Our Social Impact

Wisdom2Action is a progressive consulting firm and social enterprise. As a business, we are committed to facilitating positive change and strengthening communities every step of the way. While our clients and partners vary, our work is always shaped by our values, and by our fundamental mission: to support communities to be as healthy, happy, and safe as possible. 

Since our transformation from a federally funded knowledge mobilization network housed within Dalhousie University, to the social enterprise we are today, we have reflected on what it means to be a business, and what it means to live our values and principles not just when it’s easy or convenient, but in each and every project, with each and every client, in each and every aspect of our work.

And this is how we do it:

Community-Based Advocacy:
We dedicate organizational time and resources to supporting important advocacy initiatives, because we know that systemic issues require systemic responses. We work with community organizations and community leaders to move forward bold and progressive public policy solutions. 
Maximizing Collective Impact:
Within every project, we ask ourselves how we can help organizations and communities enhance their collective impact, within and beyond the scope of our contract. Through meaningful engagement and collaboration, we maximize impact across partners and sectors. 
Sharing Knowledge:
We don’t believe in knowledge-hoarding. We strive to mobilize resources and knowledge from our work, to as broad an audience of relevant partners and stakeholders as possible. We engage with advocacy, organizational and sectoral networks and collaborative spaces to enhance connection and access to knowledge. We all flourish when we use evidence and community knowledge to guide our work.
Honouring our team:
We know that the work of many communities and within much of the non-profit, community and social services sectors is deeply undervalued, and often unrecognized. We believe in paying people – and paying people well. We acknowledge the talents and contributions of our associates through an enabling environment.  We support their efforts to seek out opportunities in areas of their interest and facilitate the development of new skills through collaborative opportunities with others who can mentor them.
Undertaking Un-Funded Initiatives:
We do important work – even if no one is paying for it. We create resources, uplift community voices, and otherwise undertake ad-hoc projects that matter to our team and advance social justice. Through unfunded projects, we tackle key issues that matter to us and our communities. 
Sliding Scale Approach:
We know that many of our clients and partners struggle with chronic underfunding. We utilize a sliding scale to enable clients who may not be able to afford our market rate to access our services. Through discounted services for small and under-funded organizations, we reach those often unable to access consulting expertise.

Demonstrating Our Social Impact:
2019-2021 Spotlight

Advancing 2SLGBTQ+ Public Policy:
We worked with partners across Canada to respond to the 2021 federal budget from a 2SLGBTQ+ perspective. We analyzed the commitments in the 2021 budget, and proposed tangible recommendations for how Women and Gender Equality Canada (WAGE), the LGBTQ2 Secretariat and the federal government more broadly can support community-based 2SLGBTQ+ organizations. 
Advocating for a Federal Conversion Therapy Ban:
We worked to rally the Children’s Rights and Youth-Serving sectors in Canada to support the federal conversion therapy ban, bill C-6. W2A Principal Consultant Fae Johnstone has worked with trans and 2SLGBTQ+ community organizations and community leaders to advance amendments to bill C-6, to ensure it adequately protects all members of 2SLGBTQ+ communities from the harmful and traumatic practice of conversion therapy. 
Tackling Anti-Black Racism in Youth Services:
W2A Principal Consultant Lisa Lachance and Associate Don Mahleka worked together to undertake youth-led and community-driven consultations with Black youth and Black communities, to better understand the realities of anti-Black racism within the youth-serving sector, and propose recommendations for supporting Black youth to survive and thrive. 
Supporting 2SLGBTQ+ Inclusion within the City of Ottawa Women and Gender Equity Strategy (WGES):
On behalf of a coalition of 2SLGBTQ+ community organization, W2A Principal Consultant Fae Johnstone has served on the Women and Gender Equity Strategy Working Group, where she has worked to support the creation of an inclusive and action-oriented WGES.
Advancing Trans-Inclusive Feminisms:
Wisdom2Action partnered with the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity to host an International Women’s Day event focused on identifying and addressing trans-exclusionary radical feminism (TERFs) within the Canadian feminist movement. We also worked with the CCGSD and Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights to create and publicize a statement on trans inclusive feminism, anda  rejection of TERF ideologies, sign onto by more than 125 feminist organizations across Canada. 
Making an Impact in Mainstream Media:
W2A Principal Consultants Lisa Lachance and Fae Johnstone have authored op-eds and other articles for diverse publications, including the Ottawa Citizen and the Halifax Chronicle Herald, focused on 2SLGBTQ+ rights, youth mental health, and other issues important to us and the communities we work with.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Wisdom2Action acknowledges the land on which it was originally established as the traditional and unceded territory of the M’ikmaq, known as Mi’kmak’i (Nova Scotia). Our team is spread across Turtle Island (Canada) on the treaty lands of many First Nations. We recognize the people and the land in this way as part of our commitment to anti-oppression and decolonization. We are all treaty people.

Contact Info

Quick Links

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Instagram Twitter Youtube Linkedin Envelope

Stay Connected

Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with our work.