09/10/2026
One of the things I don’t think we talk about enough is what it really takes to build an active, financially sustainable charity.
TRP Canada is a registered charity. It is not my company.
When I took responsibility for The ReUse People of Canada in January 2025, the Canadian charity had already been established through earlier work and investment. That foundation mattered.
My responsibility has been to build the operation around it—the yard, team, systems, inventory, customers, partnerships and revenue needed to carry out its purpose in Canada.
A worthwhile purpose is not, by itself, a financial model. Expenses begin immediately, while dependable revenue takes time to build. Closing that gap has required considerable creativity, personal commitment and financial support. Any funds I have advanced have been transparently recorded through the charity’s finances.
We have also examined how TRP operates and where costs can be managed differently. Canadian deconstruction teams have traditionally prepared the detailed inventory information needed to document recovered materials. We are incorporating that knowledge into our workflow so professional expertise can be used where it adds the greatest value and fees can be managed responsibly.
Alpha Select has also deliberately stepped back from opportunities it could have developed through this work. Those revenue streams are being built within TRP Canada because the value created through recovering, processing and reselling materials should strengthen the charity and help finance its future.
But perhaps my greatest learning has been this:
People do not necessarily buy because something is sustainable, green or even the right thing to do.
They buy because it solves a problem.
Reclaimed lumber must provide useful material at the right price. Tree Protection Kits must make municipal compliance easier. Recovery services must help productions and events manage materials efficiently, reduce disposal costs and keep work moving.
The environmental benefit matters—but the practical value must come first.
We are beginning to see this in the market. A festival recently approached TRP Canada about purchasing reclaimed lumber for its stages, and I am now putting together a package based on what it needs.
This is exactly the kind of opportunity we are working to create: meeting a real construction and budget need while keeping good material in use.
Sales are increasing, and our challenge now is to turn opportunities like this into steady, recurring revenue by managing costs, improving processing capacity and creating services people will repeatedly choose and pay for.
There is still a great deal to do, but TRP Canada is now processing and selling reclaimed materials, creating employment and training opportunities, developing recovery services and building partnerships across Vancouver Island.
This photograph is what building that operation looks like.
I think we need to have more honest conversations about what it takes to turn a good purpose into something financially sustainable. I would love to hear what others working in charities and social enterprises have learned.
