Top 10 for 2006

PIVOT Legal Society

Issue Areas: affordable housing and homelessness, addiction, policing, sex work, child apprehension
Geographical Footprint: Vancouver, British Columbia

Pivot is the internationally-recognized human rights advocate for the marginalized of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside–Canada’s poorest community. Pivot’s excellent leadership and volunteers have been very effective in advancing change on key social justice issues with their root-cause targeted legal advocacy and media strategy.

Oxfam Canada

Issue Areas: poverty and famine, fair trade, international community development
Geographical Footprint: Global

Oxfam’s success in combining direct grassroots initiatives with international public policy deserves praise and recognition. They work against the root causes of famine, provide tools to enable people to become self-supporting, and are a worldwide leader in fair-trade advocacy.

YWCA Toronto (Housing and Shelter Programs and Services)

Issue Areas: affordable housing, shelter for women
Geographical Footprint: Toronto

Hands down, YWCA Toronto is a Canadian leader in developing and providing safe affordable housing and free shelter accommodation for girls and women.

Tamarack

Issue Areas: community engagement, community building
Geographical Footprint: Canada

Based in Ontario and working across Canada, Tamarack helps Canadian communities take ownership of their issues by making use of proven strategies for community engagement. Tamarack’s "Vibrant Communities" is a unique effort to reduce poverty in Canada that allows communities to learn from — and help — each other. This wonderful initiative links up to 15 communities from British Columbia to Newfoundland in a collective effort to test the most effective ways to reduce poverty at the grassroots level.

Renaissance

Issue Areas: professional reintegration, anti-poverty, fair trade waste diversion, environmental stewardship
Geographical Footprint: Montreal, Quebec

A fascinating example of social enterprise. Profits from Renaissance’s chain of Montreal-based second hand stores called “Fripe-Prix”, and from “Simpli-City Renaissance” which sells both consignment and new fair-trade clothing, go to fulfilling its mission for the professional and social reintegration of people having difficulties joining the labour market and the promotion of a commitment by each individual to protect the environment. Renaissance diverts over 6 million pounds of used goods from landfills every year and has excellent track record for skills training.

United We Can Bottle Depot

Issue Areas: professional reintegration, anti-poverty, waste diversion, recycling
Geographical Footprint: Vancouver, British Columbia

Another great example of social enterprise which has generated full time jobs, many for people with barriers to re-entering the workforce, while handling the recycling millions of containers each year. They have also plowed millions into the local economy via refunds on returned empties.

Roasted Cherry Coffee House

Issue Areas: youth education, youth-run and focused social enterprise
Geographical Footprint: Ottawa, Ontario

A coffee house with a difference…run and managed by a local not-for-profit charitable organization "New Beginnings for Youth", the Roasted Cherry provides an entrepreneurial training ground for youth. All proceeds from sales, catering, and tips are returned to the community in support of youth leadership, development and the advancement of education.

Environmental Defence

Issue Areas: greening cities, pollution, toxic waste, saving species
Geographical Footprint: Canada

Over the past 22 years, Environmental Defence has been at the forefront of Canada’s environmental movement and has won many significant victories that have helped ensure a clean, healthy future for Canadians.

Saltwater Network

Issue Areas: ocean conservation, community development, grassroots coalition-building
Geographical Footprint: Nova Scotia, Bay of Fundy Region, Gulf of Maine, U.S.A

A community-based marine management approach adopted by fishermen’s organizations, local conservation and other community groups as a response to the economic, social and environmental crisis brought on by overfishing, privatization and overexploitation of the Gulf of Maine region. It links grassroots fishermen organizations to international movements. Considering the size and complexity of the region it serves, Saltwater Network’s model is remarkably innovative.

Tides Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest Fund

Issue Areas: forest conservation, First Nations cultures, biodiversity, eco-system based management
Geographical Footprint: North and Central British Columbia

Last but not least, one of our own. The Great Bear Rainforest (GBR) is an extraordinary large-scale and science-based conservation model of global significance. We are proud to lead the national fundraising initiative to help ensure a healthy future for the GBR. It is a unique solution that will integrate protection of one-third of the area’s rainforests, development of a conservation economy for First Nations, and transformation of unsustainable logging practices outside the protected areas.