IONS is situated in Mi’kma’ki, the unceded and ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaw people. Unceded means that the Mi’kmaq have never relinquished, sold, traded, or transferred ownership of their land to European settler colonies, yet land was taken over without their consent through various processes of settler colonialism. This territory is covered by the Treaties of Peace and Friendship, which the Mi’kmaq and Wolastoqiyik people first signed with the British Crown in 1726. These Treaties did not involve the surrendering of rights to the lands and resources they had traditionally used and occupied. We are all Treaty People.

We further acknowledge that Nova Scotia is the birthplace of Black culture and heritage in Canada. People of African descent have shared these lands for over 400 years, and over 50 strong and resourceful African Nova Scotian communities exist here today.

We are committed to the struggle against systems of oppression that have resulted in profound inequities and the denial of self-determination rights. We are working actively to deepen our learning at an individual level, provide learning opportunities about anti-racism and decolonization, and to develop partnerships with organizations serving and led by underrepresented groups.
  • This is Not a Hula Hoop: Practicing Self-Leadership to Live your Values

    This is Not a Hula Hoop: Practicing Self-Leadership to Live your Values

    Alexandra Theroux Operations Manager Last month during our Fall Board and Staff retreat, the staff team were lead through a simple activity with a hula hoop. The goal was to get the hula hoop from one place on the ground to another about a meter away. The rules were simple: 1) We could only use…

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  • Resisting a Rest: How Urgency Culture Polices our Work

    Resisting a Rest: How Urgency Culture Polices our Work

    How do you challenge the status quo when you’re just trying to keep your head above water? Urgency culture is sinister in the way that it wreaks havoc on rest and keeps us in the overwhelm, allowing the status quo (white supremacy, capitalism, and colonialism) to thrive.

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  • We’ll Get Back to you Monday: Reclaim Friday, Rest, and Repeat

    We’ll Get Back to you Monday: Reclaim Friday, Rest, and Repeat

    Reg Manzer Research & Evaluations Manager When I tell people that IONS is piloting a four-day work week, I am immediately met by curiosity and interest, “You must work longer days then?” and “How much was your pay reduced?” When I respond that I don’t work extra hours to make up for it and that my…

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  • Going Slow to Go Fast: Finding Our Focus and Flow

    Going Slow to Go Fast: Finding Our Focus and Flow

    Annika Voltan Executive Director, IONS Reaching Our Limit These days everywhere we turn there are conversations about burnout, staffing challenges, and how to create boundaries around work. In our research, we consistently hear that heavy workloads and burnout are the top issues affecting the Community Impact Sector – second only to funding challenges.   IONS is…

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  • Art for Impact: Applying a JEDDI Lens to Design

    Art for Impact: Applying a JEDDI Lens to Design

    Alexandra Theroux Operations Manager Lydia Phillip Communications Manager I’ve called myself an artist for as long as I knew what the word meant, always having been drawn to experimenting with acrylic paint, pencil, and ink. As an avid reader who found inspiration from book illustrations and fantasy novel covers, I wanted to be a children’s…

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  • Moving Beyond Profits and Market Failures

    Moving Beyond Profits and Market Failures

    Annika Voltan Executive Director, IONS Today, as we launch our new identity as Impact Organizations of Nova Scotia (IONS), it’s important to reflect on why we need to distinguish and celebrate the Community Impact Sector for all its diversity and uniqueness. Going forward, we see “impact organizations” as the nonprofits, charities and voluntary organizations who…

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  • Take Flight: Embracing a Culture of Failing Forward

    Take Flight: Embracing a Culture of Failing Forward

    Lydia Phillip Communications Manager Emma Beukema Director, Learning & Innovation Remember when, with skinned knees, we were encouraged to get back on our bicycles? The expectation wasn’t perfection when we first peddled, wobbly on two tires. We knew we were bound to fall. But each time we hit a curb, unsteadily ventured further, or earned…

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  • Structuring for Impact

    Structuring for Impact

    Annika Voltan Executive Director, CSCNS Sandra McKenzie Co-founder, Forge Institute This article is the fourth installment in a series focused on stimulating discussions and ideas for a healthy Community Impact Sector transformation and recovery in Nova Scotia! In our introductory article “We Need a Healthy Community Impact Sector – Here’s Why You Should Care”  we…

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  • Unraveling an Unsustainable Funding Model

    Unraveling an Unsustainable Funding Model

    Annika Voltan Executive Director, CSCNS Sandra McKenzie Co-founder, Forge Institute This article is the third installment in a series focused on generating ideas for a healthy Community Impact Sector transformation and recovery in Nova Scotia!  In our introductory article, We Need a Healthy Community Impact Sector – Here’s Why You Should Care, we took a big picture view and made the…

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  • Ubuntu and Radical Generosity at Work

    Ubuntu and Radical Generosity at Work

    Karen Mutyabule Learning & Engagement Coordinator Annika Voltan Executive Director October is Canada’s Healthy Workplace Month, a theme that we have been reflecting on for quite some time and are excited to share some thoughts. This month’s blog is a collaborative effort between Executive Director, Annika Voltan and Research & Project Coordinator, Karen Mutyabule. From…

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