Happy new year, Pillar members. It’s not the fresh start it was cracked up to be, but all of us at Pillar want to take a moment, when many of us celebrate new beginnings, to imagine a better year. For us all. We try not to talk about silver linings; the cloud is too thick with grief for that. But we can still have hope. Leonard Cohen famously sang that,... Read More
January 26, 2021
For over 14 years, Michelle Baldwin has been the intrepid leader of Pillar Nonprofit Network. Under her leadership, the impact of our organization has increased tremendously, growing to include Innovation Works, VERGE Capital and CityStudio while sparking countless community collaborations. To help celebrate Michelle’s legacy at Pillar, we’re looking to you to share what you’ve learned from working with her, whether as a community partner, employee, volunteer, mentee or friend... Read More
January 14, 2021
Here at Pillar, we're excited to be starting off the new year with two wonderful new colleagues joining our team. Join us in welcoming Jamie Cudmore, CityStudio Projects Coordinator and Marissa Ouellette-Quimby, Marketing and Communications Assistant. Jaimie Cudmore is curious about what and who makes the places where we live. Excited to be joining the CityStudio and Pillar team in London, Jaimie brings a background in design and planning research... Read More
December 22, 2020
Written by Nikky Manfredi Holding a cup of tea in one hand and petting her dog with the other, Mariam Waliji is the picture of success - at least, her definition of success. As she reflects on recently joining the Women of Ontario Social Enterprise Network (WOSEN) and Pillar Nonprofit Network team, it becomes clear that Mariam’s story is anything but linear. Her purpose is not bound up in societal... Read More
December 21, 2020
As per Middlesex London Health Unit COVID Response Framework, we are required to close the doors at Innovation Works as of Saturday December 26 at 12:01am . The restrictions are in effect for all of Southern Ontario from Saturday December 26, 2020 to Saturday January 23, 2021. Our expectation is that our co-tenant members are following the guidance of the MLHU and are not coming in for anything other than... Read More
December 9, 2020
December 9, 2020 Re: City of London Budget 2021 Dear Mayor Ed Holder and City Council, Pillar Nonprofit Network is writing to express our appreciation for your support and consideration of nonprofits and social enterprise during COVID19 and to request your continued understanding of the impacts on nonprofits and social enterprises and ultimately, Londoners and our community. We have three recommendations: Bring an anti-racism and anti-oppression lens to budget discussions... Read More
December 9, 2020
In part 3 of our Systems Log series, we are going to discuss how collaboration between Ontario’s community of place-based funders, investors and intermediaries can shift our finance structures for community impact. In part 1 , we gave an overview of systems change and transformation and in part 2 , we discussed one pathway to leverage global frameworks in local context. A quick note before we proceed: sometimes, we think... Read More
November 20, 2020
LONDON, ONTARIO – The 14th annual Pillar Community Innovation Awards began with award winning DJ, host and community organizer, Zahra Habib who created a joyful and warm atmosphere through music that set the tone for the evening. Then Sam Whiteye , a facilitator and emerging leader from Delaware Nation, guided the audience through a Land Welcome while the audience watched a display of her own stunning landscape photography. Slam poet... Read More
November 19, 2020
We want to extend our gratitude to André Vashist, Director Social Innovation for his 5+ plus years at Pillar Nonprofit Network. André started off as a volunteer connecting new co-tenants to Innovation Works and then took on a role to grow VERGE Capital. André has sparked and grown many projects at Pillar including the most recent Women of Ontario Social Enterprise Network and the launch of the new VERGE Breakthrough... Read More
November 10, 2020
Transform the systems that hurt us into systems that hold us and allow us to heal - adrienne marie brown As described in our Systems Leadership & Transformation workshop held this summer as part of our COVID-19 Recovery learning series, we acknowledged that the work of systems transformation is a journey. In the first part of our Systems Log series , we provided an introduction to systems change and explored... Read More
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