My daughter can barely sit through one online class and in many ways I can relate. Growing up, I could barely sit through in-person classes. So, everyday, I share a story with her about a class I enjoyed in an effort to coach her in positivity and help keep her spirits up. She loves hearing stories from when I was a kid so it’s become our thing to do every morning. 

One class from high school that saved my a$$ was a resume writing class. It sounds boring, but it actually helped me believe in myself and my strengths. My teacher explained that a resume is a two-page profile of you for the world. In today’s modern world she explained (this was, of course, before LinkedIn), resumes are how other people build a picture of you. Looking back, this resume writing class was a significant exercise for me in reflecting on, capturing, and communicating my strengths and accomplishments. I got my first proper part-time job at Staples with this class (all the stacking wood in my neighbourhood and clearing brush in the backcountry of Nova Scotia didn’t need a resume). 

Perhaps what I gained most from this class was that the exercise of resume writing, of reflecting on, unearthing, and communicating my strengths, while useful for the outside world, also helped me develop my story and narrative. It helped me understand and communicate my passions, accomplishments, and strengths — what I’m good at and what I’m getting better at. In short, it was an exercise in building self-worth and starting to believe in myself. Even though I was never really fond of school, this class helped me a ton. Today, I don’t communicate what I’m about by talking about what I lack but by talking about my strengths and what I bring to the table.

2021 will be a year defined by fundamental changes to society and the social impact sector. From high-speed internet access to child care and reskilling to mental health, the global pandemic has exacerbated inequities of all kinds. From systemic racism to poor digital skills to power dynamics in the philanthropic sector and transforming non-profit business models, the pandemic also revealed gaps and blind spots in the social impact world’s ways of working, thinking, including, governing, deciding and funding. 

A new era of impact is emerging — and there’s no going back. 

From a more equitable approach to vaccine distribution and a feminist recovery to reimagining elder care, global development, and climate action, and tackling systemic anti-Black and anti-Indigenous racism, the social impact world has massive ambitions. These massive ambitions must be matched with a massively positive narrative of who the sector is, what it’s accomplished, and what it brings to the table. 

I have to be honest, when The Globe and Mail published a series of opinion pieces in mid-December on struggling non-profits and charities, it was, perhaps one of the toughest things to digest. I tried not to react so I sat with it for weeks. This opinion series was after weeks of reading about what the sector lacks (funding, largely) over and over again from mainstream news media across the country. The deficit based portrayal of the sector was disheartening. After covering the effects of COVID-19 on the social impact world for over 10 months as well as the sector’s ingenious approaches to response and recovery, I thought to myself, why is the collective narrative at the end of the year more about what we lack rather than what we’ve accomplished — and what we bring to the table for recovery? 

A time of crisis is actually the perfect opportunity to celebrate, recognize and communicate creativity, ingenuity and resilience. At the end of 2020, WIRED magazine published the WIRED25: People who are making things better, Apolitical published Agile 50: The world’s 50 most influential people revolutionizing government, Forbes celebrated Eric Yuan, CEO of Zoom, and the list goes on. At Future of Good, we published Canada’s Top 100 Recovery Projects after an extensive crowdsourcing exercise and receiving hundreds of nominations — but it’s simply not enough to turn the tide toward a collective positive narrative. 

The approach of reiterating deficits and what we lack is a pattern of communicating that’s been with us for decades. For me, a lot of it has come to resemble international development communications of the 90s, and how they shaped a negative portrayal of Africa. Don’t get me wrong, I get the strategic advocacy and communications tactics to influence and mobilize, and I believe, when done well, can have merit. I’m in solidarity with struggling social purpose organizations across the country. Impact-focused workers are the most passionate, hard-working, and resilient people I know and yes, the sector deserves more. 

I do wonder though: how much should we talk about what we lack versus what we bring to the table? Does a constant stream of scarcity or deficit communications contribute to an inferiority complex within our sector? How does deficit communications shape public perceptions of our sector and the people we serve? Does deficit communications ultimately achieve its intended purpose? These are the questions that are on my mind. I can tell you that my teacher wouldn’t give us a passing grade in resume writing if all we did was communicate what we lack. That kind of resume doesn’t communicate our strengths, what we’ve accomplished or what we’re capable of.

We’re surrounded by plenty. Plenty of creativity, ingenuity, and potential. At Future of Good, we see it everyday, covering Canada’s social impact world. We saw it publishing over 250 stories last year. It’s how Kids Help Phone, a world-renowned Canadian charity, adapted to take on the 350 percent increase in call volume on mental health last year. It’s how SE Health, one of the oldest social enterprises in the country is now delivering virtual home care for the elderly. It’s how First Nations Technology Council, an Indigenous-led non-profit has been working tirelessly to ensure that people have access to high-speed internet so they can work and learn from home. And in mid-March 2020, Calgary Co-op was one of the first grocery stores in Canada to offer differentiated hours for seniors shopping, and the first to raise front-line team members’ salaries by $2.50 an hour. There are millions of such stories.

Oprah Winfrey once said, “When you undervalue what you do, the world will undervalue who you are.” Psychologists have long said that if you turn down the voice of your inner doubter, you can open up the possibility of fulfilling your own potential. The self-worth theory of achievement and motivation also notes that positive perceptions of ability are critical for success of the individual. I believe we can extend this to an entire sector. Without realizing, scarcity or deficit communications may be limiting our beliefs and abilities. It may be time to rally around the inverse — a more asset based communications approach. 

Whether you’re a program officer or executive, entrepreneur or public servant, grantmaker or advocacy professional, take 15 minutes to do a reflective organizational resume writing exercise this January on what you see as strengths, accomplishments, and what your organization brings to the table in pandemic response and recovery. 

Let’s start believing.

Vinod Rajasekaran

Publisher & CEO

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