The Lawson Foundation

05/15/2026

Join us next Thursday (May 21) as we learn how the Sioux Lookout First Nations Health Authority (SLFNHA) is enhancing diabetes management and prevention at the community level through empowerment, education, and connection.

Our Virtual Visit #16 guest speakers will be Janet Gordon, VP of Community Health at SLFNHA, and Madison Pierce, Manager of the organization's Community Health Worker (CHW) Diabetes Program.

Together, they will share knowledge, stories, and reflections on the journey of developing the CHW Diabetes Program, and highlight strengths and opportunities to improve diabetes care in the Sioux Lookout area.

📅 Thursday, May 21, 2026 (3-4 PM ET / 2-3 PM CT)

🔗 Register on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/empowering-community-health-workers-in-diabetes-care-tickets-1988626755157

05/08/2026

📖 Join us Tuesday for a Virtual Visit with Cheryle Dreaver, Anti-Racism Project Lead at the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba, to learn about the development and delivery of FNHSSM's Indigenous-led Anti-Indigenous Racism (AIR) training program.

🕐 1:00 pm EDT / 12:00 pm CDT / 10:00 am PDT

Register on Eventbrite:

Learn about First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba’s (FNHSSM) Indigenous-led Anti-Indigenous Racism (AIR) training program

05/07/2026

The Lawson Foundation has joined the Waltons Trust in supporting a new $5 million initiative led by Colleges and Institutes Canada (CICan) to embed outdoor and land-based teaching and learning in early childhood education programs across the country.

Preparing educators to work outdoors and on the land requires change across faculty development, curriculum design, student placements, and engagement with Indigenous communities and Knowledge Keepers.

Building on the Lawson Foundation’s 2024 “More Than a New Course: A Framework for Embedding Outdoor and Land-Based Pedagogies in Post-Secondary Early Childhood Education Programs,” CICan’s initiative will support a coordinated, sector-led system shift that will:

🔹Develop a national micro-credential for ECE faculty and open-access educational resources for all post-secondary ECE programs.

🔹Grow communities of practice to build faculty capacity and connect educators across institutions and regions.

🔹Fund approximately 29 colleges and institutes for local implementation.

🔹Support colleges in building meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities and Knowledge Keepers to guide land-based teaching and learning.

By supporting faculty and administrators to address the complexities of institutional change, this initiative directly benefits both the healthy development of young children and ultimately the quality of programs in the Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) initiative.

Read the full announcement from CICan: https://www.collegesinstitutes.ca/news-release/5-million-initiative-to-advance-outdoor-and-land-based-learning-in-early-childhood-education-across-canada/

05/05/2026

Our COO, Amanda, was pleased to join sector leaders, advocates, and policymakers in Ottawa this evening for the Fair Funding for Nonprofits Reception, hosted by Imagine Canada.

Held ahead of tomorrow’s Hill Day, the event underscored the growing momentum behind advancing a more equitable and effective federal funding system for nonprofits — one that better reflects the essential role the sector plays in communities across Canada.

A few themes resonated throughout the evening:
• Nonprofits are essential infrastructure in our communities — and most Canadians are already connected to the sector in meaningful ways
• Accountability matters — and is strongest when it is meaningfully tied to the work organizations are doing, rather than disconnected reporting requirements
• The importance of an enabling policy and regulatory environment — one that supports the sector’s ability to operate effectively, adapt, and continue improving how it serves communities

Learn more about the Fair Funding for Nonprofits Coalition: fair-funding-nonprofits.ca

Pictured: Christine Vallières (Fondation Chamandy), Amanda Mayer Lalonde (Lawson Foundation), Hilary Pearson, CM, Susan Manwaring (Miller Thomson LLP)

05/04/2026

Last week, the Lawson Foundation joined others to celebrate Inspirit Foundation for a decade of their 100% impact investment portfolio — a bold and values-driven commitment that continues to push the sector forward.

Special recognition to Jory Cohen, Director of Finance and Impact Investment, for the leadership and vision behind this work. We are excited to see the continued impact as his next chapter unfolds with Silk Pin Capital, and we are always energized to hear from those who are rethinking how capital can drive meaningful change.

Learn more about the Inspirit Foundation’s 100% impact portfolio: https://inspiritfoundation.org/investing/

Pictured: Cathy Taylor (President & CEO, Lawson Foundation), Jory Cohen (Director of Finance and Impact Investment, Inspirit Foundation), Amanda Mayer (COO & Program Director for Sector Infrastructure & Social Finance, Lawson Foundation)

05/01/2026

Twenty-seven years after Assembly of First Nations National Chief Phil Fontaine established the first Friday in May as NIDAD, the diabetes epidemic he described continues to affect First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities across Turtle Island — shaped by the lasting impacts of colonization on diet, health, and access to care.

The path forward is being led by communities themselves.

Across Canada, Indigenous communities and organizations are taking wholistic, community-based approaches to diabetes prevention and management, grounded in their own knowledge and on their own terms. The Lawson Foundation is proud to support their work through our Child & Youth Diabetes impact area. Learn more: https://lawson.ca/our-work/diabetes/

To continue this important conversation, we invite you to join our three Virtual Visits taking place this month, where we will hear from guests working in Indigenous Communities around health, wellness and anti-racism.

