Last year I compiled salary and compensation data from over 100 organizations in Metro Vancouver. Hyper-local compensation data broken down by organization budget, and as many position types and subsectors as I could while keeping confidentiality. I released the report late last year but I neglected to share the final report with my website followers. If you use the code IMAWESOME you can get 20% off.

Find the 2016 Metro Vancouver Nonprofit Sector Salary Survey here.

What do purchasers say they find helpful?

• “Local, current data.”
• “The quartile benchmarking for non profits of different sizes. It totally helped me gauge whether our salaries were competitive and which positions’ compensations needed to change as a result.”
• “Salary categories with differing organizational budgets; excellent work for the cost charged – THANK YOU!”
• “I especially appreciated the segmented data for arts and culture organizations. This will come in very handy for our organization as we begin a transition process for some senior leaders.”
• “It was a major force in renegotiating my contract with confidence and grace. Thanks for your hard work.” 

Next: Network building for introverts

I’m working on an e-book with the working title The Introvert’s Guide to Building Networks: an anti-networking manual.

If the idea of networking has never really resonated with you, I’d love to hear your input on the draft so far. I’ve completed sections on being strategic, events, and meetings/gatherings. The draft is open for comments–feel free to add yours!

Bonus: Race in the nonprofit sector

Nonprofits have to face biases about who is qualified to lead and why. (Race to Lead)

I’ve been doing a lot of personal and professional reflection on race and diversity lately, and really appreciated the Race to Lead report from the Building Movement Project. I’ve only got through the key findings so far, but the full report looks to be a valuable and timely read. The report is free and easy to download.

Nonprofits have to transfer the responsibility for the racial leadership gap from those who are targeted by it (aspiring leaders of color), to those governing organizations. (Race to Lead)

That’s it! Enjoy.

I previously shared data on the types of organizations that had responded so far, the commonality of different types of benefits offered, and number of vacation days provided.

If you are responsible for compensation data at your organization and haven’t filled it out yet, you can find out more info and fill out the survey here.

Before I give you this week’s data, your help with one final push would be greatly appreciated!

I’d especially like to hear from (tell your colleagues! sample text below):

• organizations outside of the City of Vancouver
• organizations that focus on community development and housing, law/advocacy/politics, sports and recreation, or religion
• foundations/funders
• organizations with an annual operating budget of over $5 million

Disclaimer

If you didn’t read last week’s post about box plots, read this first. I give an explanation about box plots, and explains why I haven’t added whiskers at this time.

As stated in previous posts, the information on salaries that I share below is only meant to inspire curiosity and is not good for any decision making. The information is not disaggregated by organization size or any other identifier—it lumps all organizations together and is based on submissions to date. The data quality has not been validated. Finally, I have not provided any analysis or context.

Salaries of EDs/CEOs paid annually

For organizations with EDs/CEOs as staff (not independent contractors), they were asked to provide salary information. Some EDs are paid hourly and are not included in the following chart.

While I refer to this group as EDs/CEOs, actual titles may differ (e.g. managing director).

For today’s post I separated nonprofit societies from registered charities. Note that charities are also nonprofits, but the data for nonprofits represents organizations that are nonprofits and NOT ALSO registered charities.

The median annual salary for nonprofit EDs is $80,000, while the median annual salary for registered charity EDs is $70,000. Fifty percent of nonprofit ED salaries fall between $64,500 and $102,500. The other fifty percent fall above and below this range. Fifty percent of registered charity ED salaries fall between $55,000 and $89,000.

Final note

Data validation once the survey closes is going to take some time. Thank you to folks that read instructions closely. Apologies to those who found the details unclear. You may hear from me to check on some of your data.

Will you share please?

Share on FB/Twitter/LinkedIn: (sorry, you’ll have to trim for Twitter )

Fellow Vancouver NP leaders! One more week left in the local salary survey, please participate so we have good data to make our salary/compensation decisions! https://trinaisakson.com/research

Send an email:

Hi _______,

Have you participated in the local nonprofit salary survey going around? I’ve participated and want to make sure there is good comparison data so that we can make good salary and compensation decisions. The deadline is July 31, so one more week to go! This survey is focused only on Metro Vancouver so the data will be especially relevant to us. More info about the survey and the link to participate is at https://trinaisakson.com/research.

I previously shared data on the types of nonprofit and charitable organizations that had responded so far, and the different types of benefits offered.

Reminder, survey deadline July 31! FAQs and survey link here.

This week is fun because I get to play with box plots!

When sharing salary and compensation data there are a variety of numbers that could be shared, and I’m choosing to share numbers using a special kind of chart called a box plot. Data nerds may be wondering why I’m not sharing the whiskers, and the short reason is I haven’t done data validation yet and there are a few outliers that would make really long whiskers.

Why a box plot? Because averages are (often) the devil. Outliers that are really high or low can skew the numbers. Instead, medians are the way to go in this case.

Please explain this ‘box plot’ you speak of

Instead of using averages, the box plot focuses on the median, which is the middle number if all numbers are all lined up in numerical order.

In a the ‘box’ of the box plot, the line cutting through the box is the median, and the outline of the box the middle 50% of all numbers in the group. The box then includes the middle quartiles. These are the 25% of responses above and below the median.

A weakness of the box plots in this post is they do not include the outer 50% of responses. In this example, we don’t know the least or most number of chicken figurines per household. Instead, we know the “kind of sort of average range even though average is used incorrectly in this sentence.”

In the example provided, of all the people asked how many ceramic chicken figurines they have in their houses, the median is five. Twenty five percent of respondents have between five and nine figurines, and 25% have between three and five figurines.

Disclaimer about the following chart

The information on vacation days that I share below is only meant to inspire curiosity and is not good for any decision making. The information is not disaggregated by organization size or any other identifier—it lumps all organizations together and is based on submissions to date. The data quality has not been validated. Finally, I have not provided any analysis or context.

Minimum and maximum vacation days at different job levels

Respondents were asked to provide the maximum and minimum number of vacation days provided per year at each job level. For example, in one organization, some managers may get as few as 10 vacation days per year, and others get as high as 25 days per year.

This chart shows the ranges provided at the minimum, and the maximum levels.

I only included one plot for ED/CEO because most organizations only have one person in this role, so minimum and maximum numbers are the same.

