An Evening of Working Differently

On September 22, we came together and invited people in to see how Rise is working differently. We had a room full of good conversations, curious questions, and people interacting with our team at various stations. Thank you to everyone who joined us. Here's a look at what the night held.

Around the room

At the Basic Needs Fund table, we built a tower of blocks, each one a piece of what keeps a person stable: a home, a job, childcare, a friend who knows a plumber, even forces beyond anyone's control. People pulled the blocks one by one and watched the tower start to wobble. It was a hands-on way to feel something we see every day, how thin the margin can be, and how it takes every support working together, the Basic Needs Fund included, to keep a client stabilized.

Our Learning Wish Board asked a simple question: if you had a student on your team, what would you want help with? The wall filled up through the night with ideas from across the sector. It was a fitting place to celebrate our first micro-placement students from the University of Calgary, whose work this year has already made us better at what we do.

At the Earn and Learn station, we asked people what they would do with a matched $900. The answers were honest, creative, and often moving, a reminder that a small boost, matched and paired with financial literacy education, can help someone take a real step forward.

We also put our tax work side by side, before and after. Where we once tracked clients and volunteers across scattered spreadsheets, everything now lives in one place. Same clinic, far less friction, and more time for the people in front of us. We were also grateful to have members of our Siksika Talking Taxes team at the station, sharing some of the wins and highlights from the work happening in Siksika Nation.

A real look at the new system

The heart of the evening was a demo of the new case management system we built with our partners at Buoyancy Works. It was an honest walk-through, followed by a genuine conversation with our own team about what it is actually like to use day to day: what has changed, what is easier, and what it means for the people we serve. Hearing it straight from the advocates who use it was, for many in the room, the most valuable part of the night.

Thank you

Our Annual General Meeting also took place that evening. If you would like the details, our 2026 AGM agenda, audited financial statements, and impact summary are all on our Who We Are page.

We were also glad to welcome caseworkers and colleagues from across the sector, including The Alex, Trellis, and the Calgary John Howard Society. Their perspective gave us valuable insight into what our sector needs, and it is exactly the kind of exchange we hoped the evening would spark.

Thank you again to everyone who came, asked questions, pulled a block, and shared a bit of their own story. This is how we move forward, together.