📅 May 4: Gitga’at Youth Land-Based & Cultural Continuity Diabetes Prevention → https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/gitgaat-youth-land-based-cultural-continuity-diabetes-prevention-tickets-1987553048672

📅 May 12: Indigenous-Led Anti-Indigenous Racism (AIR) Training Program → https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/indigenous-led-anti-indigenous-racism-air-training-program-tickets-1987567892069

📅 May 21: Empowering Community Health Workers in Diabetes Care → https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/empowering-community-health-workers-in-diabetes-care-tickets-1988626755157

04/29/2026

Don't miss Monday's Virtual Visit about engaging youth in seasonal harvesting practices across Nations along the Pacific Northwest Coast — grounded in reconnection to land, identity, and cultural practices for health and well-being in Indigenous communities.

Register on Eventbrite to join us on Zoom (May 4, 1-2 pm ET / 10-11 am PT): https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/gitgaat-youth-land-based-cultural-continuity-diabetes-prevention-tickets-1987553048672

Rachel Greening (Ts'msyen, Lax Kw'alaams) and Dr. Spencer Greening (Ts'msyen, Gitga'at) are Indigenous food systems researchers whose work centres on the relationships between land, culture, and health, bringing experience in diet and diabetes education, cultural research, and anthropology.

04/27/2026

🪁 Last week, on Healthy Environments for Learning Day, a national coalition of 50+ organizations came together to call on government decision-makers at all levels to ensure that all children in Canada have access to healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient outdoor learning and play environments.

Led by the Canadian Partnership for Children's Health & Environment, the coalition spans public health, environmental protection, climate action, and education, including early learning and child care

Together, they have issued A Collective Call for Action for Healthy, Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Outdoor Learning and Play Settings for All Children in Canada. Here's why:

📚 🌳 The research is well-established that access to nature benefits nearly every facet of children's physical, mental and social well-being. Outdoor spaces with tree canopy and natural surfacing can also help protect children from extreme heat and other climate-related health risks.

Yet not all schools and child care programs are equipped with healthy, sustainable, and climate-resilient outdoor settings.

🇨🇦 Across Canada, outdoor spaces at schools and child care facilities have become over-reliant on pavement and synthetic surfacing, with many settings lacking adequate shade trees and natural vegetation.

The coalition's call is clear: "Now is the time for leadership and action to ensure that every child in Canada has the opportunity to learn and play in health-promoting and health-protective outdoor spaces."

Read and share the full Call for Action and letter to federal, provincial and territorial leaders on Healthy Environments for Learning Day's website:

https://healthyenvironmentforkids.ca/held/2026-campaign-call-for-action/

04/23/2026

📖 Our second Virtual Visit this May will welcome Cheryle Dreaver from the First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba (FNHSSM) to discuss their Indigenous-led Anti-Indigenous Racism (AIR) training program.

During the discussion, Cheryle, who is the Anti-Racism Project Lead at FNHSSM, will share the history of the training, the gap it addresses in healthcare, and insights from cohort data, participant reflections, and conference learnings.

🪴 This will be a wonderful opportunity to learn more about how Indigenous-led approaches to anti-racism can inform practice, relationships, and systems change in healthcare.

📅 Tuesday, May 12, 2026 🕐 1:00 pm EDT / 12:00 pm CDT / 10:00 am PDT

Register on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/indigenous-led-anti-indigenous-racism-air-training-program-tickets-1987567892069

04/16/2026

🌟 Virtual Visit Ep.14 is live and open for registration! On May 4th, learn from Rachel Greening and Dr. Spencer Greening about their work engaging youth in seasonal harvesting practices across Nations along the Pacific Northwest Coast — grounded in reconnection to land, identity, and cultural practices to health and well-being in Indigenous communities.

Rachel (Ts’msyen, Lax Kw’alaams) and Spencer (Ts’msyen, Gitga’at) are Indigenous food systems researchers whose work centers on the relationships between land, culture, and health. They bring a wealth of experience in diet and diabetes education, as well as cultural research and anthropology, respectively.

Over the 1-hour virtual event, Rachel and Spencer will discuss the Gitga’at Youth Land-Based and Cultural Continuity Diabetes Prevention Approach.

📅 Monday, May 4, 2026
🕐 1:00 pm EST / 12:00 pm CST / 10:00 am PST

Register on Eventbrite:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/gitgaat-youth-land-based-cultural-continuity-diabetes-prevention-tickets-1987553048672

03/20/2026

What does it take to create meaningful impact? How can it be measured? And where do relationships, trust, and time fit into nonprofit work?

These were some of the important questions discussed at the recent Ivey Impact Day 2.0 panel on the realities of nonprofit leadership, organized by the Ivey MBA Association.

Building on the program’s Social Impact Day, where students work directly with community organizations, the event brought together the MBA 2026 and 2027 cohorts to explore how the sector operates and where some of the biggest challenges lie.

Ivey has produced an excellent summary of the discussion takeaways, which can be found here:
https://www.ivey.uwo.ca/news/news-ivey/2026/march/rethinking-impact-ivey-impact-day-20-explores-the-realities-of-non-profit-leadership/

The panel included David Corke, CEO, London Training Centre; Cathy Taylor, President and CEO, The Lawson Foundation; Andrea Topham, CEO, Youth Opportunities Unlimited; and Kelly Ziegner, Chief Operating Officer, YMCA of Southwestern Ontario.