I didn’t include the VP level because there are too few submissions at this point, and didn’t include Director level because I accidentally deleted a column and didn’t want to go back and fix my work for this teaser blog post. I will definitely be including directors in the report.

This chart shows that the median vacation time for executive directors is 20 days per year. Fifty percent get between 15 and 25 days per year.

For manager roles, the “median” organization provides between 15 and 18.5 vacation days per year. Coordinators and assistants have identical median minimum and maximums. The lower range median for both is 10 vacation days per year, while the upper range median is 15 days per year.

Next week: ED/CEO salaries!

Remember, please share this survey with your professional colleagues who lead nonprofit and charitable organizations. Copy and paste this:

Hi fellow unicorn nonprofit leader:

Have you filled out the Metro Vancouver salary survey yet? It would be great to have current, hyper local data on compensation among our organizations. The survey link and FAQs are here: trinaisakson.com/research.

But first…

In order to provide final data on specific types of nonprofits (e.g. based on size, subsector, city) I need a minimum number of organizations (six) in order to assure privacy.

Here are the organization types I’d love to hear more from:

• Budget size under $100K
• Budget size $250K to $499K
• Budget size over $5 million
• Organizations focussing on environment, health, or sector capacity building
• Organizations based outside City of Vancouver

I’ve had especially great response from arts organizations with budgets $500K to $999K. Thank you! FAQs and more survey information here.

Reminder: Deadline July 31!

Disclaimer about the following charts

The information on benefits that I share below is only meant to inspire curiosity and is not good for any decision making. The information is not disaggregated by organization size or any other identifier—it lumps all organizations together and is based on submissions to date. The axis scales for each image are not comparable—do not compare the bars in one image the the bars in another. Finally, I have not provided any analysis or context.

Now, let the curiosities begin!

Benefits for all

Benefits for senior staff only

Opportunities offered to junior staff only were rare.

Opportunities to ask for more

Not common

Before you go, do you mind sharing the survey on LinkedIn, a Facebook group, or other place you connect with nonprofit and charitable leaders?

Metro Vancouver nonprofit and charity leaders–let’s get good, local, current compensation data. Fill out this salary survey by July 31: https://trinaisakson.com/research

Next week….vacation days!

Organizational responses are starting to roll in, and I wanted to give folks a sense of who is responding, and who should be responding.

Deadline for survey responses is July 31.

But first…why a salary survey?

I’ll leave it up to some local executive directors to share why they think it important.

It’s imperative that we leaders of the non-profit sector have access to localized, detailed and up to date data to inform our decisions, budgets and to advocate to government the need for funding.
– David Jordan, Executive Director, Vancouver Fringe Festival

Having current and local data on our sector’s compensation trends, will enable us to work towards equitable and competitive compensation packages. As we strive towards social, environmental and economic justice, this is a critical step forward!
– Dara Parker, Executive Director, Social Venture Partners Vancouver

So who has responded to the call so far?

Smaller arts organizations in Vancouver have been the keenest.

I hope to see other “groups” of organizations encourage each other to respond to the survey, so that I’m able to release more detailed data in the final report.

My ask of Metro Vancouver nonprofit sector leaders

If you haven’t completed the survey yet, please do!

If you already have, can you encourage 5 other organizations to take part by forwarding this message with some kind words?

Either way, can you share on Facebook and tag other friends in the nonprofit sector? Facebook has been the greatest source of referrals for the survey so far. Example post…

Want to know how your organization’s compensation compares to others in the Metro Vancouver nonprofit sector? Complete this salary survey to help us get better data and make better compensation decisions! https://trinaisakson.com/research

Next week I’ll share some early results on the types of benefits organizations are most likely to provide staff…and benefits that they would consider offering if staff asked!

Careers

• CharityVillage.com
• Association of Fundraising Professionals Vancouver chapter (fundraising jobs)
• Alliance for Arts & Culture (arts organization jobs)
• GoodWork.ca (environmental and green jobs)
• Craigslist
• Facebook groups:
  • Canada’s Young Leaders and Innovators
  • Vancouver Young Innovators and Leaders
  • Vancouver Changemakers Work
• Individual organizations’ websites – time consuming but true. To find organizations that are connected to causes that interest you, visit the Red Book Online and browse by organization subject area and sub-subjects. The site is useful if you have time to browse.
• University/college job boards for students/alumni:
  • BCIT
  • Capilano
  • Langara
  • SFU
  • UBC
• Networking using the topics below.

Volunteering

• GoVolunteer.ca -1000s of volunteer opportunities, searchable by location, activity, organization type, etc.
• CharityVillage.com – volunteer opportunities around Vancouver and across Canada
• Craigslist.org – user-posted volunteer opportunities
• University/college volunteer postings:
  • Capilano
  • SFU
  • UBC AMS

Learn and network in person

• Net Squared Vancouver – ongoing series of casual but informative meetups on topics related to technology for social good
• Vantage Point – workshops on governance, management, HR, and more
• Groundswell – program to help you build a social venture
• Next Up – social justice leadership program
• RADIUS SFU – accelerators, fellowships, and trampolines for social innovators and social venturers
• The Digital Nonprofit conference
• Social Change Institute / Social Venture Institute / Web of Change – programs at Hollyhock on Cortes Island
• Learn about upcoming workshops by getting on the email lists for Net Squared, Vantage Point, Enterprising Non-Profits, and Volunteer BC, as they each send out information on their own and other’s upcoming workshops.
• Many volunteer centres or subsector umbrella organizations also offer workshops, so search those out if you are looking to connect to a specific community.

Learn online

• Imagine Canada’s Sector Source – online library, resources
• CharityVillage.com – e-courses, webinars, articles, etc.
• HR Council – resources and info on human resources
• Enterprising Non-Profits – information about social enterprises

Formal learning

• BCIT Associate Certificate in Nonprofit Management
• SFU Certificate in Dialogue and Civic Engagement
• SFU Non-Profit Management Certificate
• Capilano Global Stewardship Associate of Arts degree
• Adler MPPA in social justice leadership

Blogs and news

• The Philanthropist
• Vantage Point blog
• From Our Vantage Point (podcast)
• CharityVillage Village Vibes weekly newsletter
• Imagine Canada blog
• Do Good Better Podcast

Mentorship Programs

• Association of Fundraising Professionals Vancouver chapter (fundraisers)

In this episode of the Do Good Better Podcast I chat with Jimmie Briggs, author, speaker, and nonprofit leader about self care and the lessons he finally learned after a heart attack and kidney transplant.

