Resources & Updates
ALIGN'S Reconciliation Action Planning Consultation Service
ALIGN’s Reconciliation Action Planning Consultation Service provides Community Service Providers with tailored resources fostering meaningful engagement and support for reconciliation efforts within your organization and community.
ALIGN CONNECTIONS For Indigenous Children/Youth & Caregivers December 2025
CONNECTIONS is monthly newsletter designed to support Foster and Kinship Caregivers to ensure First Nations, Metis & Inuit children in their care have access to cultural resources, activities and events that broaden their cultural awareness.
Network & Know: Member Spotlight CARF Canada
Our Network & Know: Member Spotlight series introduces organizations you’ll want to know—not just for who they are, but for how they can support, collaborate, and grow with you. It’s all about building stronger relationships, sharing valuable resources, and celebrating the people who help make ALIGN thrive.
January is Mentoring Month! Download AMP's 2026 Campaign Toolkit
In Canada, January is Mentoring Month, a nationwide initiative to highlight the importance of mentoring, raise awareness about closing the "mentoring gap," and encourage people to become mentors or support existing programs.
ALIGN’s Winter Count Project: Acimowina – Teaching Stories
Six months before the AGM, we gathered in ceremony led by Elder Harley Crowshoe at Trellis Society, within Treaty 7 territory—the traditional lands of the Blackfoot Confederacy. This wasn’t just a meeting; it was a beginning. Elder Harley guided us in grounding our process in cultural protocol and spiritual intention. From that moment, the Winter Count became more than a project—it became a journey.
Free Webinar - Sector Signals: The Trends Shaping the Sector in 2026
On January 29, 2026 join Bruce MacDonald, President & CEO of Imagine Canada, and Goldy Hyder, President & CEO of the Business Council of Canada, for an exclusive webinar exploring the trends, priorities, and signals shaping the charitable and nonprofit sector in Canada.
Statistics Canada Study: The diverse volunteering contributions of racialized Canadians
This Statistics Canada study (Dec. 2025) highlights the significant role racialized Canadians play in volunteering, with 70% contributing their time or skills in 2023.
Online Indigenous Advent Calendar
Updated annually, this online advent calendar is great fun for kids and anyone wanting to learn more about First Nations, Metis or Inuit culture
Child and Youth Care Interviewing and Counselling: Skills for the Other 23 Hours (CYCAA)
The CYCAA Child and Youth Care Interviewing and Counselling is a practical text designed to help students learn essential interviewing and counselling skills through a practical action-oriented approach and scenarios situated in common professional CYC settings such as group homes, treatment centres, or outreach services.
The Nonprofit Chamber 2025 State of the Sector Report
The Nonprofit Chamber’s 2025 State of the Sector Report provide a comprehensive, evidence-informed snapshot of the challenges, and emerging priorities of Alberta’s nonprofit and charitable sector. The report’s purpose is to equip sector leaders, funders, policymakers, and community partners with reliable data and insights that can guide decision-making, strengthen advocacy efforts, and support long-term planning.
Caring for Foster Kids During the Holidays: Bringing Joy and Stability to Their Lives
As a caregiver, fostering a sense of joy, comfort, and security during the holidays can make a world of difference.
ALIGN is a Proud Partner in Strengthening Safety Across Alberta’s Child Intervention Sector
Alberta’s government is partnering with ALIGN Association of Community Services and the Continuing Care Safety Association to establish occupational health and safety programs for child intervention agencies providing facility-based care, enhanced workplace safety through trauma-informed and responsive safety practices, regulatory compliance education and other critical safety measures.
Who Are You Sending to the ALIGN Conference ? Check Out These Fun, Creative Ways to Choose!
We know every organization is different — some can send a few team members, others can bring a whole crew. However you decide, we thought we’d share some fun ways to choose who gets to go (and spark a little excitement in the process)
Build Canada Homes and the Outlook for Housing Programs under Budget 2025
The The Parliamentary Budget Officer report’s purpose is to equip sector leaders, funders, policymakers, and community partners with reliable data and insights that can guide decision-making, strengthen advocacy efforts, and support long-term planning.
Online Tools to Improve Your WCB Premiums
The best way to impact the premiums you pay is by implementing health and safety programs that prevent your workers from getting injured and disability management programs to help your injured workers return to work. Explore WCB resources that assist you to improve your WCB premiums.
National Volunteer Action Strategy
Volunteer Canada is developing a National Volunteer Action Strategy which will aim to revitalize volunteerism in the face of urgent challenges such as Canada’s aging population, the climate crisis and the cost-of-living crisis. They have published a number of update reports about what they’re hearing as they engage the sector, conduct research and share knowledge.
Podcast: Futureproofing the Nonprofit Workforce: Building Digital Skills for Resilience
In this special episode of Let's Imagine Podcast EPISODE 36: guest host Wilfreda Edward, Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience (CCNDR), explores how nonprofits across Canada are working to close the digital skills gap.
