by Cherie Payne, Director of Government Relations and Sector Development at Vantage Point

April is here and we can start to look forward to spring. It’s the season when all the seeds we planted earlier in the year start to sprout. At Vantage Point, we’ve had a busy month of new beginnings.

Collective Action: Lobbyist Transparency Act

Vantage Point has been collaborating with Board Voice, the United Way, and the Vancouver Foundation to call on the BC Government to improve the Lobbyist Transparency Act (LTA).

In February 2022, we submitted this brief to the Attorney General and the Registrar of Lobbyists. The brief outlines some of the unintended impacts of the Act on not-for-profit organizations. It calls for a review of the legislation and offers some short-term solutions to immediately improve the current approach.

If you have examples of how the LTA has impacted your organization’s decisions on whether to engage with government, please share them with us or with your local MLA. This type of feedback helps decision makers to understand how the sector is affected.

New Funding: Recovery and Resiliency Fund 

Over the last month, we saw how the sector working together can yield concrete results. On March 24^th, the BC Government, together with the Vancouver Foundation, United Way BC, and New Relationship Trust announced the creation of a $34 million Recovery and Resiliency Fund. The money will be distributed over the next three years and is designed to support community organizations who are struggling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Priorities for funding will be organizations identified by research as being most at-risk and those who have historically been most vulnerable, including:

• Those with annual budgets under $1 million
• Indigenous, Black, and/or people of colour-led organizations
• Organizations serving racialized communities
• Organizations with leadership from equity-seeking communities

You can read more about the funding in this Vancouver Foundation blog post. Sign up for updates on the Recovery and Resiliency Fund here.

Town Hall with Parliamentary Secretary Niki Sharma

We were pleased to host a town hall meeting with Parliamentary Secretary Niki Sharma last month. About 40 individuals and groups signed up to attend the event and had an opportunity to ask questions directly regarding the provincial budget, Community Gaming Grant guidelines, COVID-19 response, social assistance supports in BC, and core funding constraints.

Vantage Point was thrilled to host this open dialogue and we’re looking forward to hosting more opportunities for members to connect with decision-makers in the provincial government and in municipal governments around the province.

There is a lot happening around the province. We’re excited to see what initiatives and ideas you will soon be harvesting.

by Geoff Urton

During the Great Recession just over a decade ago, business leaders began emphasizing the new normal of frequent disruption facing nearly every sector. Managers throughout the org chart shared the pressure of needing to do more with less, speaking wistfully of the days of role redundancies. Economists proposed that the historic ebb and flow of disruption and stability had been irrevocably altered, leading to a new era of constant disruption. Change management and agility rocketed to the top of core competencies as organizations baked them into their leadership principles and business systems. It was a modern rise of resilience.  

To some, the challenges of the Great Recession may seem somewhat trivial now given the upheaval of our way of life presented by COVID-19 and the measures used to fight its spread over the past two years. The Great Recession may have equipped us for the current crisis, though, creating the necessity to develop new competencies in leading ourselves, our families, and our businesses through unpredictable change. Much like a child learning new developmental abilities in succession, every challenge offers the opportunity to gain new competencies that equip us to handle future circumstances and solve the next problems. This is resilience. 

According to organizational resilience experts, Timothy Vogus and Kathleen Sutcliffe, businesses that have proven resilient over time consistently show three qualities: humility, learning, and attunement¹. These nimble organizations plan for the best and prepare for the worst, not relying too heavily on past success to predict future outcomes. They apply their intellectual, cultural, and financial resources to cope with and learn from unexpected events. Finally, they attune themselves to the environment, relentlessly seeking feedback and applying it in the desire to improve. 

We may also be able to strengthen the ability of dedicated individuals to sustain their efforts by supporting their psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness. According to the model of intrinsic motivation described by psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan in their self-determination theory, people generally desire a say, “value learning,” and want to connect.^2,3  

When these psychological needs are not met, poor mental health, weak performance and higher turnover have been documented among employees. By contrast, employees who report fulfillment of these intrinsic motivations show stronger performance, greater well-being, higher retention, and better policy compliance, with lower interpersonal conflict and emotional burnout.⁴.  