Links for today’s episode:

• Jimmie Briggs on Twitter (@briggsjimmie)
• Rockwood Leadership Institute

This post was inspired by Joanne Cave’s and Lee Rose/Claude Lauziere’s recent pieces on predictions for the Canadian nonprofit sector in 2016.

Consider mine the Eeyore version. You know, one that’s a little bit of a bummer. 

Here are my predictions/wishes for the Canadian nonprofit and charitable sector in 2016.

1. Death of “social innovation.” Please.

Especially as a catchphrase. Or at least this is my solemn wish.

Social innovation is a new-ish word for a thing that has been happening since the beginning of charity. People and organizations finding different, improved, transformational ways to benefit their communities. Piloting, experimenting, trying new things. This is all good. But it’s not new.

I previously found it hard to articulate one of my discomforts with the focus on social innovation, but I recently identified it while reading a lovely 2013 Salon article on why innovation (currently) has nothing do do with being creative. It’s that in today’s world, in order for something to be considered “innovative,” it has to be acknowledge by the institutionalized “innovation class.” For social innovation in Canada, that would be orgs like SiG or CSI or MaRS or McConnell etc. As Thomas Frank writes:

Innovation, that is, exists only when the correctly credentialed hivemind agrees that it does. … What determines “creativity,” in other words, is the very faction it’s supposedly rebelling against: established expertise.

There are so many issues with social innovation as a thing right now.

1. More and more organizations are feeling forced to label their work “social innovation” to fit funding opportunities. When really funders should be focussed largely on what works, not only what’s new.
2. Most of the people talking about social innovation are mostly doing that – talking. The ones that are doing social innovation use the word because it’s “in group” language, not because of its inherent value for our communities (admission: I use the word too).
3. The new and trendy and “innovative” which attracts people, attention, and funding rarely does the deep, sustainable work that our communities and the vulnerable people in them desperately need.

Instead, I dearly hope that organizations will work to improve upon knowing what works well, and trying new ways when things don’t.

2. People and organizations with lots of money will continue talking about the opportunity for social finance to unleash capital for social good. Skeptics will question the ethics of commoditizing disadvantage. Nonprofits will question the relevance of social finance to their work. They will all be correct.

I don’t think social finance is the be-all-end-all to funding interventions, but I do think we need to experiment with new funding models, and this is one set of approaches.

I question whether risk is distributed well (especially in the case of social impact bonds) and whether big business would be better to spend their money ensuring they don’t, um I don’t know, exploit the poor or the environment through unchecked negative externalities.

And most nonprofits are absent from the conversation. As they should be. Because either they don’t measure their impact to the level necessary for social finance, or their work doesn’t fit the social finance model (e.g. social impact bonds currently focus on employment, literacy, recidivism, and other short- to medium-term outcomes).

3. Nonprofit leaders of large nonprofits who suffer from data and tech illiteracy will unwittingly hurt their causes.

Not internalizing the importance of integrated use of data and technology will mean missed opportunities. And because it’s hard to know when something isn’t there (as opposed to spotting obvious issues like funding gaps or broken equipment), it will be easy for organizations to continue to ignore opportunities like shared platforms, data standards, automation, and other uses of tech and data that streamline our work and provide opportunities for collaboration and advocacy. You know, mission-related work.

4. Nonprofit leaders will wax on about the salary inequities within and outside the sector and then continue to pay shitty wages and use contract employment.

To be fair, they often do so because of the uncertainty of their funding environment.

But many pay little because they can get away with it. Not in a mwa-ha-ha evil way, but because it’s been done before, money is tight, and the job market continues to allow it.

5. No (large) nonprofit or charity will recruit unpaid interns for more than 15 hours per week.

Recruiting for unpaid internships over and above about 12 to 15 hours per week mean only the most privileged will benefit from these experiences, as the rest of job seekers are working and/or going to school full time. Public awareness about the exploitative nature of internships has increased over the past year in particular, and I hope that nonprofits (and not just businesses) have heard the message. Just because we are charities, doesn’t mean that full-time volunteer roles are ethical.

6. Increasing voice of Gen X and Y leadership.

Baby boomers continue to hold the traditional “leadership” roles in the sector. However, Gen X and Y will continue to move up in traditional organizations AND lead newer, non-traditional initiatives, and these new initiatives will hold greater space in the traditional national conversations hosted by organizations like Imagine Canada, Volunteer Canada, Community Foundations of Canada, etc.

These new initiaitves are already holding their own conversations, learning from each other, and networking (and not just with other nonprofits). They don’t need traditional organizations to gain leadership legitimacy, but they can and do play nice when the potential power of new forms of structure and strategy are more and more respected, admired, and coveted by the old guard.

7. Southern Ontario will continue to get most of the attention, support, funding for sector-level work.

I’m always amazed (or…annoyed) that people in Ontario can call their initiatives “national” as long as they invite/email people from outside southern Ontario, but the same initiative out of Halifax or Saskatoon or Vancouver wouldn’t be given the same benefit of the doubt (or benefit of funding/sponsorship). This means many of the important conversations about the future of the nonprofit sector are happening among a narrow set of people, and that’s not OK for our diverse organizations and missions.

8. Rise of the quiet changemaker.

Well, this prediction is just selfish. It’s my own initiative and one that I hope will raise the voices and potential of the more quiet and introverted people making the world a better place. Read more here.

What are your predictions for the nonprofit sector in 2016? Can you out-grump me?

One of the themes I’ve heard from my interviews with quiet changemakers over the past two years is related to public speaking, so a while back I put out a question to the Quiet Changemaker community via email (sign up at trinaisakson.com) and Facebook.

How do you approach public speaking that might be unique/helpful to quiet changemakers? What helps you speak in public successfully? How do you know when your talk/presentation has gone well? When do you feel good about speaking in public?

The insights are not the usual public speaking advice. Some of it conflicts, but all of it is interesting.

It’s important to note that being quiet does not mean a hatred/fear of public speaking. I know people who are quiet who are great at and enjoy speaking in public, and more extroverted folk who are the opposite. However, there are tactics for public speaking that are unique to the more introverted among us.

What are the themes that quiet changemakers can learn from?

Know if public speaking is for you.

