Ashley Pardy-Serre is the Director of Development for Team Rubicon Canada, which unites skilled military veterans with first responders to serve disaster-affected communities here and abroad. She has 10 years of experience in non-profit leadership, and currently holds two Masters degrees, one in International Development and the other from Carleton University’s MPNL program.
How has your sector adapted since the COVID-19 crisis started?
I’ve continued to work steadily, if not more, since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis. Our team at TRC, a disaster-response organization, has found new ways to serve communities to help reduce the spread of the virus and continue with our mission. The challenge we face, which is not unique to our organization, is how do we continue to fundraise with restricted travel and without in-person events? The absence of these traditional networking opportunities and personal touchpoints with donors has prompted us to re-evaluate how we communicate and has forced us to consider new platforms for engagement.
Can you explain a success story in terms of adapting to the COVID-19 crisis in your sector?
The sector-specific data and resources that Imagine Canada and CanadaHelps have published continue to help us better understand that we aren’t alone in this struggle and that charities across the country are growing as a result of having to rethink traditional fundraising practice. While society continues to adapt to its new normal, I encourage charities to embrace the discomfort and see this as an opportunity to grow through innovation.
Ashley Pardy-Serre is on LinkedIn and Team Rubicon is on Facebook and Twitter. Photo is courtesy of Team Rubicon Canada.
