For almost a decade, LIFT Impact Partners has worked in partnership with social purpose organizations (SPOs) across Canada, to build their capacity so they can deliver greater, scalable, sustainable, and results-based impact for vulnerable Canadians across the country.

This past year has seen significant social and economic inequalities for vulnerable Canadians intensified due to COVID-19. While there are immense challenges ahead, there are also enormous opportunities to #BuildBackBetter as a stronger, more resilient country that ensures inclusive growth and equitable opportunities for all.

These are big ideas that will require bigger solutions to focus on community-building and resilience. In this four-part series, we share our insights, the result of conversations and the ongoing work with SPOs in our portfolio and evolving trends across the social sector.

  • In Part One, we look at innovative solutions from SPOs on the front lines, who stepped up to ensure responsive service delivery. We highlight examples of those embracing inclusive innovation, staying agile, and building a culture of trust and resilience.
  • In Part Two, we look at how SPOs across the sector continue to leverage partnerships and community insights to meet evolving needs during the pandemic. We highlight the value of collaboration, achieving a shared vision, and the power of peer networks.
  • In Part Three, we look at the role of Impact Measurement to enhance organizational sustainability and resilience in the post-pandemic world. We highlight the importance of embedding a simple, iterative, and outcomes-focused approach.
  • In Part Four, we recognize that moving forward will require big ideas and thoughtful solutions to address systemic inequalities amplified by the pandemic. These solutions must be rooted in values and championed across sectors to affect real change together.

See the challenge, meet the opportunity

The onset of the pandemic served as an impetus for many SPOs across the sector, to creatively adapt programs and services, while maintaining high-quality service delivery.

For SPOs part of LIFT’s Better Beginnings, Bigger Impact (BBBI) cohort, providing access to vital services remained the primary goal. Adjusting to a new life, in a new country is tough even at the best of times; during a pandemic, it can be overwhelming. By reaching out to immigrants, refugees, and newcomers through online and blended means, SPOs in the BBBI cohort ensured programs and services were uninterrupted and that clients remained connected amid the isolation.




Across the employment and disability sector, SPOs from LIFT’s Inclusion with Impact (IwI) cohort demonstrated the same resilience to ensure Canadians and their families continued to be served without barriers.

In December, LIFT had the privilege of hosting a virtual Roundtable with the Honourable Minister Carla Qualtrough, along with the eight IwI SPOs. The conversation highlighted the agility of staff and leadership - from increased advocacy work and mental health supports, to providing flexible employment and lending programs for individuals and small businesses. The conversation also looked at what an inclusive recovery means for Canada. The shift to work-from-home and the adaptation of digital technologies, for example, has broadened views of workplace accommodations. We must continue to leverage these emerging behaviours to ensure inclusive innovation.

In ongoing conversations across both cohorts, employee well-being has also been highlighted as critical. Front line staff, in particular, are facing unprecedented challenges of responding to evolving client needs, while balancing their own mental health and well-being. Leaders recognize that as they continue to adapt through COVID-19 and beyond, they must embed a renewed focus on the mental health and well-being of their staff.

As we move into pandemic recovery and beyond, we’ve learned:

  • Flexibility, agility, and resilience are superpower soft skills that will better prepare leadership and staff for future uncertainty and challenges ahead.
  • Organizations must embrace inclusive innovation. In the post-pandemic world, inclusive innovation will be a cornerstone of organizational resiliency, driving an SPO's ability to respond to unexpected events and evolving needs, while ensuring no Canadian is left behind.
  • It’s all about the team. To succeed, innovation must be embraced across all levels of an organization. Build trust and resiliency by engaging the whole organization and craft a culture that puts physical and mental well-being at center of operations.

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LIFT is grateful for the continued support of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Employment and Social Development Canada, our corporate partners, pro-bono partners, and individual investors.