It’s not for everyone. You might love it. You might see it as a learning opportunity, as Sandra shared via email:

As an introvert who doesn’t enjoy public speaking, I don’t actively seek out these types of opportunities, BUT if I am asked to speak, I never say no as it is a chance to challenge myself, grow, and get feedback from others.

Or you might see it as a unnecessary task that you can delegate to others who may be better at this form of communication. Only you know if it’s an activity that is meant for you.

Treat public speaking as a performance.

This theme cropped up very clearly when interviewing quiet changemakers. We see public speaking as a performance. We go onstage and are “on”, give a talk, then are “off”. We’re a little bit outside ourselves when we talk, as though we are seeing ourselves giving a dramatic monologue rather than focusing on the audience. As per usual, we’re more inner-focused.

In line with this thinking, I took a workshop a few years ago (targeted to university instructors) on body, space and voice. It was led by two education professionals, one of whom is also an actor. We practiced using our voice and body in ways that might feel too BIG or unnatural, as though we’re taking up too much space, but in reality look quite natural from the audience. It was a fantastic experience to be able to play with gestures and tone.

Create a public speaking persona.

One quiet changemaker shared that when he speaks in public, he uses a persona that is an exaggerated version of himself. It’s a bit more dramatic, sillier, grander, even stranger than his daily self. For him, this is a form of protection. If people give him negative feedback, he knows it’s directed to this persona, and not his true self.

Speak who you are.

Conflicting with the previous advice, on the opposite end of authenticity, Tony suggested the importance “of being authentic and true to yourself.” He shared his version of a Parker Palmer quote “The best teachers teach who they are,” which probably comes from the true Parker Palmer quote “You are who you teach.” Or not.

Either way, public speaking comes in many forms and purposes, and it’s important to know what purpose your talk has, and what comes most naturally for you.

Are you an inspirational storyteller? (I’m know I’m not….those talks totally turn me off. Bleh. ) Are you an influencer? Are you an educator?

I’m definitely the last one, and am upfront about it when I speak. A keynote I did last year on leadership and volunteer engagement made sure to emphasize that my goal was not to make the audience feel warm fuzzies about the spirit of volunteerism, but instead was meant to provide a new perspective on volunteer engagement, with 3 actions to take the next day using this new lens.

Remember, people are forced to hear you. No interaction required.

Good public speakers know how to read an audience and adjust as necessary. I use this all the time in the classroom, whether to allow more time for an exercise that has people excited, or cut something short if energy is waning.

However, one of the reasons I enjoy public speaking (and other forms of performing in public, like dance) is that it’s not a two way conversation (no matter what the advice articles say). Most of the communication is from you to the audience. Public speaking is an opportunity to be alone, but in front of others.

Also…no interruptions! (Hopefully.) Mandy shared on Facebook that she feels better about public speaking more than group discussion because:

“I do not have to fight for a turn to speak. I will take this over being drowned out by loud group members any day!”

It’s a chance to talk about something you’re passionate about.

Quiet changemakers are often mistaken for extroverts because they can talk a lot, and excitedly, about things they are passionate about, and may even dominate a room (I know I can!)

Public speaking gives quiet changemakers a chance to speak about something they love, and usually people are in the audience because they are interested in that same topic. No need to exhaust yourself finding intellectual chemistry in a crowded room. Yuck!

Book quiet time afterwards, but not right away.

After a day of facilitation, I often go to bed WAAAY early. Public speaking can be fun and enjoyable and EXHAUSTING. Susan Cain has spoken of booking time for herself after her talk, about not taking too many questions or sticking around to schmooze.

I enjoy some Q&A after, as again it gives me an opportunity to chat more about something I’m interested in AND it gives me an opportunity to get feedback on my talk. Also, after a talk people know who you are and come to you, so you don’t have to look around awkwardly to find people to make chit chat with.

How do you approach public speaking that might be unique/helpful to quiet changemakers? What helps you speak in public successfully? How do you know when your talk/presentation has gone well? When do you feel good about speaking in public?

In this episode I chat with David Grad, Emmy-winning producer and brand consultant, about brand communications, how to break down what exactly “brand” is, and what questions to ask when you’re planning to communicate your brand strategically.

Links for today’s episode:

• Find David Grad on LinkedIn  and Twitter (@davidgrad)
• An example of using Tinder for promoting a cause
• POST method (originally via Groundswell…I got the acronym a bit wrong, but the essence is the same: people/purpose and technology/tactic)

My final week in Yangon

On my last Friday, I went out on the town, first for some roller coasters. People’s Park is the 3rd ride park I’ve been to that was developed by a socialist/communist dictatorship government (the first were in Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan). Maybe this is an experience I need to collect, like I collect haircuts and salons when I travel. I went with Erica, a new friend I met in my Myanmar language class. The rides look so simple and stupid, and then you get on and THEY ARE SO SCARY but also make you giggle too. After sunset we also enjoyed fantastic views of Shwedagon.

[Rollercoaster!]

[Sunset at People’s Park]

[Shwedagon by night]

Later we joined Ivan, also from Myanmar class, at Seven Joint. A Jamaican bar, in Myanmar, with live music featuring the songs of Train, Pharell, and Bryan Adams. Let’s just say it was trippy.

I also went on a free walking tour of downtown Yangon, explored a few other areas of the city, and finally visited Shwedagon, possibly the main site to see in Yangon, and for good reason. Stunning. Peaceful. And free, fast wifi.

[Prettiest old building in downtown Yangon]

[Exploring neighbourhoods of Yangon]

[Waiting for the local train]

[Shwedagon]

[Shwedagon]

[Shwedagon]

Moving to Mawlamyine

This was the town I expected to be living in all along, but it made sense for me to spend my first bit of time in Yangon. Mawlamyine is the 4th largest city in Myanmar, but really it’s just a big town. No high rises, few apartment buildings. Lots of homes over stores, old houses. Interesting colonial architecture tucked in narrow alleys. A river front. Pagodas. MOTORCYCLES (there are none in most of Yangon…they are illegal on the road) and therefore fewer cars, which I love. Only a few traffic lights (I think I’ve seen 2). So much quieter.

I live with a roommate (another Cuso volunteer from Edmonton, placed with a different organization) in a two bedroom, one story small house in a little village outside of town, near the university. Think dirt roads, dogs, goats, the odd cow, burning piles of leaves, small market, university students living together and singing karaoke.

