Community Foundations Virtual Summit
All In 2021
Be Ready. Be Brave. Begin.
June 2-4, 2021 | Virtual Event
In 2019, we asked “What are we all in for?” Together, we listened, learned and reflected. Now, we are taking action. This time it’s not a question, it’s a declaration.
The past year has been unique and transformative, and this year’s summit will be no exception. Our new three-day summit will offer diverse virtual experiences for community foundations, partners and nonprofit leaders looking to learn, grow and connect.
The Experts
Jesse Wente
Canada Council for the Arts
Jesse Wente
Canada Council for the Arts
Jesse Wente is an Anishinaabe writer, broadcaster, speaker and arts leader. Born and raised in Toronto, his family hails from Chicago and the Serpent River First Nation. Jesse is best known for his 24 years as a columnist for CBC Radio’s Metro Morning, and he spent 11 years with the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF)—the last seven as the director of film programmes at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.
An outspoken advocate for Indigenous rights and First Nations, Métis and Inuit art, he has spoken at the International Forum of Indigenous Peoples, Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, the Canadian Arts Summit and numerous universities and colleges.
In 2017, Jesse Wente was named the inaugural recipient of the Reelworld Film Festival’s Reel Activist Award. He was named the first Executive Director of the Indigenous Screen Office in February 2018, and received the Association of Ontario Health Centres Media Award for 2018. He has served on the boards of directors of the Toronto Arts Council, the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Festival, the Native Earth Performing Arts, and the Canada Council for the Arts, where he currently serves as Chair of the Board.
Liban Abokor
Executive Director of Youth LEAPS
Liban Abokor
Executive Director of Youth LEAPS
He’s an active volunteer within the philanthropic sector as a Board member for various foundations including the Laidlaw Foundation where he chaired their Granting Committee and the Catherine Donelly Foundation. Most recently, Liban co-authored the groundbreaking research report Unfunded: Black Communities Overlooked by Canadian Philanthropy and is a member of the Working Group to establish the Foundation for Black Communities.
Zita Cobb
Founder and CEO, Shorefast
Zita Cobb
Founder and CEO, Shorefast
Zita Cobb is an eighth-generation Fogo Islander, Founder and CEO of Shorefast, and Innkeeper of the Fogo Island Inn. A registered Canadian charity, Shorefast uses business-minded means to help secure economic and cultural resilience for Fogo Island, Newfoundland: a centuries-old settler fishing community off Newfoundland’s northeast coast. Zita graduated high school on Fogo Island before leaving home to study business in Ottawa. Following a subsequent successful career in high-tech, Zita returned to Fogo Island to help grow another leg on the Island’s struggling economy to complement its ever-important fishery.
Shorefast’s notable achievements to date comprise a holistic set of charitable initiatives, including the world-class artist-in-residence program Fogo Island Arts (fogoislandarts.ca), and three innovative social businesses whose operating surpluses are returned to Shorefast for reinvestment in further community development work. Shorefast has pioneered the innovative practice economic nutrition labelling for its social businesses, transparently demonstrating “where the money goes.”
Zita has been a Member of the Order of Canada since 2016 and was a 2020 inductee to Canada’s Business Hall of Fame. She holds honourary doctorates from McGill University, Memorial University of Newfoundland, the University of Ottawa, and Carleton University. She is an active CEO and volunteers her full time and energy for Shorefast’s work on Fogo Island.
Vu Le
Founder, NonprofitAF
Vu Le
Founder, NonprofitAF
Vu Le (“voo lay”) is a writer, speaker, vegan, Pisces, and the former Executive Director of RVC, a nonprofit in Seattle that promotes social justice by developing leaders of colour, strengthening organizations led by communities of color, and fostering collaboration between diverse communities. Vu’s passion to make the world better, combined with a low score on the Law School Admission Test, drove him into the field of nonprofit work, where he learned that we should take the work seriously, but not ourselves. There’s tons of humour in the nonprofit world, and someone needs to document it. Known for his no-BS approach, irreverent sense of humour, and love of unicorns, Vu has been featured in dozens, if not hundreds, of his own blog posts at NonprofitAF.com.
Conversations & Workshops
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Youth Shifting Power & the Role of Philanthropy
with Samantha Tiyiwe Simunyu, Publishing Manager, RBC; Serena Hak, Head, Philanthropic Advisory Services, CI Assante Wealth Management, Serisha Iyar, Executive Director, Leading in Colour; Kristen Perry, Organizer, Resource Movement
Youth are one of the hardest hit groups from the economic, social, and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, youth in systemically oppressed communities are disproportionately affected and underfunded. Yet youth continue to demonstrate resilience and action by leading social change. A just recovery can only be achieved by centring equity, inclusion, and relationship-building […]
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Community Foundations’ Role in the Environment
with Steve Winkelman, Ottawa Climate Action Fund, Ottawa Community Foundation; Megan Tate, Winnipeg Community Foundation; Suzanne Veenstra, Niagara Community Foundation
This session is part of Environment Funders Canada’s Transform 2021 Conference and is being offered as a concurrent session choice available to attendees of Community Foundations All in Summit. Community Foundations work tirelessly at the local level to improve the quality of life in our communities. But with so many urgent social needs to address, […]
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From Charity to Justice: Philanthropy Co-Conspiring with Activists
with Shireen Salti, Canadian Arab Institute (Toronto); Valérie Bellande, FRIDA Young Feminist Fund (Accra, Ghana); Syrus Marcus Ware, McMaster University, Wolf Willow Institute, Black Lives Matter Toronto (Hamilton); Anna Willats, Groundswell Fund (Toronto)
“What you’re saying may get you a foundation grant but it won’t get you into the kingdom of truth.” – Martin Luther King Jr. Join this story-based teach-in to learn through the experiences of organizers and grassroots funders and supporters to explore how we might create change and be changed, with urgency and integrity. Throughout […]
Brought to you by...
This year, Mawer Investment Management returns as CFC's Lead Partner for the 2021 Summit! Mawer helped us address community and belonging during the inaugural All In conference in 2019. We are excited to have them on board again as we continue to discuss the future of philanthropy, equity, and transformation. Learn more about our additional partners, below.
Be Ready. Be Brave. Begin.
2020 was a difficult year for many. It brought to light the social and economic inequalities that have been at the core of our societal structures for decades. We now find ourselves in a position where we are called to advocate, question, and take action as we work to progress change.
Day 1: Be Ready
Be Ready will set the stage for #AllIn2021, with a strong focus on practical learning, organizational capacity building and a range of 101 sessions.
Day 2: Be Brave
Be Brave will bring participants into conversations around equity: anti-racism, rights and justice, gender equality, accessibility, mental health, the climate crisis, and the recovery ahead.
Day 3: Begin
Begin will catalyze the tangible actions we can take to implement what we've learned. We will inspire curiosity about how we might shift from an incremental, transactional approach to an interconnected, transformational, and accelerated approach — to be All In.
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