Fundraising for charities is an essential necessity as the bloodstream for humans. Throughout the Canadian charitable landscape, many charities are still living in the past and trying to raise funds the old way, as they have done back in the 1990s. However, the world of philanthropy and fundraising has evolved so much since then. Enter “Pounce Support Services™.” This gangbuster firm was established in February 2020 by its founder Kathleen (Kat) Mooney, a superlative professional fundraising and communications consultant who has served the sector for over two decades. "I wanted to create a company where we could make a difference on multiple levels by helping each other succeed," Kat explains eloquently. The name of the business was inspired by a quote of Sigmund Freud: “Success comes to those who pounce on it.” Pounce Support Services™ seizes fundraising and communications opportunities for their clients by ‘pouncing’ on it; not in the form of prey but in the form of being the first one to seek out that opportunity to be front and center and to work with their clients where they can help them. The team of expert consultants working with Kat are fierce advocates who empower nonprofit organizations, charities, small business, and entrepreneurs who need help. Pounce Support Services™ helps nonprofit organizations that are interested in fundraising support with donor acquisition, retention, recognition, and stewardship. Their wide array of services includes providing fund development services to organizations all over Canada, such as: one-on-one team coaching, developing fund development plans based on each organization's missions, goals and needs; as well as writing annual reports, direct mail campaigns, building automated email campaigns, digital fundraising and marketing campaigns, case for support creation, crowdfunding campaigns, grant writing, and planned giving also known as legacy giving. In addition, their services can expand to create and generate publicity and newsworthy stories, for organizations that don't have large budgets for advertising, and one of their amazing services is that they can work with clients to develop a philanthropic culture for the client’s organization. Running an organization successfully is a mammoth challenge, in many cases small to medium size nonprofits, and businesses, cannot afford hiring full time skilled professionals. To surmount that challenge, Pounce Support Services™ provide a ‘Fractional CMO,’ and ‘Fractional FDO,’ service. Simply put, a Fractional CMO is having a fractional Chief Marketing Officer or a fractional Fund Development Officer to help an organization increase and diversify its return on marketing/fundraising spend through the digitization of fundraising and marketing strategies, team development, implementation management, donor acquisition, and organizational capacity building. The organization gets executive experience without the full-time cost. While the primary target market of Pounce Support Services™ is nonprofits and charities, they also provide professional business support services to new entrepreneurs, small businesses, and medium size corporations. Since they have been in the fundraising and communication trenches for decades, they have worked with limited budgets, and have always had to do more with less. So, they are creative, experienced, and multifaceted, as well as multilingual. At the end, Kat had excellent advice for other small business owners and entrepreneurs, which she learned from John Mooney, her father’s work ethics: “Do what you love, because you're going to be doing it for a long time” and “Do what you love, and the money will follow.” "Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind, and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open." -- B. K. S. Iyengar Dr. Candice Staniek (ND) is a huge advocate for health and wellness as she recognizes that health is at the centre of every activity of life. Naturopathic medicine has 6 core principles: 1) first do no harm 2) the healing power of nature 3) treat the cause 4) doctor as teacher 5) treat the whole person and 6) prevention. Underlying these core principles is the belief in the VIS (veece); the body’s innate ability to heal. Dr. Candice (ND) has studied over 800 hours in natural medicine modalities, which includes: nutrition, counselling, physical medicine, herbal medicine, and homeopathy. She has extended visits which allows her to gather information about the patient’s progression of symptoms which helps to information a customized treatment plan. The primary focus of her practice is with professional & entrepreneurial women between the age of 35 to 55, who are suffering from fatigue, hormone imbalances, infections, or mood imbalances, such as anxiety or depression. But obviously, it is not limited to women only, and everyone is welcome. Naturopathic doctors strive to identify the origin of the problem and create a holistic approach for the patients. Dr. Candice (ND) provides in-person services, where individuals would go through their detailed history and physical exam. Further diagnostic testing is conducted through laboratory testing which includes hormones, food sensitivities, vitamin D testing to name a few. Dr. Candice (ND) advises entrepreneurs to honour themselves and consider the importance of their health to all areas of life: "As a solopreneur, we're trying to do all things. Sometimes that means we might put ourselves last. I would encourage individuals to get enough sleep and to de-stress so that they can provide their services and mission to the best of their ability."