[The house]

We’re slowly setting up house, figuring out our routines. Our water comes from a well on our lot, and all fixtures are gravity fed. We shower by pouring water from a small bucket over our heads. I usually treat myself and boil a bit of water to add to the large bucket, just to take a bit of the cold edge off. Lots of mosquitos, even with screens. About 8 different tile patterns used throughout the house on different floors and walls makes for visual interest. Very variable power supply (power goes off from 5 min to 36 hours at a time, the voltage changing dramatically over time) which makes for interesting fan air flow.

Still going to work

Still doing the same sort of work (though now I’m beginning to do more hands-on work –  training community researchers and collecting data through interviews and focus group discussions). However, my days look much different. Let’s compare the two.

Yangon: 30min-1hr commute in heavy traffic on a 6 lane roadway by bus. Office with about 15 staff on the 3rd floor of an office building. Neat little neighbourhood on the way. A few other foreigners at the office. A great restaurant where I can get yummy veggie dishes with rice if I didn’t bring a lunch.

[Waiting for the bus]

[My favourite corner on the walk to work]

[Shared lunch]

[View from the stairwell]

Mawlamyine: <5min walk to work on mostly dirt roads. Office with 3 staff and 1-2 local volunteers. Office in an old house with beautiful wood floors and roof beams. No other foreigners at the office. Lunch options are fewer, but still yummy.

In addition to computer based work, I’ve also spent a bit more time in Mawlamyine helping my colleagues practice English, learn research methods, and have had a few meetings that really highlight the difference between civil society in big city Yangon, and civil society in more rural Myanmar.

[Walking to work]

[Walking to work]

[Our new office space on moving day (old office had flood problems)]

Connecting with the expat community in Mawlamyine

There seem to be about 20 foreigners living here, and I’ve met almost all of them. We have a Viber group (Viber is kind of like WhatsApp or Skype, a messaging/call app) to arrange plans, and we usually get together every Friday. It’s a very mixed group, with people from the US, UK, France, Switzerland, Japan, and more that I’m forgetting. Other times people based in Yangon come down for a few days of work and I’ve met a few of them as well. They’ve been very helpful in helping me learn about Mawlamyine (i.e. where to buy flour, cooking sauces, pasta, and other hard-to-find goods).

Celebrating the full moon in October AKA the Festival of Lights

On this holiday, people light candles in the evening (and line them up on their door steps, windows, fences, etc) and during the day time they take day trips. Amanda’s host organization invited us for a day tour, and about 8 of us spent the day visiting some of their friends, going to a temple on the ocean, visiting the busiest beach I’ve ever been on in my lifetime, checking out the Death Railway cemetery (appoximately 4000 Allied POWs died during the Japanese-led construction of this railway in southeast Asia. I’ve been to the other end, in Kanchanaburi, Thailand), and getting rained off the road.

[A friend’s home]

[Kyaikkami pagoda]

[Kyaikkami pagoda]

[Kyaikkami pagoda]

[Kyaikkami pagoda]

[Kyaikkami pagoda]

[Setse beach]

[Thambuziyat cemetary]

Later in the evening I checked out one of the temples back in Mawlamyine and admired everything by candle light.

[Kyaikthanlan pagoda]

[Kyaikthanlan pagoda]

Election!

Watching the election process unfold here has been fascinating. I’ve written a post comparing the election here with the election in Canada, and I’ll share it soon so you can get more insight than what western media is sharing.

Have you every considered visiting Myanmar/Burma?

One of the scourges of international travellers everywhere is the plastic water bottle. Many people here (foreigners and locals alike) get refillable 20L dispensers delivered. Once you have the dispenser, they’re cheap to refill (50c in Yangon, 30c in Mawlamyine), and they not only deliver to your house, they bring them right to your kitchen.

Well-connected colleagues

When it comes to development work in Myanmar, it’s a small world. If I need a connection, someone likely has it. Most of the Myanmar staff have worked at other NGOs, and international folk are connected to the INGO Forum. Down in Mawlamyine I can count the foreigners on my fingers and toes, and my colleagues are connected to different CSO networks. It’s a small world.

[A gathering of new expat friends]

My friendly neighbourhood restaurant

Yangon: If I’m tired and hungry, I come here because I know I’ll get a good bowl of mohinga (a noodle soup with a fish broth plus some oversized celery-looking vegetable and bonuses of your choice). I get a hard boiled egg and a fried bean curd patty cut up into it. Other options are fish chunks or cut up chicken sausage. As you can see I’m not eating totally vegan here, as is often the case when I travel.

Mawlamyine: There are a few ones I frequent when I go to the market Saturday morning or during the week for lunch. If I can convince my colleagues to go to Victoria (or Witoyiya) restaurant I’m especially happy, but it take a motorcycle ride to get there. Victoria has lots of veggie options, including baked beans (beans!!). Last week I treated two of my colleagues – 8 different dishes, plus rice, and drinks was under $3. Total.

[Not my neighbourhood restaurant, but an example of a group lunch spread]

Friendly people

Thanks to lovely colleagues and connections, I’ve been able to experiences little parts of Myanmar I would never get to as a tourist. The random massage place with the blind masseuse. The mountaintop festival. The homemade dinners. Wonderful.

[With Mi Kun and friends on Bilugyn Island]

Fans

Yangon: In the living room, in my bed room, ventilating the bathroom and kitchen, and beside my office desk. When there’s no other way to get cool and move air around.

Mawlamyine: Not enough fans, but I damn sure appreciate what I have.

Peanut cakes

I don’t know what else to call them. The cost 2/30c or 4/50c. The first time I bought them I talked myself up into thinking they were going to taste savoury so that I wouldn’t be disappointed if they were.

But they were just slightly sweet! Like peanut butter cookies in pancake form.
Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found peanut cakes in Malamyine. There isn’t the same level of street food culture. My eyes are on the lookout for other fried treats though.

Bad internet connections

Truly. I’m someone that can easily get sucked into the rabbit hole of the internet, or who can get in the habit of checking various feeds over and over in a cycle. Especially if I don’t have something concrete I have to do (or sometime especially when I do).

Here, I’ve detoxed. I have a very slow connection at work (<50kb/second) and only have data on my phone otherwise (though it’s faster than my work connection). Mobile data is cheap (about $2.50 for 500MB of data) but sometime there isn’t a data hot spot, or something on my phone auto syncs on something unexpected and I blast through my limit. Anyways, I’d rather spend my time and my volunteer stipend on other stuff.

