies of water that can only be replenished and sustained by other freshwater bodies that can only be sustained by us.  Let us restore the cycle for future water bodies.    

Today, March 8th, is International Womens’ Day.  We took a moment to look back through all of the great projects which have been supported by Small Change Fund donors, and you probably won’t be too surprised to learn that many of them have been lead by inspirational women.

The very first successfully funded project was ‘Help Save Fish Lake From Acid Waste’, lead by a group of dedicated and passionate women from the Tsilhqot’in community.  Today we celebrate Xeni Gwet’in elder, Mabel Solomon, who spoke out against the destruction of pristine Fish Lake on her people’s ancestral lands. With your support, the mine plan was cancelled and Fish Lake was saved.  

The Hamilton Fruit Tree Project appeared on Small Change Fund back in early 2011, and was a hit with donors. Project Leader Juby Lee works hard throughout the year to co-ordinate and manage teams of volunteers to harvest fruit from local, urban trees which is then divided between homeowners, volunteers and food banks. This fresh, organic fruit is then diverted from becoming food waste.  Thank you Juby for continuing this wonderful work in Hamilton, and for being an inspiration to all the new projects popping up all over Canada.

Jessie Housty brought us one of our Seven Small Wonders of Canada projects in June 2011 ‘Inspiring First Nations Citizen Scientists’. She is a member of the Heiltsuk First Nation, whose traditional territory stretches around the coastal community of Bella Bella, BC and is the Director of Traditional Ecological Knowledge for Qqs (Eyes) Projects Society, an indigenous-driven non-profit organization whose suite of programs focuses on engagement, education and advocacy around the stewardship of Heiltsuk cultural and natural resources. Jessie was also a finalist for Ecotrust’s 2010 Indigenous Leadership Award. 

Today we would also like to recognise our 14 female Advisors from all over Canada who volunteer their time to source great projects, and to vet the projects appearing on this site to ensure that the projects have lasting impact in their communities and in Canada.  Each of these inspiring women are leaders in their feilds of expertise, and you can learn more about them by visiting http://smallchangefund.org/meet-our-advisors/.

Of course, we couldn’t let International Womens Day pass by without recognising our fearless leaders in micro-philanthropy and grassroots giving – Mary McGrath & Ruth Richardson.

A passionate environmentalist, Mary McGrath has been at the helm of both Citizens’ Environment Watch, and Environmental Defence, where she developed PollutionWatch.ca and FoodWatch.ca.  She has lived in West Africa and the Caribbean while working in the area of environmental education.

Mary has served on the Board of Directors of Environmental Defence Canada, as well as serving as advisor to grantmaking committees of the Laidlaw Foundation and Metcalf Foundation. In 2005 she was awarded a Toronto Vital People grant from the Toronto Community Foundation. On top of all this, Mary joined Ruth in founding Small Change Fund just a few weeks after giving birth to her second daughter, and earlier this year she gave birth to a son. Wow!

Over the arc of Ruth Richardson’s career in environmental philanthropy she has been involved in many different “acts of creation,” including Small Change Fund in 2009.  Her most recent venture is The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, an open network to promote giving, sharing, and philanthropy in Aboriginal communities across the country.

Previously Ruth was the first Director of the Unilever Canada Foundation, working within a corporate environment to lead the company in environmental philanthropy and community engagement, and the the founding Chair of the Canadian Environmental Grantmakers’ Network. She also sat on the founding advisory committee of the Laidlaw Foundation’s Children and Environmental Health program helping to initiate a key program on toxics reduction in Canada. Ruth was the first Environment Program Director at the Metcalf Foundation that has been the cornerstone of innovative environmental policy funding in Ontario, she is on the founding board of the newly established Prince Edward County Community Foundation, helping to shape the organization into an effective change agent for local action. On top of all this, Ruth runs a successful consultancy, raises three children, and farms garlic in Prince Edward County. 

Be sure to celebrate the amazing women in your life today – and every day!

Hello hello! Hope everyone is doing very well :) 

Why is it important to support, encourage and believe in youth? Well, the main reason because they are our future and if we are looking to change and/or improve certain situations both now and down the road, we should remember our youth.

