< PreviousW ealth has long been weaponized, creating divisions based on social class and excluding Indigenous Peoples from having a seat at the table. To shift the narrative and usher in true economic reconciliation, money needs to be used as medicine and matrilineal ways need to be restored. We spoke with Sage Lacerte, Founder & CEO of Sage Initiative, about how this collective is accelerating the rematriation of the Indigenous economy by supporting Indigenous womxn in the impact investment space. What was the “spark” that fi rst inspired you to start Sage Initiative? As my mentor, Carol Anne Hilton, CEO and Founder of Th e Indigenomics Institute, says, “We are living in a time of Indigenous economic resur- gence.” Sage Initiative was founded in 2019 and was an expression of love for all my relations, for Mother Earth, humans, and non-human beings. Th e “spark” that fi rst inspired me to start Sage Initiative was when I learned more about how rich our Indigenous economy is and the realization that we are currently witnessing a generational shift in action and mindset toward a resurgence of Indigenous concepts of commerce. I asked, how can the impact investment sector contribute to the betterment of Indigenous communities in Canada? How can more Indigenous womxn take a seat at the economic table? How can impact investors participate in economic reconciliation and make val- ues-aligned investments in Indigenous women and Two-Spirit–owned businesses? Despite the growth in impact investing in Canada, Indigenous communities and businesses have stated that access to capital remains a signif- icant impediment. Attracting patient capital for Indigenous-led businesses requires work on both sides: investors must familiarize themselves with potentially new business models, and entrepre- neurs must be able to build their network, be will- ing to build partnerships, and showcase their work. In our matrilineal societies, the matriarchs decide what the needs are of the community. So, by becoming investors, we are healing. Th at’s very central to the work of decolonizing, and it’s very central to the way that Indigenous commerce systems have worked for a very long time. We want to shift the narrative because the systems of capitalism use wealth as a tool to divide people based on social class, and that system was not built with Indigenous people in mind. We are restoring our balance within ourselves and with the land. We are decolonizing wealth and restoring money as medicine. Th is innovation brings an Indigenous approach to wealth. Circular in nature, our interwoven pedagogy introduces technical investing skills and practices with a balanced approach to investment that equally values social, environmental, and eco- nomic benefi ts. Th is is my chosen mechanism to promote intergenerational wealth and prosperity. Sage Initiative Building a pathway for Indigenous womxn impact investors 20 MAKE THE WORLD BETTER MAGAZINESage Initiative has set the precedent for Indigenous womxn in impact investment globally. Sage Initiative facts ■ Sage Initiative is a national network of Indigenous womxn impact investors — the fi rst and only Indigenous womxn’s impact investing collective in Canada. ■As part of the program, the collective of Indigenous womxn investors commit to investing between $1,000 and $50,000 (either alone or as partners) in these businesses. ■ Impact investments are long-term commitments, often spanning 10–15 years, allowing capital to create lasting change. ■As with the rest of the impact investing market in Canada, the number of products for Indigenous-focused impact investing is quite low. There are zero Indigenous-owned businesses on the Toronto Stock Exchange or Indigenous mutual funds. Sage Initiative presents an opportunity for impact investors to invest in Indigenous-owned social purpose businesses. ■ Many Indigenous womxn entrepreneurs have diffi culty fi nding Indigenous womxn business mentors. Sage Initiative ensures that their circle of cousins is treated with dignity and respect in a culturally and gender- affi rming environment where knowledge is reciprocal and accessible. ■Visit sageinitiative.ca/apply DECEMBER 2023 • ISSUE 06 21The images were taken by Katie Iacobellis at the Sage Initiative Harvest in Summer . Photographed are members of Sage Initiative Indigenous Womxn Impact Investment Collective. What do you consider to be your biggest success? Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you? Sage Initiative was chosen as one of the fi rst selected projects of the highly innovative program, the Indigenous Innovation Initiative. One of the largest impact-fi rst in- vestors in Canada, Grand Challenges Canada (GCC) has supported a pipeline of over 1,300 innovations in 106 countries. Th e Indigenous Innovation Initiative (I3) is the fi rst GCC program delivered in Canada with a focus on innovations led by Indigenous womxn innovators. Th e 10 selected projects have created impact across diverse areas, such as pre- and post-natal health, sustainable beauty, human sex traffi cking and sex exploitation, and food sovereignty and sustainability. As a result of this support, Sage Initiative has set the precedent for Indigenous womxn in impact investment globally. Th is year, Sage Initiative will host our third cohort of 15 Indigenous womxn impact investors and begin our journey transitioning to scale across