Dismantling Harmful Best Practices in Philanthropy & Fundraising

The non-profit sector is synonymous with helping, and as a sector, we are in the midst of a reckoning with the cultural norms and values that have long been accepted and recognize these are not inclusive and in some cases are harmful. As a sector and fundraising profession, we have a responsibility and an opportunity to bring reconciliation, equity, and honesty to our work with donors and volunteers.

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Join us for a two-session series that will build your understanding and ability to implement anti-oppressive fundraising strategies and practices in your own work. In these sessions, you will gain a better understanding of your social location and the system you are working within, learn about dismantling harmful ‘best practices’ in philanthropy, like donor centricity above all else, and build strategies to make changes that will have ripple out effects.

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Session one: Power and privilege in philanthropy: understanding your own social location, systems of oppression and things fundraisers can do to rebalance the dynamic with donors and internally.

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Session two: Fallacies of fundraising: focused specifically on fundraising and looking at some of the myths like ‘the donor is always right’; breaking them down and talking about what can be done to reshape or dismantle them

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About your facilitators

Tanya Hannah Rumble, CFRE (she/her) and Nicole McVan, MA (they/them) are long-time collaborators and respected fundraising leaders. Together they have led learning sessions and facilitated workshops for more than 2,000 professional fundraisers across North America and Europe on the topics of power and privilege; equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI); and fundraising. Their clients include UNICEF Canada, Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Canada Board of Directors, Art Gallery of Ontario, Association for Opera in Canada, and the Canadian Cancer Society. They bring a unique blend of deep expertise as full-time professional fundraisers; the vulnerability they share and cultivate in their learning sessions through sharing of their collective lived experiences as racialized, disabled, and trans-nonbinary professionals; and the power to help folks examine sensitive and challenging topics such as race, oppression, and privilege with non-judgement.

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Tanya is a racialized settler of multi-ethnic origins living in Tkaronto. She is a fundraising leader who has raised millions for some of Canada’s largest charities including Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Canadian Cancer Society, McMaster University and now the Faculty of Arts and Yellowhead Institute at X University. As a racialized philanthropy professional Tanya is honoured to share her influence and insights with students, emerging professionals and peers in the sector. Tanya regularly writes articles on the topics of inclusion, equity, and access; and power, privilege and fundraising for industry publications, and speaks to professional audiences at learning events regularly.

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She graduated with an Hons. B.A. Political Science from McMaster University, earned a Graduate Certificate at NYU in Marketing Communications, and is currently enrolled in the Master Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership (MPNL) at Carleton University. She has also completed numerous professional certificates including Not-For-Profit Governance Essentials (Rotman School of Management, Institute of Corporate Directors) and Truth and Reconciliation Through Right Relations (Banff Centre). Tanya is a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) and Master Financial Advisor – Philanthropy (MFA-P™).

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Additionally, she is an active leadership volunteer in the philanthropy and non-profit sector: Board Director with the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Canada, and Board Committee volunteer with AFP Canada-Foundation; executive volunteer with the Canadian Association of Gift Planners; and Co-Chair of the Board and Chair of the HR Committee with FindHelp Information Services – operators of 211 Toronto. In addition to sharing her knowledge, she is committed to lifelong learning – she is a graduate of the 2017 Association of Fundraising Professionals Inclusion and Philanthropy Fellowship, and the 2010 DiverseCity Fellowship. Tanya gratefully acknowledges the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee nations, whose traditional territory she is a settler and responsible steward of.

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Nicole McVan is a strategic non-profit leader with 20 years of experience in Canada and abroad. Their experience spans many areas including corporate philanthropy, individual and community-based giving, volunteer development, national event management, and alumni giving. They are currently the Vice President, Philanthropy & Marketing at United Way Greater Toronto.

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As a white, able-bodied, transgender, and non-binary person, Nicole uses an anti-oppressive lens in building philanthropy and marketing plans to work with and for communities. Nicole regularly speaks and writes on the topic of equity, privilege, and power dynamics for fundraising publications and at conferences and learning events.

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Nicole volunteers their time in the community, including on the Board at Inside Out Film festival – an organization committed to the promotion and exhibition of film made by and about LGBTQ+ people of all ages, races, and abilities. They hold a master’s degree in Non-profit Marketing and Fundraising from City University of London and are currently working on a certificate in Community Engagement, Leadership and Development at Ryerson University to build their knowledge of how to work with and for communities for lasting change.

 

Nicole is grateful to live and work on the traditional territories of the Mississauga and Haudenosaunee nations and acknowledges their role as a treaty person to reconcile and rebuild the relationship between indigenous peoples and settlers on Turtle Island.