As 2022 ends, we wanted to feature a guest blog post written by Arnab Majumdar, our Development Officer at the Fund. In this post he discusses his role at the Fund, his motivations for joining it, the promise of the organization, and what we have learned together this year.

Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been fortunate to support the Greenpeace Canada Education Fund as a Development Officer. In this role, I seek connections between prospective individual donors and foundation partners and our new and burgeoning programs at the Fund. I help nurture connections, collaborate with Greenpeace Canada to develop projects aligned with our research and education mandate, develop funding proposals, craft (hopefully!) creative content that communicates what we are trying to achieve to our stakeholders, and develop working processes and systems as a young charity aiming to be agile, inclusive, and transparent in everything that we do. 

I joined the Fund after years of (steady) disenchantment working in project management and fundraising in the global non-profit sector, primarily in public health. While I often loved the work and my colleagues, I found myself bursting with questions about the way we did things. Were we actually responsive to community needs? How inclusive were we? Did our processes and ways of working match our vision? Was the work truly sustainable in its impact by contributing to local capacity building and ownership? 

Over the pandemic, I became a lead activist with the group “Decolonise MSF”, a grassroots movement of current and former Doctors Without Borders staff aiming to improve and reform the organization’s governance and operational framework. I also accepted a board position with the Toronto Organizational Development Network (TODN), a professional resource for OD practitioners from multiple disciplines and sectors across Canada. 

What attracted me to the Fund was the opportunity to contribute to something new. Environmental justice and education intersect with multiple social justice fronts, including access to health care and anti-discrimination. Many of my previous employers were also committed to these goals but were weighed down by history – existing processes and ways of working, established bureaucratic structures from decades ago –  both contributing to a sense of institutional resistance to an agile, responsible, and participatory approach to social justice work. Working with the Greenpeace Canada Education Fund has allowed me to put into practice what I’ve learned through my own activism, research work, and self-reflection, as well as the knowledge that I’ve gained from connecting with so many talented coaches, learning and development  experts, and performance management leaders these past two years. I can apply my learnings because the Fund is new and developing its vision; because our management, board, and collaborators at Greenpeace Canada are thoughtful and committed to Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Safety (JEDIS) principles, climate justice, and new ways of working; and because of the generosity of donors like you who are supporting us during a critical moment of our nascence and development. At a time when environmental education is so critical to the wider environmental and social justice movement (not to mention public health), I am doubly fortunate to support an organization that connects my interests together and makes me optimistic about working in the charitable sector again.  

Not everything this year has been easy at the Fund. Sometimes we have moved more slowly than we would like. We understand that we must commit to the hard work and steady progress necessary to define and develop research initiatives that match an emerging need and connect to our competencies and skills. We have taken time to reflect on existing environmental education programs and have undertaken a significant assessment of the need for and the approach to a future educational offering that would effectively engage youth and support teachers, local communities, and collaborating partners.

I am deeply grateful to have seen this community grow and develop this past year. Your support empowers and inspires us as we continue to build this young charity thoughtfully and organically. 

Thank you for being there with us. Wishing you and your loved ones a very happy holiday season. 

P.S. If you’d like to support us, consider a monthly or one-time donation here.

With Warmest Wishes,

Arnab