However, this means I’ve been really bad about sharing what I’m up to, and especially bad about sharing photos.

One aside on the topic of internet connections. Imagine if you can a country 5 years ago, cut off, without internet for most except the richest few, and a state controlled media with rampant censorship. SIM cards cost $5000. Fast forward five years and SIM cards are less than $2, mobile is cheap, smartphones can be had for cheap too, and independent media no longer have to get government approval before they publish. All in five years. It’s crazy. From zero to smartphone nation.

[Free (and fast!) wifi upon Shwedagon, Yangon]

Google maps + iPhone

Tip: before you travel to an international destination, get on your phone and zoom all around where you plan to go. When you’re in the new country, even if you don’t use wifi or data (i.e. you have no connection whatsoever), GPS will pinpoint your location and help you find where you are/where you’re going.

Living near bus routes

It’s something I love about where I live in Vancouver too.

Yangon: Depending on how much I feel like walking, I can take the 48, 50, 51, 124, 132, 176, 188, 231, I think. And probably more that I don’t know about.

Mawlamyine: The little bus truck #5 gets me downtown. Here I can walk to work, and take a motorcycle taxi if needed. I carry my motorcycle helmet with me most places, because you never know when you’re going to end up on a motorcycle.

[The number 5 “Bus Kaa”]

Coca Cola

I drink it when I travel. It soothes my stomach. It makes greasy or spicy food go down easier. It’s an after work treat. It’s available everywhere when you need it.

Mawlamyine: I also found Snickers here! I associate Snickers with a soothed stomach, after my issues in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. I need to find more sources for Snickers though, my roommate and I bought the store out.

[Bought out the store. On the lookout for more.]

Medical insurance (thanks Cuso International!)

Being able to get my stomach problems and my torn elbows taken care of without financial worries makes the decision to take care of myself easier. (PS I’m all better now).

A full night’s sleep

My first month in Myanmar, I don’t think I ever got more than 3 hours uninterrupted sleep (I know I don’t have anything on new parents/breastfeeding mamas, but still). And then something broke after I got over my cold, and one Friday, I slept for 9 hours. And then again Saturday night. And then 7 on Sunday night. It’s like I was different person. I think it was a cooler few days that did it, because when it got warm again I slept poorly again.

In Mawlamyine things have been OK so far, even with the heat and the mosquito nets. I’m cautiously optimistic, especially as the weather is supposed to cool down a bit soon (from highs of 36 to highs of 30 or even under!)

What makes living away from home easier for you?

In this episode of the Do Good Better Podcast I talk with Allison Jones, formerly of Idealist Careers at the time of the recording, but now with NTEN. We start off our conversation talking about career and labour market trends, but then get into the juicy topics of leadership, management, vulnerability, and learning.

Listen via the website, iTunes, or Stitcher.

Links from today’s episode

• Allison Jones on Twitter (@ajlovesya)
• NTEN
• Idealist Careers
• CharityVillage
• Building Movement Project
• Ready to Lead? Next Generation Leaders Speak Out
• Working Across Generations [book] 
• The nonprofit leadership crisis we’re not talking about: Interview with Robert Egger
• The Authenticity Paradox
• Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader [book]
• Managing to Change the World [book]
• Manager Tools podcast

Note: I couldn’t find the article Allison mentioned re: 26 ways to be involved in social change without being on the streets, nor the 99U article on from manager to maker.

In this episode of the Do Good Better Podcast I talk about my new role in Myanmar (Burma), and share a conversation with Michael Lenczner of PoweredbyData on how nonprofit organizations can be thinking strategically about data at a sector level.

Resources mentioned in today’s episode:

• Michael Lenczner (@mlenc)
• Ajah // Fundtracker
• PoweredbyData
• landscape.ajah.ca
• Open Referral
• 211 (211.org // bc211 // Ontario 211)
• Charity Listings – Canada Revenue Agency (based on T3010 filiings)
• T3010 open data sets 
• Vancouver Foundation announcement on opening up their data
• Ontario Nonprofit Network data strategy
• CanadaHelps
• Association of Nonprofit and Social Economy Research
• A data strategy for BC’s nonprofit network
• MIMU – Myanmar Information Management Unit

Here’s a highlight reel featuring 7 things that have filled my first month.

Going to work

I work at Local Resource Centre, generally M-F 9-5. To use North American terminology, LRC does training for local nonprofit organizations and does policy advocacy on behalf of the nonprofit sector to the Myanmar government.

My time here is focussed on figuring out what nonprofit organizations are up to in one of the southern states (Mon state) – who’s doing what, what their training needs are, what government policies help/hinder their work. If time allows I may do more states. In future posts I’ll share some of the practice behind my work (called civil society mapping). While I’m based in Yangon right now, I’ll be moving to Mawlamyine (the capital of Mon) in a few weeks.

Most of my days involve sitting at a desk and reading or writing. A few meetings here and there (e.g. the launch of the EU-funded international aid database, based on open data, very cool!, some UNDP meetings this week). It’ll get more interactive with local organizations once I’m moved.

There are about 15 people in my office, some of whom are often away facilitating training. Lunches = sharesies! I take the public bus to and from work most days – it costs 10-20c each way, and usually about 45 total including a bit of walking.

Two hospital visits

The first was after not feeling well for a week (I’ll spare you the finer details); the doctor diagnosed giardia, which spell check oddly wants to change to Guardia. The treatment for giardia has not been a treat, and I’m still waiting to see if it sorts my health out.

The second visit was after falling down a few stairs in my house. Slippers be slippery, plus it was the morning after taking my giardia medication and I wasn’t feeling great. Blood pressure at the hospital was 87/59. I took a gash out of my arm, and while I didn’t get stitches, I’ve got the special sticky tape to keep the rip together. I’m not supposed to get it wet for 5 days and I have no idea how I’m going to pull that off with the humidity, multiple showers a day, and the rainy season. That and not bend it. I have to get a colleague to put my hair in a ponytail. It’s a challenge.

And now I have a cold, so basically this last week has sucked a lot.

Acclimatizing

The weather is consistent here, I’ll give it that. Days are 31 (feels like 38 with humidity), nights get down to 25 outside. I dread the sun, when it gets both hot and humid. I love a dreary day here. I carry an umbrella at all times as is the custom—perfect for sun or rain.