As leaders, our ability to establish these attributes in our teams relies on our own understanding of resilience. By default, we often think of resilience as toughness. Reflect for a moment on the image that first comes to mind when saying the word resilience. I see a man in a trench coat brandishing a black umbrella like a shield against an onslaught of horizontal rain. This represents a steadfast bracing for impact – a determination not to give in. Determination may well be an essential factor in one’s ability to succeed through adversity, providing the required energy to maintain one’s commitment to one’s work through obstacles and setbacks. However, determination alone can prove brittle in the long run. How long might it take before the umbrella’s material yields to the storm’s assault, or for the hands gripping its handle to fatigue?  

Resilience goes deeper, requiring devotion – a commitment to something bigger than oneself.  Devotion transcends a determined survival instinct, tapping into the greater motivation produced by values or an inspiring vision for the future. A determined mindset and a devoted heart provide the fuel required to see oneself, or one’s community, through a major challenge. And yet, while determination and devotion are both necessary qualities to resile, alone, they are insufficient.  

Despite the role of grit in overcoming challenge, resilience is not synonymous with toughness, determination, or devotion. The term originates from the Latin resilire, meaning ‘to leap back’, much as a flexible metal returns to its original form after compression. For a person or an organization, it is the ability to cope and thrive through adversity. Resilience requires flexibility and the ability to adapt. However, it would also be a mistake to synonymize resilience with softness. An accommodating approach that only makes concessions to one’s environment is wobbly, lacking direction.  

Neither rigid nor lax, resilience requires something different. It takes a devoted commitment to the reason for one’s efforts – a compelling vision or a devoted value – and the adaptability to change one’s methods to thrive in a new environment. This is how both determination and adaptability can co-exist. There is a Zen-like quality to this competency. The game is to at once hold both a mindset of singular determination for your goal and an attitude of adaptability for how best to accomplish it.  

Resilient leadership is the endeavour of a sailboat tacking upwind, its pilot engaged in the seemingly impossible task of moving forward into a wind blowing against them toward an objective beyond. With every switchback, they may lose some ground, from which they must rebound. To accomplish this feat, the sailor is mindfully attuned to the information coming at them – the wind on the sail, the feel of the boat – and adjusts the tiller, the trim of the sails, and their body position based on this feedback. With determination and adaptation, they eventually prevail.  

Leaders devoted to supporting our organizations and our people through adversity succeed through a resilient mindset of determination and adaptability. We create an attuned culture of humility and learning in our organizations, and we tap into the intrinsic motivations of our people by supporting their opportunities for autonomy, learning, and connection. As we each engage in our own upwind tack, we leap back from each necessary change in direction, creating the conditions for our people and our organizations to grow and thrive. This is the endeavour we are called for now as leaders together in our journey onward through the storm. 

¹ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/255853978_Organizing_for_Resilience 

² https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/the-theory/ 

³ Meyer, J. P., Stanley, D. J., Herscovitch, L., & Topolnytsky, L. (2002). Affective, Continuance, and Normative Commitment to the Organization: A Meta-analysis of Antecedents, Correlates, and Consequences. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 61(1), 20–52.  

⁴ Meyer, J. P., Stanley, L. J., & Parfyonova, N. M. (2012). Employee commitment in context: The nature and implication of commitment profiles. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 80(1), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2011.07.002 

by Vantage Point

Our current Strategic Plan set a course for Vantage Point (VP) as one of its strategic goals to strive to be a leading contributor to equitable, inclusive, and sustainable practices in the not-for-profit sector, especially in lifting and strengthening Indigenous, underrepresented, and emerging not-for-profit leaders in BC.  

