Charity eNews

Last week, The Tula Foundation founders Eric Peterson and Christina Munck announced that they have made a final donation of approximately $92 million to the organization, which since 2001 has harnessed science and technology to tackle urgent issues in the public interest. The funds will help Tula continue catalyzing scientific-based innovation while beginning its transition to independent sustainability.

Tula also announced that it is transferring two of the three land parcels it has been stewarding on Calvert Island—which total 55 acres, and include the majestic North Beach frontage—to the BC Parks Foundation. The land will ultimately be incorporated into the Hakai Lúxvbálís Conservancy, which is collaboratively managed by the provincial government and the Heiltsuk and Wuikinuxv First Nations.

These dual donations are legacy gifts from Eric Peterson and Christina Munck designed to sustain both conservation in British Columbia and catalyze scientific innovation across borders for generations to come.

When explaining the significance of the land donation, Eric Peterson, Co-founder and Director of Tula, said: "Calvert Island, halfway to Alaska, is the most iconic place on British Columbia's coast. It has acres of breathtaking beaches and incredible biodiversity, but it is also a sacred place for many First Nations with an intricate history. We have never viewed ourselves as the 'owners' of this land. We have always tried to do justice to this place, to continue to serve the interests of the public, and to leave it better than we found it. We are turning to our partners to carry this legacy forward."

Calvert Island is rich with both historical and ecological significance. The region has had extensive human settlement for at least 13,000 years and is a historic gathering place for many coastal First Nations. It has never been commercially logged and its extensive and varied nearshore marine habitats make it one of the most biodiverse sites on the Pacific Coast of North America. It is home to many impressive terrestrial species, including coastal wolves and sandhill cranes.

"We are tremendously grateful for our ongoing partnership with the Tula Foundation and for Eric and Christina's steadfast commitment to making our world a better place," said Dr. Andy Day, Chief Executive Officer of BC Parks Foundation. "We are honoured to accept their generous donation of these beautiful and ecologically significant lands, and will work with our partners to steward and protect them, forever."

Nancy Turner, Emeritus Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Victoria, has seen the ripple effect of Tula firsthand over the two decades since it was founded. "The financial support Eric and Christina have provided for so many of us has been amazing and almost unfathomable, but it has been the spirit they have brought with them to the coast that is both heart-warming and stunning. As a botanist, I immediately took to the idea of planting seeds, and realized what a perfect metaphor it was, both for the original seeds they planted in establishing the Foundation and the Hakai Institute, and for the new seeds they are now nurturing. The world is a better place, and our understanding of it has improved markedly because of their foresight, generosity and brilliance."

"Collaboration is integral to Tula and to accelerating the research and solutions we need to tackle pressing issues. We don't need talk, we need action, and we are grateful to our partners for taking that action for people and our planet,' said Eric Peterson, co-founder and director of Tula.

Want to get involved? Learn more about this BC-based organization that has been quietly spearheading research and innovation for over two decades by subscribing to its free newsletter, the Tula Quarterly!

Sustainability Network is pleased to announce the launch of Vision2030, a multi-year program addressing four sector priorities: Truth and Reconciliation, Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI), Technology and Youth & Intergenerational Issues.

Vision2030 is the result of a collaboration between Sustainability Network and 56 high-impact environmental NGO leaders from across Canada to define where Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (ENGOs) want to be by the end of the decade and what organizational capacity challenges and gaps must be addressed to get there.

Mark your calendar!

At the end of February, the Youth & Intergenerational Issues program begins with "Apathy is Boring," a public webinar on Youth-friendly ENGOs. It will include a 3-part series of interactive workshops and three organizational audits designed to help organizations better engage youth as key decision-makers and foster more youth-friendly working environments. This program will run once a year for 3 years.

Starting in mid-2024 and continuing annually through 2026, Sustainability Network will host 3-4 virtual workshops in the field of intergenerational workforces. Intergenerational Workplace is designed to help ENGOs come to terms with managing the diverse needs, expectations, and ways of working with multiple generations to smooth organizational friction.

Beginning in March, Dr. Damien Lee of Gimiwan Research and Consulting will offer a 7-part online series on Decolonizing ENGO-First Nation Partnerships to help build ENGO staff awareness and literacy about the structure of settler colonialism and avoid reproducing it in partnerships with Indigenous communities. This program is set to run twice a year, 2024 through 2026.

Later this spring, several more programs launch including Justice Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) with two initial offerings: The BIPOC ENGO Inclusivity Café, and the BIPOC ENGO Inclusive Workplaces Lab. Anna-Liza Badaloo (Sustainability Network) will facilitate 15-20 person cohorts for peer networking, learning and sharing over three months.

• The BIPOC ENGO Inclusivity Café will help ENGOs gain awareness of the challenges that BIPOC communities face in an organizational setting and serve as a community of practice for those leading or responsible for JEDI initiatives.
• The BIPOC ENGO Inclusive Workplaces Lab will bring together ENGO leaders so that they can ensure their workplace structures and organizational culture are truly welcoming, affirming, and BIPOC-inclusive.

These programs will run twice a year for 2024, 2025 and 2026.

In summer 2024, the Organizational Change Program will help conservation NGOs take a hands-on decolonial approach to organizational change and address current challenges in supporting Indigenous-led conservation. This collaboration with Chloe Dragon-Smith (Conservation Through Reconciliation) and Don Carruthers Den Hoed (Canadian Parks, Protected and Conserved Areas Leadership Collective) will include monthly virtual workshops and an on-the-land gathering.

In the fall, Sustainability Network will collaborate with the Nonprofit Technology Enterprise Network (NTEN) and the Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience (CCNDR) to offer the Nonprofit Tech Readiness Program to the ENGO community in Canada with the aim of helping ENGOs gather and leverage data to meet their organizational missions, as well as build capacity to plan and implement organization-wide technology projects.

For more details on Vision2030 or to find out more about Sustainability Network visit sustainabilitynetwork.ca.

Literature review, engagement sessions and survey are all part of the Equity Benchmarking Project.

Osborne Group principal Judy Fantham has experienced the power of participating in the NEOC award process firsthand. Judy describes the dramatic turnaround.