I’m not a huge fan of air-conditioning, but we have been suggested to use it a little bit each day to keep the mould away. I usually put the aircon around 27 to cool down my body and my room before I go to bed.

Rainy season is almost over, then it will be hot and drier for a month or two, and then it’ll be —YAY— cold season, where it gets a bit hotter during the day, but cools down a lot at night. Can’t wait!!

Taking Myanmar classes

I’m taking language classes every Saturday and Sunday, and am totally enjoying it, especially learning to read the letters. So far I know about 8 consonants and 3 vowel tones that sound pretty much identical, which means I know about nothing.

Going to Super Win beer station

This is the Friday night haunt for Ken (my fellow Cuso International volunteer, and roomate) and me. Mugs of draft Myanmar beer are 700 Kyat (pronounced “jat”, about 70c) and you can get almost any type of vegetable/tofu/meat BBQed. Last Friday I invited folks+friends from my language class, including Ivan from Belarus and Erika from New York, and we had a good crowd of 8 in all, coming volunteers, teachers, and telecom consultants from a total of 5 countries.

Haircut!!

This what I collect when I travel (other than art) – salon experiences! This cut is possibly my favourite cut ever—in Canada or otherwise—and it cost me 1000 Kyat (about $1). She cut it dry and then blow dried it with cold air. Not sure how that works, but I was pleased with the results. Pity it’s so sticky here and have my hair up all the time.

Digging into Myanmar life

So far I’ve been to a wedding, had lots of mohinga (a noodle soup staple), and done a lot of walking around, exploring markets and side streets and more. I’ve got to experience the horrid traffic, watch the smart phone connected young folk in their K-pop attire, and shower with a bucket of water and a cup (about 20 cups without washing my hair) when the water or power is out.

A few more photos from my first month:

And finally, a bit on the dichotomy on wealth/poverty. These last two are directly across the street from one another.

I’m heading to Myanmar (Burma) for six months. Literally on my way now (writing this from the Vancouver airport).

Out of the blue you say? Yeah, for me too. There was less than 4 weeks between accepting the offer from Cuso International and leaving the country. In the middle I’ve rented my condo, got vaccinations and the variety of health/police checks, got my foster cat adopted, spent 5 days in training in Ottawa with Cuso, visited family, and wrapped up a few non-travel things. It’s been a whirlwind.

What am I doing in Myanmar?

Doing what I do in Canada, but in a new context. While I don’t know the specifics, my volunteer role title is “Stakeholder Mapping Consultant”. I’ll be working with Local Resource Centre,a central umbrella/capacity building/hub organization to the nonprofit sector—aka civil society in Myanmar—in their new Mawlamyine office.

I’ll be researching what is going on in civil society in Mon state, the “landscape” – who’s doing what, with who, for who, to what ends, with what resources, with what skills, and with what challenges. And going from there. Or so I understand at the moment. It’s possible that my work may change once I’m there, but I’m sure it will stay in the general realm of “nonprofit sector capacity building.”

I’ll blend my skills for listening, asking good questions, facilitating, researching, and strategizing, to learn about civil society in Mon state and give that learning back to the sector.

Want to contribute to Cuso International’s work (and get good vibes and a tax receipt)? I’m trying to raise $500 before my birthday on September 9th. Donate here!

What will I continue while away?

I’ll continue my outreach re: a data strategy for BC’s nonprofit sector. It can take time for money and other assets to come together, so I’ll stay in touch with a variety of stakeholders and collaborators.

Quiet changemaker project. This will be my downtime/alone time hobby. Writing. Agent/publisher pitches.

My research agenda aka manifesto—emergent trends that I feel the nonprofit sector needs to act on. I want to increase my focus on these areas in a research and strategy capacity upon my return, so I’ll continue to network with allies and share my thinking as time allows (like I am doing with the data strategy). I’ll share this research agenda in a future post.

Staying connected. Depending on internet access, I’d like to have at least one Skype chat a week with an interesting person in order to stay connected, stay inspired, and stay informed.

What am I putting on hold?

I’m not taking on any new contracts while I’m away, but am happy to have exploratory conversations about future contracts. I’ll be back in Canada for the end of the fiscal year for Canadian government and many other clients, so I’ll be ready to jump into contract work and consulting upon my return.

Do Good Better Podcast. I hope to release the remaining interviews I’ve already conducted, but unless it fits with my work objectives in Myanmar, I won’t be spending time on it while away.

Wish me luck and health! Stay in touch—it’s a connected world, even in Myanmar.

PS. Will you donate to Cuso? It’ll take you about 5 minutes online, and you will get my gratitude and a charitable tax receipt (or my non-Canadian friends, you’ll get just get my gratitude)!

tl;dr version: There was a lot of interest, but consensus that more “meat on the bone” is needed in order for organizations to know where this could go and where they could fit in. A backbone organization and some initial financial investment are needed to take this first (and future) steps. Join the email list to be a part of future developments. 

Why a data strategy?

The nonprofit sector often struggles to gather and analyze the necessary information necessary to make optimal decisions.

Answering important questions like “Who’s working in this area? Who’s serving population X? Who else could we collaborate with? Who else is funding this work? Who has had success solving Y? What is the baseline data on issue Z?” requires a lot of tedious research, knowledge that’s not written down, or access to costly databases AND results in too many Excel spreadsheets that aren’t shared.

There is currently no organization responsible for developing a plan for nonprofit and social impact data in British Columbia, and different pieces of the puzzle (e.g. data re: fundraising, governmental relations, operations, volunteering, policy advocacy, grant-making) are held by a variety of actors.

New open data policies and practices at the municipal, provincial and federal level represent tremendous opportunities, as do new powerful and inexpensive online tools for analysis and collaboration. By creating a collaborative and coordinated data strategy we can help different stakeholders in the nonprofit sector: grassroots organizations, large agencies, volunteers, policy makers, institutional funders and donors.

The meeting

The timing was a perfect storm (a good one). I had met Michael Lenczner from PoweredbyData earlier this year and knew his work with the Ontario Nonprofit Network on this topic in that province. Michael and I chatted about collaborating on similar work in BC. Michael was planning a trip to BC. We were able to confirm a few key individuals to a specific date. And so invites went out. The rest was a question mark.