ALIGN OHS Leadership Awareness Series Online Training
Learn more about OHS duties, best practices, legislation, prevention plans and more with these seven online modules from ALIGN!
“thrive” Magazine Highlights the Benefits of Organizational Partnerships
From sparking new partnerships to creating inclusive spaces for kids and families — this issue of Thrive is all about the power of working together.
Alberta Budget 2026 Survey
It’s time to have your say: budget consultations have started and it’s your chance to tell the government of Alberta what you want to see in the 2026 budget.
Just Like You Caregiver Recruitment Campaign
The Government of Alberta campaign celebrates the incredible impact of foster and kinship caregivers and encourages more Albertans to open their homes and hearts to children and youth in need.
Rethinking Justice for Survivors of Sexual Violence: A systemic investigation. (OFOVC)
This report amplifies the voices of survivors and victims of sexual violence. It is organized thematically across 10 chapters, with recommendations and main findings woven throughout. Its executive summary, along with each chapter's infographic, provide a condensed overview of the report.
ALIGN CONNECTIONS For Indigenous Children/Youth & Caregivers November 2025
CONNECTIONS is monthly newsletter designed to support Foster and Kinship Caregivers to ensure First Nations, Metis & Inuit children in their care have access to cultural resources, activities and events that broaden their cultural awareness.
New Report from MHRC Highlights A Generation Under Pressure
Young people across Canada are facing unprecedented pressures, from economic uncertainty and job insecurity to social isolation and the climate crisis. MHRC’s latest report, in partnership with GreenShield, reveals that 83% of young Canadians feel stressed about their career prospects
AASAS Training - Courses For Those Working with Survivors of Sexual Violence and the Violence Prevention Sector
Designed for counselors, therapists, and other mental health practitioners who are new to working with survivors of sexual violence, or who may be already working with survivors and would like to more deeply inform their counselling practice.
Alberta Living Wage Network Releases 2025 Living Wage Rates
The Alberta Living Wage Network (ALWN or “The Network”) has released updated living wages for 21 municipalities across the province.
Showcasing the ALIGN Well-Being Toolkit Fall 2025
ALIGN Association of Community Services recently presented at two major national conferences this fall allowing us the opportunity to connect with leaders, practitioners, and partners from across Canada as we continue to share the impact of ALIGN's Well-Being Toolkit.
Top Ten Considerations for Selecting Nonprofit Board Members (ALIGN)
Attracting and recruiting the right board members is vital to the success and sustainability of a human service agency. The right mix of skills, experience, and perspectives strengthens governance, enhances strategic decision-making, and ensures the organization stays mission-focused while adapting to changing community needs.
The 'Four Stories' Approach: A Conceptual Clinical Model for Moving Families and Caregivers Beyond Trauma
Little Warriors, in collaboration with the Scientific and Clinical Council, has successfully published a new article: "The 'Four Stories' Approach: A Conceptual Clinical Model for Moving Families and Caregivers Beyond Trauma," in the Clinical Social Work Journal!
ALIGN's Well-Being in Child and Family Services Toolkit
The way we define and understand child and youth well-being matters.
ALIGN's Indigenous Cultural Understanding Framework (ICUF)
A Digital Interactive Journey to increase cultural understanding within Alberta agencies so that all Indigenous children living in Alberta can live in dignity and respect, supported by people with a deeper understanding of Indigenous worldviews, history and current reality.
Network & Know: Member Spotlight Application Details
At ALIGN, we believe every member brings unique strengths, insights, and resources to our sector.
Budget 2025: Progress for Some, but No Plan for the Nonprofit Sector that Holds Canada Together
Imagine Canada’s statement on Budget 2025 reveals the budget delivers welcome investments in programs that support Canadians but falls short of offering a coordinated plan for the nonprofit sector that sustains them.
Budget 2025 Risks Reconciliation: Friendship Centres Concerned About Impacts to Urban Indigenous Communities
The National Association of Friendship Centres (NAFC) expresses deep concern with the release of the 2025 Federal Budget and the government’s missed opportunity to address the realities of urban Indigenous people.
Understanding the 2025 Federal Budget: Implications for Canadian Charities and Non-profits
The 2025 federal budget introduces several measures affecting charities and nonprofits, alongside continued investments in key community priorities. Miller Thompson explores these new measures from a legal perspective in a new blog post "Understanding the 2025 Federal Budget: Implications for Canadian charities and non-profits"
ALIGN’s Well-Being Toolkit Community of Practice (CoP)
Next meeting is January 14. 2026. The Well-Being Community of Practice (CoP) is intended for service providers who are currently implementing ALIGN Association's Well-Being Toolkit. A Community of Practice (CoP) is an informal learning space where like-minded practitioners come together to share experiences, challenges, tools, and promising practices. The Well-Being Community of Practice focuses on strengthening the impact of child- and family-serving organizations on child and youth well-being.