I’ve had the opportunity to meet youth and youth leaders in northern Ontario, here in the Greater Toronto Area, back home in Saskatchewan and all along my travels everywhere (cue Littlest Hobo theme song “Maybe tomorrow, I’ll wanna settle down…”). I’ve come to understand how important the simple things in life can be, such as listening to someone, encouraging another person and letting someone know that you believe in them, especially when it comes to engaging youth. I’ve also had the opportunity to work alongside and learn from some amazing people who truly understand how to help youth in an empowering and sincere way. I’ve realized the value of asking youth their input, feedback and ideas when it comes to something that has an impact on their life. Youth are quite aware of the many approaches and answers that can help them in their life, sometimes all it takes is a moment to ask them. It was refreshing to hear certain perspectives on life from some of my experiences with youth and youth leaders; one was the take on the word “Impossible”, he said “Impossible can also be I’m possible” which showed me the positive outlook that youth leader carried.

There’s an approach I try to take when it comes to engaging First Nations youth, and that is through the sharing circle, eagle feather and smudging medicines. For those of you who may be unaware of what these are, I’ll try and sum it up in a few sentences in a respectful way. The sharing circle gives everyone in the circle the opportunity to share whatever they feel they would like to, sometimes it is done in a structured way where a topic is set and those in the circle speak on that topic. The eagle feather is passed from one person to the next and whoever holds the eagle feather is the one who speaks. The medicines we usually use are: sage, sweetgrass, cedar and tobacco. These medicines would be burned and each person would smudge themselves before the circle begins. Smudging with the smoke of these medicines helps cleanse our thoughts, our energy, our intentions, our attitude so that when we speak we are able to speak in a truthful and respectful way. The beautiful thing about this approach is those in the circle feel free to speak from a human level and have the opportunity to voice their ideas, hopes, insights and life experiences.

There are a couple projects here on Small Change Fund that are geared towards having a direct impact on youth in various communities across the country, if you are able to contribute to these projects I would highly recommend it. Our youth, all across the country, deserve our help and support as they strive towards improving their living conditions so they may grow in a way that will help our collective future and the generations to come. 

Got a question for me?  Leave a comment below, or e-mail info@smallchangefund.org

-Brad

Job Summary

Guest blog by Brad Stone….

Anpetu Wasteh (Dakota for “Good morning” or “It is a good day”)

Sometimes we may think our life is not that spectacular or what we do with our life isn’t that important.  I’ve come to understand that our purpose here on this earth is unique to each one of us, yet we often times compare ourselves to so many of those around us and start questioning ourselves as to why can’t we be as “successful” as this or that person. Truth is, we can be so successful in our own right if we just believe that we are travelling our own path and focus on our own growth and understanding.

Many of our cultural teachings as First Nations people are about understanding the beauty and sacredness of life all around us, the interconnectedness of creation and that everything has purpose and spirit. However, I must state that I am still learning and there are many out there who could elaborate more on many of our teachings than I may be able to.  I will always remember a quote an Elder from my home community shared with us while we were training for the Lance Run for the 1997 Saskatchewan Indian Summer Games (the Lance Run is like the Olympic Torch for these summer games). His name was Maurice Royal and he was conducting the sweatlodge for us to help us cleanse in a spiritual way to get ready for the 7-day, 500 KM run that lay ahead of us. In between rounds, we were sitting in the lodge and he said:

“Give the world your best, and the best will come back to you”

I don’t know how I was able to remember it throughout all these years as it was just an ordinary moment at the time, but for some reason that quote stuck with me. I think the reason why was because I didn’t fully understand it at the time, but as I went along in life the following years it started to make sense through some of my more positive experiences. I realized that if I approached each day with positive intentions, maintained an open mind and stayed thankful for everything as it unfolded along my path then good things seemed to happen in very unexpected ways. This quote helped me understand the importance of self-respect, an optimistic outlook and how powerful our approach to life is. It is also about grasping the opportunities as they arise. The reason I speak in this way through this blog is because I have come to view it as an opportunity.

Many, if not all, the people who are involved with Small Change Fund have definitely shown the power of taking a positive approach to life and giving the world their best.  The staff, the interns, the volunteer Advisors across Canada, and of course each of the grassroots projects featured on the site.

The world needs people like this, just as the world needs each one of us for we all play a significant role in the world and have an inherent purpose (even if we don’t think so sometimes). I would like to close with the quote “The journey is the reward”, because when we take a moment to reflect within and allow our mind to free itself from the daily clutter it can accrue; we can realize how much it definitely is.

Got a question for me?  E-mail info@smallchangefund.org 

Thanks for reading, Brad.

We are delighted and excited to welcome Brad Stone as our first guest blogger of 2012.  “Conversations With Brad” is our new series of blogs, Q&As, and discussion about First Nations issues in Canada, particularly around youth and environmental sustainability.

