January 30, 2025
A Message from our President
Growing up in the 1970s and 80s in West Germany, much of my political experience was dominated by the Cold War. The first demonstration I participated in was against stationing the Cruise Missiles and Pershing 2 weapons on German soil. The constant tension and uncertainty about war gave me – and many of my fellow citizens — quite a bit of anxiety.
That heightened anxious feeling is back, and not just for me. Trump’s annexation talk, the federal leadership vacuum, the California fires. The global shift away from truth and science towards lies and disinformation. For many it’s now a time of worry, uncertainty and dread.
So, what do we do? I go back to the Serenity Prayer, and work on the things I can control. In our case at Small Change Fund, it means we focus on taking action locally. Whether it’s protecting the Credit River, improving transit or helping seniors with climate events, we can and will accomplish great change locally. As some have said, we are a beacon of hope in these anxious times.
Wishing you and yours a happy and healthy new year!
– Burkhard 
Welcome, Jacqueline!
We are delighted to welcome Jacqueline Lee-Tam to the Small Change Fund team as VP, Projects! Jacqueline is a climate justice advocate whose work is rooted in empowering grassroots and youth-led climate initiatives. As the former Director of the Climate Justice Organizing HUB (a project of Small Change Fund), she and her team transformed a pilot project into Canada’s leading grassroots advocacy support organization. Active in the climate movement since 2014, Jacqueline has campaigned for fossil fuel divestment, organized mutual aid efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic and championed sustainable policies on international stages. Perhaps as a legacy of her West Coast upbringing, Jacqueline finds it extremely meditative to jump into cold bodies of water!
Telling the Story of Fairy Creek
We would like to congratulate our partners on The Fairy Creek Film for their highly successful recent premieres. In October, the screening at Planet in Focus in Toronto sold out and the documentary received “Best Canadian Feature Film.” The December Western Canada premiere at the Whistler Film Festival also sold out, prompting a second screening! Upcoming screenings will take place at the Victoria Film Festival (February 14 & 15), Best of the Fests (Salt Spring Island, February 19), Big Sky Documentary Film Festival (U.S. premiere, February 22) and qathet International Film Festival (qathet/Powell River, March 15). For those not out West, keep an eye out for future screenings across Canada! The documentary covers the full story of the Fairy Creek blockade, Canada’s largest demonstration of civil disobedience.
Lobbying for Good
Small Change Fund provides grants to Canadian charities to hire government relations experts to engage with the federal and provincial/territorial governments on climate and environmental issues.
Recently, grants were made to:
- advocate for amendments to PEI’s Net Zero Carbon Act to align with climate targets and position the province as a climate leader in Atlantic Canada;
- support the renewal of an Alberta program that provides grants to land trusts for conservation easements on private land, restricting the future development that may occur on these properties;
- establish the Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework in legislation to ensure B.C. old growth forest has permanent protection;
- restore the original budget of a program in Alberta that invests in natural infrastructure to support resiliency against droughts and floods;
- seek a regulatory change to promote and facilitate natural burial grounds in Ontario; and
- support the implementation of federal policies that improve affordability for low-income Canadian households, including retrofits that will reduce energy costs while decreasing emissions.
Wilmot Land Grab
Check out this powerful video from Ontario farmers fighting to protect 700 acres of farmland in Waterloo Region from expropriation. Small Change Fund is joining the battle; stay tuned for more soon!
New Projects
- Looking for an important new cause to support this year? Look no further than our recently added projects!
- The ‘Cause to Pause’ Campaign: to defend the environmentally and historically significant lands of the Township of North Dumfries (ON) from further loss due to aggregate mining.
- Stop the Quarry and Protect the Lakes of Muskoka: to protect the Lakes of Muskoka from the impact of a proposed massive quarry development by defending the Township of Muskoka Lakes Official Plan.
- Tents to Cabins to Home: to support a Pilot Cabin Community providing 50 transitional units to Toronto’s homeless population, along with central community space.
Small News Bites
- Season 2 of everyone’s favourite climate comedy show Hot Globe kicks off on March 13 right here! Can’t wait? Re-live some of the highlights from Season 1!
- Feeling bold? The 2025 Save Georgian Bay Polar Dip is coming up on February 22! You can help Save the Bay by registering to dip (in person or virtually) or by supporting a dipper.
- Groundbreaking documentary Plastic People was selected as one of the best docs of 2024 by Variety; congratulations to our partners at White Pine Pictures! We are pleased to have raised $500,000 for this important project.
- Our very own Mike Balkwill was interviewed on the Mike Farwell Show about the recently published A Winning Campaign. You can listen to his January 15 interview (starting at 1:12:41) and read more about the story behind the book in a recent Rabble article. Copies of the book are available here!
We hope everyone’s 2025 is off to a great start!
Sincerely,
The Small Change Fund Team
P.S. Your donation directly to Small Change Fund allows us to keep improving services and supports to help more grassroots projects succeed nationwide. Thank you for helping make change!