While our internal journey to learn and grow in the areas of equitable, inclusive, and sustainable practices started well before the current strategic plan, naming this aspiration explicitly has given the team clarity and purpose to invest as individuals and as an organization. We participate in a range of internal learning opportunities and initiatives that support our operational objective to build policies, practices, and resources that support and solidify our commitment to inclusion and decolonization within our Vantage Point community. 

Our impacts in this area can be hard to pin down. How do we know we’re making progress? Or that we’re having a positive impact rather than unknowingly reinforcing existing systems, behaviours, and unjust results?  

In pursuit of a practical, immediately applicable solution, the team recently convened to talk about how we can leverage something that we know is making a difference and that we have the power to influence – bursary supports to leaders to access Vantage Point open enrolment workshops and labs.  

For over 10 years now, the City of Vancouver Social Policy and Cultural Services have made VP bursary supports available to their grantees. We have added Vancouver Coastal Health – Population Health Initiatives – and the City of New Westminster as partners in providing further bursaries. We also established a more formal VP bursary fund in 2018 to provide more flexible access to bursaries for those not eligible through current partner bursaries.  

Given how the pandemic continues to impact not-for-profit budgets, and staff and volunteer needs for governance, management, and leadership training supports have increased, our bursary requests are mounting. Yet, we have lots to do to both reach and adequately resource supports to Indigenous, underrepresented, and emerging not-for-profit leaders in BC. 

In light of this gap, we are announcing a call to action to our community: Join us in building a Vantage Point Bursary Fund that enhances accessibility of our programs and supports to the whole of our diverse community of not-for-profit leaders across BC. We are committed to assuring clear eligibility criteria that prioritizes: 

• Indigenous people, Black people, and people of colour 
• Youth building careers in the not-for-profit sector 
• Leaders from equity-seeking organizations  
• Leaders from organizations addressing the climate change crisis 
• Leaders from organizations with operating budgets less than $250k and/or outside the Metro Vancouver area 

We have established the Vantage Point Bursary as a distinct fund, to which you can donate now through Canada Helps. Your contribution will help us reach under-funded and often overlooked groups in the sector. And as always, we are so grateful for your support.

October 29, 2021 – Vantage Point is pleased to announce the selection of Zahra Esmail as its new Chief Executive Officer. Zahra steps into the role following the outstanding interim leadership of Maria Turnbull, Associate Executive Director, who continues to be an incredible advocate for the organization and membership. The hire was made after a comprehensive search process, in collaboration with the Search Committee and Harbour West Consulting, and with the approval of the Board of Directors.

“The Board of Directors of the Vantage Point Society is extremely excited to announce Zahra as our new CEO. Zahra is a well-known and respected leader in the not-for-profit sector.  Her strong professional presence and community-based leadership ensures a strong advocate and strategic leader for the organization. We look forward to collaborating with Zahra; we know she is going to make a mark in our sector and organization.” – Gordon Matchett, Board Chair, Vantage Point

Zahra Esmail is joining Vantage Point after having been the Executive Director of the South Vancouver Neighbourhood House since 2016 and the first Executive Director of the Marpole Neighbourhood House, which opened under her leadership in 2019. During this time, Zahra worked with her diverse teams to build community connections and strengthen the neighbourhoods of Killarney, Victoria-Fraserview, Sunset and Marpole in Vancouver. With a background in community development, her current portfolio includes food security, settlement and integration services, licensed childcare, children and family development, youth leadership, seniors’ wellness, and Adult Day Programs. Prior to her work with the Neighbourhood Houses, Zahra was the General Manager of Eva’s Phoenix, a transitional shelter and training program in Toronto. She has also worked in international development with Street Kids International, Haven Haiti and BRAC, with responsibility for programs in Haiti, India, the Philippines, Colombia, Sierra Leone, and Ethiopia. Zahra has a Masters in Globalization and International Development from the University of Ottawa, a Bachelor’s in History from UBC, and an Associate Certificate in Fundraising Management from BCIT. She is an active member of the Poverty Reduction Advisory Committee, an independent committee that advises government on policy developments related to poverty reduction and prevention. Zahra was recognized as one of Business in Vancouver’s Forty Under 40 in 2019. Zahra will begin her new role as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Vantage Point on December 13, 2021.