Simply leave a comment below with a question for Brad, and over the next few months we will try to discuss and address these questions.  You can also e-mail questions or discussion topics to info@smallchangefund.org with Conversations With Brad in the subject line.

Now, an introduction from Brad…….

Hau! (Dakota)
Tansi! (Plains Cree)
Hello! (English)

My name is Brad Stone, I am originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, but to be more specific, home to me is Whitecap Dakota First Nation (which is a stone’s throw away from Saskatoon, no pun intended). I am of Plains Cree and Dakota ancestry, and take great pride in who I am as a First Nations person.  I do my best to live this life in a good way and stay thankful for the opportunities presented each day. I have been taught by elders and healers that this gift of life is sacred and that our spirit can guide us in such a positive and powerful way along this journey of life.

I briefly went to university to pursue a Bachelor of Education in hopes of becoming a school teacher. However, I didn’t complete my studies and it is a big regret of mine.  Eventually I hope to return to post-secondary studies to pursue a degree in possibly the medical or social services field. In retrospect, and in all honesty, I would not change a thing, I have been quite fortunate and learned a lot along this path of life.  I feel very blessed to have gone through all that I went through and have learned to use prayer as a steering wheel to help me stay guided in life.

Work-wise my history has ranged from being a soldier in the Canadian Forces, working at a golf course, maintenance person at Ramada Hotel, working in a hog slaughtering factory, prescriptive fitness practitioner (fancy name for a personal trainer) to helping people from a First Nations cultural and spiritual standpoint to find balance in life. More recently it has been working with youth in northern Ontario First Nation communities to the current, a housing worker for homeless people in downtown Toronto. 

Personally, I’ve had my share of triumphs and losses in life as many of us do, luckily I’ve been able to learn, grow and understand myself through all these experiences. In my past, I’ve struggled, I’ve starved and I’ve failed, and these are reasons why I do my best to succeed today. I have come to learn how powerful a positive perspective is in terms of helping us to continue moving forward in life, feeling comfortable in who we are and being able to enjoy this beautiful gift that life is. For when we are gone from this earth, we are physically gone forever; of course our memory remains within the hearts of our loved ones. The reality is, there have been millions of years that the earth has been around, and each of us is the only one of us there will ever be on this earth. So why not believe in ourselves, why not look at our purpose as something positive and why not do our best to leave behind a beautiful trail? We have the opportunity each day to strive towards becoming the greatest person we can be.

Whoa! I just read what I wrote and I may have gone too deep for my first blog post. Nonetheless it was my opportunity and honor to introduce myself (in a nutshell) to you, the reader of this blog. I very much look forward to helping Small Change Fund in this way as they continue to help in a very real way and support those who are doing amazingly good things for themselves and the earth.

I welcome all of your questions or if you wish for me to shed light on something in particular, just let me know below. Like a ripple in a pond, sometimes a small change can spread out and have a bigger impact than we can imagine, who knows what a conversation with Brad might start!

Wow! Can you believe its almost 2012??

If you are worried that you are too late to make a donation for 2011, don’t be! 

Online 24 hours a day
You can donate securely online and have a tax receipt in your inbox in a matter of minutes.  The donation form takes less than five minutes to complete and you can rest assured that your valued dollars will be put to good use making big change in Canada in 2012.

It’s also not too late to donate stocks or securities.
There are significant tax advantages in donating your shares in stocks or options directly rather than selling the shares and donating the proceeds. A charitable donation of publicly traded securities such as stocks, mutual funds, bonds or futures results in a tax receipt for 100% of the value of the gift on the day of the transfer. By providing a larger potential deduction than an equivalent gift of cash, this option allows you to maximize your charitable giving.  Your donation must be a transfer of the stock or security itself, not the cash proceeds of a sale of the security.

Please e-mail us at donate@smallchangefund.org with your contact details in order to obtain the required details to make a transfer from an investment account.

Put that cheque in the post
You can still post us a cheque, as long as it is postmarked on or before December 31st, we can still issue you a 2011 tax receipt.  Please make cheques payable to Small Change Fund and post to:

Small Change Fund
Centre for Social Innovation – Suite 311
720 Bathurst Street
Toronto, ON
M5S 2R4 

Over the phone
Unfortunately our offices will be closed from December 23rd to January 3rd, so we will be unable to process donations over the phone.  We hope you understand, and we invite you to choose one of the options above as an alternative.

Thank you and Happy Holidays from all at Small Change Fund.