Canada. Our great successes this year have been hosting our fi rst Sage Initiative Harvest Ceremony in Victoria, British Columbia, where members of cohorts 1 and 2 gathered for a week of cere- mony and refl ection to provide mean- ingful evaluation for the Initiative. We also hosted two pitch events featuring Indigenous womxn–owned businesses from across Canada, including Chelsee Pettit from ᐋᓃᓐ aaniin retail inc., ENB Artisan, and Th e Yukon Soaps Company. We have graduated two cohorts of Indigenous womxn impact investors from Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver, Tofi no, Squamish, Edmonton, Burns Lake, Nanaimo, Halifax, and many more. In our evaluation, investors have reported: ■“Sage Initiative has allowed me to think much further into my future with more intention and critical thinking. I’ve adopted an intergenerational mindset when it comes to money, whether that ends up being my own children and grandchildren, or simply youth as a whole that deserve this knowledge and to be continuously uplifted.” - Sage Initiative participant ■“It's transferred to other aspects of my life — when I stopped getting dopamine fi xes from online shopping, I've traded it for kickboxing routines three times per day. I see my health as an investment now.” - Sage Initiative participant ■“As a result of Sage Initiative, I have given myself permission to spend without feeling guilty or anxious.” - Sage Initiative participant ■“My views have been completely altered since I myself have become an investor after being a part of Sage Initiative. I now see potential in everyone to be an investor especially the people and Indigenous people that will do good and be inclusive with their investments.”- Year 2 participant ■“I feel worthy of money now. Money always felt unattainable. I never thought it would come into fruition for me.” - Year 1 participant ■“I met investors who had a good heart and were just everyday people, not necessarily working in a bank. Investors can be my aunties, my cousins, my family.” - Year 1 participant We have also found that: ■100% of Sage Initiative participants feel ready to make an investment. ■100% of Sage Initiative participants have made an investment since joining the collective. ■80% feel they could now be a successful social impact investor. ■Not only did our program create the trauma-informed safety conditions to create belonging for participants, 95% of Sage participants said they felt belonging in the Indigenous Impact Investor community. 22 MAKE THE WORLD BETTER MAGAZINE1. LGBT Capital. (2020). Estimated LGBT Purchasing Power: LGBT-GDP. How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better? Sage focuses on Indigenous-owned sustainable energy projects, underscoring the urgent need to address environmental concerns alongside social impact. Financial capital alone is insuffi cient. We emphasize the importance of social capital, community connections, gift economy, and entrepreneurial mindset. We facilitate access to fi nancial resources, networks, and mentorship. Th e Initiative aims to empower Indigenous women and non-binary individuals to feel a sense of belonging in the impact investment land- scape. We work to transcend the current investment paradigm which privileges androcentric and extractivist worldviews. Creating a seat at the economic table for Indigenous women, two-spirit, non-bi- nary folks is deeply important to me. Th e purchasing power of the queer communi- ty is signifi cant. Th e entire venture capital industry is led by white cisgender males, and because of that there is an implicit bias. 2SLGBTQIA+ founders are routinely overlooked and undervalued. Many mem- bers of the queer community relate to each other with feelings of longing to be- long and feeling out of place in heteronor- mative environments. Not only are we looking to support Indigenous founders, but building on this demographic, it is important to defi ne a 2SLGBTQIA+ lens in our impact investment thesis. Roughly 2 million people in Canada identify as 2SLGBTQIA+, collectively spending $90 billion per year.1 I want to role model what it looks like for a queer Indigenous woman to stand at the forefront of innovation in the Indigenous impact investment landscape. What are some of the challenges you typically face in building out your audience? My personal journey and academic back- ground in gender policy shaped the design of Sage Initiative. Instead of perpetuating the Western-centric approach preva- lent in mainstream fi nance education, I recognized the importance of honouring Indigenous epistemology and creating a curriculum rooted in Indigenous concepts of commerce. I did not want anyone in the indus- try to assume that Indigenous womxn’s success is due to our gender but rather our skills and competence. I have also faced racism. Economic reconciliation will look like white people being comfortable with Indigenous peo- ple’s wealth. Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you'd like to share? Sage Initiative is planning to launch our third impact investment cohort of 15 Indigenous womxn impact investors in September 2024. We plan to transition to scale in 2024 as well, with cohorts across Canada widely available to Indigenous and non-Indigenous folks! How can people help support your mission? We invite Indigenous womxn to apply to Sage Initiative. If you would like to lend your expertise and lived experience, join Sage Initiative`s national network as a mentor. We also encourage you to buy Indigiqueer-owned products and services, educate yourself on colonization and how to engage in reconciliation, and create space at the economic table for equity-de- serving communities. sageinitiative.ca linkedin.com/company/sage-initiative instagram.com/sageinitiative_ (@sageinitiative_) linktr.ee/sageinitiative youtube.com/@SageInitiative DECEMBER 2023 • ISSUE 06 23S ometimes reading the news feels like wading through a mire, with no bright stories to interrupt the gloom. Curated, constructive news stories are needed to bring readers onto solid ground, shed light on solutions, and off er a much- needed reprieve. We spoke with Jonathan Widder, Founder of Squirrel News, about how this application is sharing solutions-oriented stories and innovative approaches to help readers face today’s challenges with hope and clarity. What was the “spark” that inspired you to start creating Squirrel News content? Since 2015, I’d known about the ideas of constructive journalism and solutions journalism, and had dealt with these approaches in various projects. I saw how much readers longed for these kinds of stories but also how diffi cult it was for them to get a quality news digest of new solutions and societal progress. So, when the time came and my former job ended, I decided to take things into my own hands and founded an independent non- profi t to provide this news digest with my own team. Squirrel News Nourishing readers with solutions-oriented stories 24 MAKE THE WORLD BETTER MAGAZINEWhat do you consider to be your biggest success? Can you share any stories of the impact your work has had that have surprised you? A few months after our launch, German national TV paid us a visit at home — as, everything else was closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic — and a month later, an Emmy-winning comic, actor, and screenwriter from Los Angeles contacted us and eventually became the co-host of our new podcast. At the same time, I was elected as a LEDE fellow with the Solutions Journalism Network. In a survey we conducted earlier this year, our readers stated that reading Squirrel News improves their mental well-being and helps them to make sense of the world. But the most surprising moment hap- pened on our podcast when we interviewed a researcher and activist for open prisons from India: prisons without walls, wardens, and guns. She was an expert on the topic and had successfully lobbied for a spread of these prisons across India — but when we asked her whether she knew the very similar prison model in Brazil, it turned out that she didn’t. We were able to make her aware of that, so she could connect, exchange, and potentially join forces with the activists in Brazil. How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better? It feels good to provide something that many people are looking for and to regularly have readers thank you for it. You defi nitely have the feeling that you’re on the right side of the world, and it’s a good and probably also important feeling to contribute to solu- tions and not to problems. What are some of the challenges you typically face in creating content or building out your audience? I guess in our digital era it’s just diffi cult to get people’s attention, as there are so many diff erent media outlets, organizations, and other people diff using information — established media, news outlets, blogs, social media, and so on. Th en, of course, there’s our very tight budget. We started things without any investors or big funding, so it’s always diffi cult to fi nd the necessary resources to spread the word about our work. Are there any upcoming initiatives or projects you'd like to share? We just released the fi rst major update of our mobile app since its inception, where we’ve made several major improvements and added a number of features to make using Squirrel News even more fun. Now we're working on a funny and quite unique format to present our news in TikTok and Instagram videos. How can people help support your mission? People can read our news on our mobile app, newsletter, or website; spread the word about Squirrel News, both online and offl ine; and support us with recurring donations to make sure we can continue our work. Bonus: Why did you choose the name Squirrel News? I thought a squirrel is a good symbol for what we do, as we collect solutions-focused news, just as a squirrel collects nuts. Apart from that, I was looking for something more entertaining than those usual dry names with three letters. I had the impression that many journalists take themselves a bit too seriously — even though they often do important work — so the squirrel is also an antidote against that. Squirrel News Podcast On the Squirrel News Podcast, Jonathan Widder, Squirrel News Founder, and Ed Crasnick, an Emmy- winning writer and comic from Los Angeles, welcome guests who are changing the world for the better. Give it a listen: squirrel-news.net/podcast. squirrel-news.net facebook.com/squirrelnews twitter.com/squirrelnews_en (@squirrelnews_en) linkedin.com/company/ squirrel-news instagram.com/squirrelnews (@squirrelnews) newsie.social/ @squirrelnews_en Plus, be sure to check out the Squirrel News app: available on the App Store and Google Play Store. In a survey we conducted earlier this year, our readers stated that reading Squirrel News improves their mental well-being and helps them to make sense of the world. Jonathan Widder, Founder DECEMBER 2023 • ISSUE 06 25AMPLIFIERS ProblemProgress In today’s noisy world, it’s difficult for changemakers to gain attention and grow their impact. Nearly 5 billion people worldwide use social media, 1 individuals average 151 minutes on social media daily, 2 and the social media advertising market is expected to reach US$207 billion in 2023. 