The alluring beauty that nature offers often is captivated by the lens of many photographers. That's usually how all of us get a view of the serene and breathtaking views of nature and wildlife. Not many of us think of giving back to nature though; instead, and in many cases, we are guilty of harming it rather than preserving it.
Few special people, however, like Keltie and Stan Masters, co-founders of “Back to Nature Apparel” not only love nature but have also dedicated their lives and careers to passionately preserving nature and its wildlife for future generations. “Sadly, more and more people are needing some of nature's therapy so we hope to be able to offer a bit of that by bringing it into their homes, so they too can be surrounded by its beauty and therapeutic benefits.” states Keltie passionately. What started as a gift trip for their anniversary turned into their biggest life changing event. This dynamic-duo husband and wife are passionate wildlife explorers, and when Stan decided to surprise Keltie with an anniversary nature exploration trip to Churchill-Manitoba to watch the majestic Canadian polar bear in its natural habitat in 2013, and then there was no stopping them, and their new lifelong mission of giving back to nature was born. Their passion for exploring nature continued, and so did their wildlife photography. As much as the Masters enjoyed the wildlife beauty and polar bears in their natural habitat, they were extremely saddened to learn that these magnificent creatures are starving because of the changing environment. That is when they pledged to make giving back to nature through their camera’s lens their full-time business. The genesis of the business was not to earn a fortune, rather to donate a significant portion of the revenues to wildlife rehab organizations to help preserve wildlife. “We realized that every little bit helps, and we thought we need to do something to help make a difference.” As Stan puts it succinctly. They say, ‘when you invest in nature, nature returns even more’. This is what happened to this dynamic-due. Soon enough, they were approached by organizations to do wildlife photography for them. When they launched their own apparel line imprinted with awe-inspiring pictures of wildlife, it became an instant success. Customers felt connected to nature and wildlife, through the “Unique Wearable Works of Art” which are stunning and therapeutic at the same time. When COVID-19 slumped the economy and wholesalers cancelled orders, this resilient couple opened their own Shopify e-commerce store to sell their gorgeous apparel. When customers started requesting face masks imprinted with the beautiful photos, they obliged, despite their initial skepticism. To their surprise, the wildlife imprinted masks become hostellers in no time. True to their mission, their significant business success, was paralleled with a significant increase in their donations to wildlife rehab centers. They even started a fundraiser for wildlife with their hot-selling masks, and their sales exploded. Their goal is to reach $10,000 per year in donations to wildlife rehab centers, and with the universe by their side, surely they can achieve this goal soon enough. The Masters are always looking for more organizations to help raise money for through their various nature inspired fundraisers, therefore, if you know of such an organization that could benefit from their help, please contact them. Mother nature will thank you dearly for it. The Back to Nature Apparel line sells various “Unique Wearable Works of Art” such as leggings, kimono robes, scarves, handbags, accessories, and wall décors. All imprinted with stunning wildlife photos taken by the Masters’ cameras. Their advice to budding businesses: “When business grows large enough, hire outside help. Don't do everything yourself, because you'll just burn yourself out. If you can't afford it, look for options to help supplement those expenses. There is lending options, grants, etc.”