There are no natural provincial network/umbrella organizations for which a data strategy is a mission fit. We don’t have the equivalent to the Ontario Nonprofit network. I was convening as an independent consultant interested in emerging trends and issues facing the nonprofit sector. I see strategic use of data and technology as a key pillar of a healthy future nonprofit sector. So I, along with Michael, acted as convenor of nonprofit leadership in BC.

We had participation from Vancouver Foundation, United Way Lower Mainland, Vancity, bc211, Vantage Point, SFU, UBC, BoardVoice, Open Data BC, open data and social innovation leaders with the BC government, and more! I was thrilled with the RSVPs considering it was middle summer. This participant list is obviously not exhaustive of nonprofit sector leadership. It was very Vancouver-centric. But it’s a starting point.

You can see the meeting slides here (not much context if you weren’t there, but you can still check it out) and read summaries of the meeting here (my summary, PDF) and here (summary by participant Michael Davis of BoardVoice). The general consensus was one of interest a feeling that more “meat on the bone” is needed in order for organizations to know where this could go and where they could fit in. A backbone organization and some initial financial investment are needed to take this first (and future) steps.

The future

I look forward to seeing where this goes. As I emphasized at the meeting, as an independent actor I don’t have the positional/organizational authority to strategize on behalf of the nonprofit sector. Sector leadership needs to buy in and own in order for this to move forward at all. BUT I would love to play a role in bridging the BC context with strategic data thinking, and to collaborate with the thought leadership that Michael Lenczner and PoweredbyData brings to this topic.

Does data interest you? Join the email list to be a part of future development. Feel free to contact me directly if you want to chat or are interested in investing in this process.

More reading

• Ontario Nonprofit Network data strategy
• Market for Good: video // concept paper
• Open Future: Data priorities for the not-for-profit sector (Mowat Centre)

If you’re like me, not well.

A colleague/friend/mentor recently told me that he sees me as someone who has a strong vision for the future for the nonprofit sector, and that I do work with others who also want to get there. I’m out in front. I’m a sector thought leader.

I did not accept the compliments of ‘visionary’ and ‘futurist’ gracefully. He told me that while I might not see myself as a sector leader, I should not get in the way of others who see me in that light. He thought that I picture my circle of influence as much smaller than it is and could be.

Something for me to chew on. I don’t question my ability, but as an independent actor outside of the nonprofit sector institutional framework, I do question my influence at a high level sometimes. It’s not that I’m not interested in influence at a high level, but it’s not the first lens that I see my work through.

I’m a bit of a “keep your head down and work hard in service of clients and educating others” kind of person. Framing my work in a different, more expansive, light, is not something that comes instinctively.  This obviously relates back to my interest in quiet changemakers–those who do great work and have great influence irrespective of the spotlight.

A better, alternative, response my colleague’s comments might have been

Thank you, that’s very kind of you to say that.

Simply. Acknowledge. The gift.

How do you respond to professional compliments?

When others around you speak of your personal or organizational influence, does it match how you see yourself?

What’s the story others tell about you? What’s the story you tell about you? What’s the story you want others to tell about you? And are you reaching high enough?

The book is an overall guide to knowing more about yourself as an introvert, accepting yourself as an introvert, and providing tactics to build on your strengths and to know when introversion works against you. It covers all aspects of life–leadership, career, love, family–in high-level ways. Overall a very good introduction to life as an introvert for those who haven’t done a lot of self-exploration.

What works well

The language is very accessible. Where Quiet by Susan Cain can be dense and research-heavy, Success as an Introvert is light and conversational.

It covers all the main bases. As I mentioned above, it provides an overview of what being an introvert means in leadership, career, love, family, and just generally as an individual trying to make things work in an extrovert-centric world.

The author doesn’t suggest “overcoming” introversion. Some books oriented to introverts focus a lot of their advice on pushing people out of their comfort zones. Instead, Pastor focuses mostly on realities of introversion, where it works for you, when it might not, and how to use your strengths to overcome challenges.

Some great insights. My favourites include the sections “Breaking the rules — successfully” (on how introverted strengths can lead to better meeting facilitation), “When Playing the Extrovert Can Work”, and especially “Anticipating the Challenges of Leading as an Introvert”:

• People may mistake your introversion for aloofness or arrogance.
• People may mistake your introversion for a lack of self-confidence.
• You may hit “people burnout.”
• Multi-tasking can take its toll.
• You may miss some of the facts you need to know.

What doesn’t work

Success as an Introvert makes what I consider a lazy mistake when it comes to advice (on leadership especially). Rather than sharing insights that are relevant specifically to introverts, Pastor just shares general tips that are relevant to everyone, regardless of the person, and doesn’t relate it back to introversion as strongly as I think she could. She covers things like “SMART Goals” and “Creating a contract with your team” which belong in more general personal/professional leadership books.

Perhaps the author makes the assumption that people reading this book aren’t also reading other self-development books. The “For Dummies” franchise may know its audience well and this may be a strategic move, but it meant that for readers like myself who do a lot of personal development reading, I had to fight the urge to skip sections.

Overall

A great introduction. If you identify as an introvert or recently received a suggestion that you might be an introvert, but haven’t done much reading on the topic, this is a great place to start. Also a great read for managers or family members of introverts.

Unofficial off-the-top-of-my-head rating?

B+. I got it from my local library, but I may considering buying it as a resource to reference.

Maybe not in the traditional political-party-partisan-campaign-voting sort of way (well, maybe they do that, too!) but they are civically engaged in public work. Perhaps they have veered into other political acts such as protests or petitions or letters to the editor or community organizing.

I want you to consider nominating at least one of these people for the Everyday Political Citizen contest (#EPCitizen) put on by Samara Canada, a non-partisan charity promoting democracy and civic engagement.

This year I’m proud to sit on the jury of the contest with well-known Canadian personalities such as Rick Mercer, and Shad, the new host of CBC’s q. And some amazing lesser-known folk of all ages and backgrounds working to create the change they wish to see in the world.

What do I need to nominate?

Not much!

• Your and your nominee’s info: eg name, email, town, Twitter
• Nominee’s age group (<18, 18-29, >30) and photo
• 150 words on what makes your nominee a great Everyday Political Citizen

That’s about it! I’m especially interested in some great nominations from BC, so nominate someone or help me promote on social media! Just share this post on Twitter, Facebook, or your other favourite app!