"I am thrilled to be joining the incredible Vantage Point team as the organization's new CEO! After spending the past 15+ years working in a variety of roles and contexts with a social purpose focus, I am grateful for the opportunity to join a long-standing organization that builds the capacity of the not-for-profit sector in unique and impactful ways. I look forward to learning and growing in this exciting role!"

 – Zahra Esmail, Chief Executive Officer, Vantage Point

About Vantage Point

Founded in 1943, Vantage Point was originally known as the Central Volunteer Bureau of Vancouver; its mission was to provide volunteer matching services throughout the city. Today, Vantage Point is known as a leader for the not-for-profit sector by offering convening opportunities and sector advocacy support, as well as education and consulting on board governance, leadership, performance management, and recruitment. Committed to empowering the not-for-profit sector, Vantage Point serves as an important resource and advocate for Executive Directors, board members, senior leaders, managers, staff, and volunteers in the Lower Mainland and province.

For more information on Vantage Point’s services, please visit: https://thevantagepoint.ca/

Like most children growing up on the Canadian prairie in the 1980s, I always dreamed of being a planning consultant in the not-for-profit sector. Kidding, of course. This is the kind of work that people tend to fall into because they have an interest in social impact, in how people organize in groups to make that impact, and in how groups articulate what they want to achieve so that they can convince others (funders, partners, volunteers) to get on board.

My route to Vantage Point is rather circuitous. In my youth, I spent a lot of time travelling the country, working at jobs ranging from blueberry picker to industrial recycling waste sorter. Ever the pragmatist, I eventually went to university to study literature and languages. Simply put, I was interested in humans and their words. I parlayed that education into a career in adult language education and freelance writing. In South Korea, I spent several years in teaching, management, and corporate communications. Back in Canada, I applied my entrepreneurial spirit to establish two businesses, one bricks and mortar (a language school) and one virtual (a consultancy in language education).

However, as I started freelance writing for not-for-profit organizations and volunteering on boards, and then facilitating community planning processes, I found something I needed more of: meaning and connection. The meaning came through social impact, in making changes in the community and the broader world. It somehow felt like an extension of the political and cultural activism of my youth. The connection came through working with groups of others – staff, leaders, community organizers, boards – to make that impact. I also discovered sticky notes.

Fast forward to January of 2020, when I sat down to make annual goals for my independent consulting business. By that time, I’d been working for several years in the greater Kamloops region supporting not-for-profits with strategy and governance, talking about how clarity and cohesion can lead to greater impact. At a time when “social distancing” wasn’t yet entrenched in our lexicon, I decided that in 2020 I wanted to a) expand my geographical reach throughout BC, and b) collaborate with others more fully and intentionally. Oddly enough, the pandemic – and widespread adoption of tools for virtual work – helped make those goals a reality.

In October of 2020, I excitedly joined the Vantage Point team. It wasn’t the first time meeting several team members. I’d discussed governance and provincial outreach over Zoom with some of them (yes: Vantage Point was using Zoom in the Before Times!). And I’d worked with Maria Turnbull to submit a joint proposal for a large strategic planning engagement. I had a sense of how the team worked, with each other and with people outside the organization. So, when the opportunity arose, I decided to leave 15 years of self-employment behind.

At Vantage Point I’ve found the same spirit of abundance that guided my independent work for years. I’ve found an amazing and diverse team of people from whom I learn new things every single day. And I’ve been able not only to collaborate more fully and completely, but also to serve new client organizations throughout the province (and country), of all sizes and stages, doing truly impactful work. Besides helping our client organizations plan, articulate, and activate ideas for change and impact, I play a role at Vantage Point in sector development. I convene and connect organizations, bringing not-for-profit leaders together to formulate sector-wide aspirations.