'Let's Imagine' is a podcast series that invites listeners to explore topics and issues that matter to those who care about the nonprofit sector. Listen in as we explore a diverse range of topics such as policy priorities, decent work, social finance, the rise of trust-based philanthropy and more. Join us, and together, Let's Imagine a stronger future.
Breaking the Cycle - Education, Equity, and Back-to-School (with Owen Charters)
Every September, millions of students head back to school. For many, it's a familiar rhythm - new school supplies, new teachers, a fresh start. But for young people growing up in low-income communities, the season carries a heavier question: not just whether they'll show up, but whether they'll be able to stay, belong, and imagine a future that includes post-secondary education at all.
The nonprofit sector has poured real effort into closing that gap - mentorship, scholarships, food security, after-school support. And yet the divide in educational outcomes between low-income students and their peers has proven stubbornly hard to close.
In this episode of Let's Imagine, host Bruce MacDonald is joined by Owen Charters, President and CEO of Pathways to Education Canada. Founded in 2001 in Toronto's Regent Park, Pathways was built on a simple but powerful conviction: that a young person's postal code should never determine their potential. More than two decades later, it works in communities across the country and has helped tens of thousands of students graduate high school and move on to post-secondary education.
Together, they explore why wrapping students in integrated support - financial, academic, social, and mentorship - works where piecemeal approaches fall short (ie the importance of supporting the whole person); how Pathways earns trust in communities with complicated relationships to institutions; and how they help position the students to be "job-ready" in a digitally powered, AI-enabled economy.
Read the full transcript here: https://share.descript.com/view/qYKcafOCbj7
Listen to past episodes here: https://imaginecanada.ca/en/lets-imagine-podcast
11 Aug 2026
« Le communautaire à boutte » : mobiliser pour se faire entendre (avec Sophie Tétrault-Martel et Caroline Chartier)
Attirer l'attention des élus et des médias est déjà difficile. Le faire en mobilisant des organismes déjà débordés relève d'un défi encore plus grand. Pourtant, une initiative du secteur communautaire rassemble des organismes de partout au Québec pour revendiquer la reconnaissance du rôle essentiel du communautaire et la fin du financement précaire.
Dans cet épisode du balado Imagine, nous recevons Sophie Tétrault-Martel, intervenante au Centre des femmes de Longueuil, et Caroline Chartier, directrice adjointe du Centre Roland-Bertrand à Shawinigan, toutes deux porte-paroles du mouvement « Le communautaire à boutte » (https://aboutte.info/).
Sophie et Caroline nous expliquent les objectifs et actions du mouvement pour dénoncer une réalité de plus en plus intenable : des besoins qui explosent d'un côté, et des équipes à bout de souffle en première ligne de l'autre.
Cette discussion inspirante touche aussi aux défis quotidiens qui poussent les organismes à se mobiliser, à l'importance de continuer à se battre pour se faire entendre et à l'impact de ce mouvement pour les personnes qui en font partie.
Lire la transcription complète ici
9 Jun 2026
Who We Fundraise With Matters: Representation in Philanthropy (with Alain Mootoo)
Across the nonprofit and charitable sector, organizations regularly talk about equity, community impact, and meeting people where they are. But there's a harder question that often goes unasked: who is actually doing the fundraising - and who isn't?
Fundraising teams frequently don't reflect the diversity of the communities they raise funds for. That gap isn't just a moral concern - it has real consequences for trust, relationships, and the sector's long-term sustainability.
In this episode of Let's Imagine, host Bruce MacDonald is joined by Alain Mootoo, Chief Operating Officer of the CAMH Foundation. Alain oversees the full operations of the Foundation - including the people, strategy, and systems that make fundraising possible. He has also drawn on his own lived experience as an immigrant to Canada, a foreign-trained professional, and a member of the 2SLGBTQ+ community to launch award-winning programs and events for marginalized populations across the country.
Together, they explore why representation in fundraising teams matters strategically, not just symbolically; how lived experience shapes the way trust is built with donors and communities; what structural and cultural barriers keep diverse talent from entering and advancing in the field; and what it looks like to create genuine pathways to fundraising leadership for people from marginalized backgrounds.
Read the full transcript here: (https://share.descript.com/view/mj6UOYQadK3) https://share.descript.com/view/mj6UOYQadK3 (https://share.descript.com/view/mj6UOYQadK3)
Listen to pas episodes here: https://imaginecanada.ca/en/lets-imagine-podcast
Who has been a guest on Let's Imagine
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Eden Fineday
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