3 Internet users are constantly confronted with ads and distractions, so it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. Despite the noise, users are engaging with the causes they believe in and supporting brands, influencers, and initiatives. Sources: 1. Demand Sage 2. Statista 3. Statista A whopping 90% of social media users follow brands online, 1 with 76% saying that have purchased something they saw on social media, 2 and 50% of Millennials trust product recommendations from social media influencers. 3 26 MAKE THE WORLD BETTER MAGAZINEFACTS Sources: 1. Instagram 2. Retail TouchPoints 3. Morning Consult This proves that changemakers have the power to break through distractions and reach the right audience — especially when folks help amplify and share their stories. DECEMBER 2023 • ISSUE 06 27S ustainable living helps fi ght climate change and build a better world, but the journey can often feel overwhelming and discouraging. To keep people motivated, it’s important to apply a creative, intersectional lens, providing encouragement, expertise, and a touch of levity, so everyone can make big and small changes in their lives. We spoke with Jessie Johnston, Founder, Publisher, and Editrix-in-Chief of Asparagus Magazine, about how this publication is using storytelling to inspire and support a community of readers determined to live sustainably. What was the “spark” that inspired you to start creating Asparagus Magazine content? I founded Asparagus in 2018 because it was the magazine I wanted to read but just couldn’t fi nd. Despite my passion for the environment and social justice, I mostly read maga- zines focused on other subjects. My favourite was Wired, a publication that brings together in-depth report- ing, excellent writing, practical tips, and big-picture thinking, all woven through with a refreshing thread of irreverence. When I fi rst dreamed up Asparagus, there seemed to be two major trends in storytelling about sustainability: articles were either focused on small consumer choic- es, with guidance that was easy to digest but often not backed up by reliable evidence, or they were evidence-based examinations of big issues that were heavy and depressing to read. Sometimes people want to un- derstand a complex systemic issue, and sometimes they just need help picking toilet paper. My goal was to create a place where skilled writers could tell both the large and small stories of how we can live sustainably and tell them in a way that took the issues seriously without taking ourselves too seriously. Th e “Wired of green,” as it were. Readers can care about the environment and social justice, and also want a break from the dread of 21st century living. So, from the very beginning, Asparagus has been a publication that values humour and creativity as highly as we value rigorous fact-checking and an inter- sectional worldview. Asparagus Magazine Inspiring audiences with sustainable storytelling Left to Right: Asparagus Vancouver- area team members Aniana Dominguez, Christine Fwu, Jessie Johnston (holding dearly departed Feline-In-Chief Millicent), Alia Dharssi, Zohra Shahabuddin, Daina Lawrence, and Sun Woo Baik at a rare in-person gathering in . Photo credit: Sun Woo Baik 28 MAKE THE WORLD BETTER MAGAZINEWhat do you consider to be your biggest success? Our biggest success was winning the award for British Columbia Magazine of the Year at the 2022 Alberta Magazine Awards. For a publication as small as ours, receiving that recognition from our peers was meaningful and inspiring. We’re also thrilled that an ini- tiative we’re a collaborator on — the Climate Disaster Project1 — has been nominated in the Engagement category of the 2023 Covering Climate Now Journalism Awards. It’s pretty incredible to be part of a fi nalists list with international heavy hitters like Th e Guardian and Al Jazeera. How do you feel having a platform and community help to make the world better? Th e cover story of our most recent issue was called “We're All in Th is Together,” and that’s as true of the climate crisis as it was of the COVID-19 pandemic. So many of the world’s problems arise from people’s failure to recognize our deep interconnectedness with each other and the rest of life on Earth. ■ Nominated for 10 publishing and journalism awards since 2021 at regional, national, and international levels. ■In addition to winning the award for BC Magazine of the Year, Asparagus won silver at both the 2021 Alberta Magazine Awards for BC Story of the Year and the 2021 Canadian Online Publishing Awards for Best Feel Good Story: Consumer. Since publishing the Winter cover story on bats, the Asparagus team has learned something surprising: Everybody loves bats, but nobody knows that everybody else loves bats! This issue is by far the most popular choice when they give copies away at farmers markets. Photo credit: Erin Flegg DECEMBER 2023 • ISSUE 06 29Next >