Building community and being part of the momentum

Every day, I get the chance to meet with people from all over Alberta. Business leaders, educational partners, non-profit leaders, startups, and community champions.

Together, we’re building a diversified, vibrant, exciting, and attractive community both for the young students that come up in our JA programming and for young people across Canada and the world looking to build a life for themselves.

Just last week, JA Southern Alberta had the opportunity to host our first Tech World of Choices Event. This initiative exposed junior high school students to the careers available to them in tech right here in Alberta. This event was a labour of love that was built on support and collaboration with both historic and new partners. Long-time partners like RBC, TC Energy, and SAIT provided incredible support and encouragement to bring this experience to Alberta youth. New partners like RoboGarden, Infinite Minds, Maven Media, and Make Fashion inspired the JA team and the students we serve to dream big and think of the impossible.

This is just one of the many ways our organization is working to capitalize on the energy happening in Alberta right now.

There is palpitating excitement and seemingly infinite possibilities for our economy and our communities. These range from opportunities in the traditional oil and gas industry to the startup and tech ecosystem to the arts and culture sector.?

With everything happening in the community, this begs the question: how can non-profit organizations capture the momentum building in Alberta and translate it into excitement and innovation within their organizations?

While this isn’t an easy fix, there are several things non-profits can do to capitalize on the excitement happening in Alberta. Here’s an overview of the activities JA has engaged in to do this.

Diversify your partnerships. JA has been in Alberta for over 60 years. Over that time, we’ve worked hard to develop strong relationships with titans of industry who offer generous support to our organization year after year. We couldn’t do any of this without them. In recent years, we have worked hard to develop relationships with new industry partners like tech and film and television. Not only do these partnerships give our students exposure to professionals in new industries, but we are also laying the foundation for long-lasting relationships that will serve our organization and communities well.

Non-profits can capitalize on the change happening in Alberta by exploring new partnerships with new industries, laying the foundation for prosperity within an organization and community.

Be responsive to change. Our world has changed, and so has our economy. As a youth-serving organization, it is incumbent upon JA to anticipate and recognize those changes and then respond to them accordingly. This is true for every organization: with great potential comes a degree of uncertainty and bravery. We’re now in a time where people are rewarded, not punished, for trying new things, even if they don’t always work as intended.

Non-profits can capitalize on the change happening in Alberta by recognizing and responding to the changes happening in our community and economy and integrating those changes into organizational goals and priorities.

Engage in thought leadership. It sounds like a simple thing, but the energy of any community or ecosystem is strengthened by people talking about their experiences and their excitement. Albertans are proud but humble. We don’t always share our accomplishments or our wins, but that is what it will take to continue to capitalize on the energy we are currently experiencing. There’s an entire sector of non-profit leaders that are innovating, creating, helping, and serving; we need to hear more about that. Leveraging social media including Instagram and LinkedIn to share regular, short-form reflections creates a sense of community and excitement, which opens the doors for new opportunities.

In recent years, as we have forged new relationships and partnerships in the communities we serve, I have been surprised at the synergies we have found. We have forged partnerships and collaborations I never could have imagined. I often say, there is no such thing as a wasted cup of coffee. For me, this means that grabbing a coffee with someone in the community always results in something positive - sometimes immediately, sometimes long-term. It is exciting to be part of the excitement in our province and encourage all non-profits to capitalize on the change happening in Alberta. Go for that cup of coffee! Share your stories and innovations! Support the industries and your colleagues who are leading the way!