Vinod Rajasekaran to transition from CEO to Future of Good board member

In January, I will transition from my CEO role at Future of Good and support the team in a new capacity as part of Future of Good’s board of directors.

Looking back on the past eight years I can see that so much of the spirit of all that changemakers explored, examined and dreamed is still alive within us all. I can see that it takes an ecosystem to dare. And it takes a great deal of courage and imagination to shape better futures.

In 2017, we spoke about AI as if it was a generation away. We spoke about trust-based funding as a practice that would be unstoppable. We wondered if one day there would be an acknowledgement of systemic racism in the world of impact. We spoke about wellbeing at the centre of all social change work. We imagined a bold agenda to modernize the charitable sector. We spoke about the collective action it takes to unlock a billion dollars for social finance. We spoke about the dream of a National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 

We spoke about collectively daring to shape the future, rather than letting it shape us. 

It’s been the most remarkable journey for me ever since that day in 2017.

I’ve spoken to innovative community-based social enterprises in Petty Harbour, Newfoundland, about transforming business models; to chief economists at Canada’s largest banks about recognizing the economic value of non-profits; to frontline professionals about the recognition of essential work; and to CEOs of Canada’s largest foundations about more equitable funding practices. 

From Ivujivik to Winnipeg, and Victoria to Charlottetown, in all of my travels across this beautiful country, I’m energized by the extraordinary grassroots innovation taking place in communities everywhere. Changemakers are full of imagination, dreams, hope, grit, and audacity. Through Future of Good’s work, I’ve been fortunate to be a witness to groundbreaking work enhancing lives far and near—from the birth of the Equality Fund, Indigenous Peoples Resilience Fund, Raven Capital, and the Foundation for Black Communities, to the growth of Child Care Now, Enchante Network, Right Relations Collaborative, the Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience, and a whole lot more.

Our executive director, Anouk Bertner, and I have co-led Future of Good for a few years now, and I’m excited for her to lead the organization fully and comprehensively as CEO in January. 

Our humble beginnings eight years ago have propelled Future of Good into a trusted not-for-profit platform delivering important insights, analysis and knowledge in an increasingly complex impact landscape to social purpose teams across Canada.

Future of Good is a courageous and imaginative organization, and over the last eight years, it has been the source of numerous imaginative and courageous stories, headlines, questions, learning experiences, research, and conversations.

From Future of Good’s daily briefs during the COVID-19 pandemic, to catalyzing the Black Leadership in Social Impact Summit, to hosting Canada’s first dedicated ‘technology for social impact’ journalist, to launching the country’s first-ever Changemaker Wellbeing Index, to publishing more than 1,500 journalistic stories on social impact, I am so proud of the Future of Good team, this asset we’ve built for social purpose teams everywhere, and what we’ve collectively accomplished. 

In a daring way, we’ve worked hard to shape the future, instead of getting shaped by it. 

With Future of Good’s recent designation as a Registered Journalism Organization, the organization now holds charitable status—it is recognized as a community asset. Through this new designation, I believe the best work of Future of Good is yet to come under Anouk’s leadership. 

It’s been a privilege to support the Future of Good mission and team. I’m deeply grateful to my teammates, members, partners, funders, mentors, and board directors who have cheered me on, challenged me, cared for me, and supported me throughout my eight-year journey. 

I look forward to continuing to support Future of Good as a board member alongside Danya Pastuszek, Charles Buchanan, Thomas Cumberbatch and others to come.

Here’s to questions that move us forward,

– Vinod Rajasekaran

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