They say, ‘if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life’. However, most of us are not fortunate enough to make our income out of what we love to do. Maybe we don't have enough resources and opportunities, or perhaps we lack an accurate and direct guidance source. Enters the ‘2nd Floor Podcast’ by partnering founders Kenny Bhullar and Omid Qaderi. With the motto 'to survive and thrive,' these young and talented entrepreneurs started this unique new venture in 2018. While the concept of podcasts is not new, however, the idea and objectives behind their podcasts are new, creative and refreshing. Kenny is a marketing specialist and very much a people’s person, while Omid is an ardent and skilled videographer. By combining their skills, they developed this life-changing mix, for themselves as well as their listeners. Omid and Kenny interview successful entrepreneurs, influencers, C-suite executives, leaders of industry, athletes, and many other thought leaders in various fields, and broadcast their stories aiming to provoke thought changing processes with university students and graduates, in the hope that leads them to convert their passions into rewarding careers. "We pretty much provide individuals with the necessary ideas, tools, and strategies that need to happen and how they need to happen, to ensure that they are able to navigate their career path in the right direction." The stories provide listeners with tips, ideas, tactics, and strategies to empower them in maximizing their potential and monetizing their passions in life. Their target audiences are young university students and graduates who have abundance of high hopes and spirits, and many aspirations for the future but do not know where to start. These ambitious young people require the proper guidance to nudge them into the right direction of pursuing their own passions, as managing life can be quite challenging in the beginning. The broadcasted stories positively impact these young and fresh minds and provide inspirations, as they resonate with the content. Although young, but 2nd Floor Podcast has already achieved some significant milestones in two and a half years. Kenny and Omid are rapidly gaining momentum and celebrity in the podcasting space. Their videos now air on TV, aiming to help young people convert their passions into rewarding careers. They collaborated with TELUS, and they helped RBC get the word out for a major project of Canada’s largest bank. They partnered up with Jeff Boyed, the president of RBC Alberta, and the Northwest Territories, and got to highlight his personal story alongside with what his mission is with a future launch for RBC. This unique interview was carried out in a trickle release episodes method and was launched across RBC’s Western Canada division. Their effective method of gaining clients is by making their clients feel very comfortable and come off as raw authentic as possible. And their stories are motivating enough to be shared with everyone. What started originally as a podcast has now evolved into a storytelling experience for many different people who want to get the message out there about their life or their business. Their pride and joy is the fact that they are able to successfully connect individuals with each other. While there are many motivational podcasts out there, the 2nd Floor Podcasts make theirs more connecting and resonating. They keep things transparent and deliver their client's message with full authenticity. Omid summarized his advice to other business owners: 'Having a strong digital presence right now is very important. Businesses need to create authentic digital content.” As for Kenny’s advice: “Know your audience. You're going to make your clients’ lives easier when you have a deeper understanding of who is going to benefit from your product and service.” Happiness, good times, and great memories are often associated with delicious food. Everybody loves food that makes taste buds delighted. The Gourmet Pantry by Priyanka Malhotra is adding some zing to your meals by converting simple everyday meals into exotic cuisine. Priyanka got the idea of starting The Gourmet Pantry business in her kitchen. Officially started in December 2020, The Gourmet Pantry offers more authentic, and more flavors to your food. She believes that food is the medium through which we speak and describe our passion. When we prepare our food, all fancy and delectable, no matter how many times you have tasted it earlier, you love it the moment you see it creatively transformed. Small things together make significant changes, like the ingredients that you put into your food. It is the simplest of ingredients that could make the magical transformation to your table. You really don't need to go out to big brand restaurants searching for taste, flavors, and presentation. You can have that quality time with your family. The Gourmet Pantry is very good at creating dishes from locally procured food products and food items made by family-run businesses in small batches. The aroma and flavor of the food do not get lost on the way before it reaches your table. They just convert your simple pantry with few products into gourmet art. They produce various food products, flavors, and seasonings that they've been trying in their own private kitchen. Their main specialty is combining locally procured fresh food products that are native to their regions with passion. Their lovely customer care and service is what makes them special and reliable. The food production of the pantry gets excellent feedback from their loyal and repeat customers. Whether it's infused maple syrup, relish, or their exquisite jams, their entire range has got exceptional reviews and great accolades. The Gourmet Pantry is an online store that delivers your favorite food. They are enthusiastic about food, loves trying new things, enjoys inventing new dishes with the simplest of ingredients available. The business markets their products through social media platforms and continuously improve its deals and promotion to give their customers quality and delicious food that is fresh and well presented to enjoy at their events, dinners, and parties. They are evolving with confidence and hope that food lovers would choose their favorites from The Gourmet Pantry. |
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September 2022
Courtesy of Alberta Chambers of Commerce
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