Support Social Change

The Coady Mission

Coady’s work begins with assets available at the local level, builds on the strengths of all citizens, and establishes a network of supportive partnerships. Coady emphasizes local ownership and collaborative relationships that strengthen the capacity of people to drive their own development. The starting point of our approach is what communities already have and can do rather than what they don’t have and can’t do.

Our leadership education programs combine classroom-based sharing and community-based experiential learning along with the creation of virtual networks of peer support, mentorship, and Coady accompaniment.

We accomplish this by drawing on:

  • a global reputation as a centre of excellence in leadership, transformative education and community-driven development;
  • a global network of partners working to strengthen organizations’ and constituencies’ approaches in leading change in their countries;
  • our core identity as an education institution committed to bridging critical development theory with the best in development practice and innovation.

Building and supporting change leaders globally and locally is at the core of our mission and the space Coady wants to occupy into the future. We are well positioned to be a force multiplier for building more inclusive economies, more resilient communities and more accountable democracies.

Donate Today

Be A Coady Change Leader

Community Classroom

Through your investment in Coady scholarships, you empower leaders from diverse backgrounds to acquire the essential knowledge, skills, and networks necessary to enact significant and enduring change within their communities. Your support not only enables individuals worldwide to access quality training but also serves as a beacon of hope for a more equitable and empowered future. Thank you for being champions of positive change and for your invaluable contribution to creating a better world for all.

Ng'endo Munyui

Nadharia Kenya, (Towards Decolonial Feminist Leadership, 2024)

Join us as a Coady Change Leader

As a Coady Change Leader, you will:

  • support scholarships for international, Indigenous, and Canadian participants to attend in-person courses here in our community;
  • increase opportunities for new business in our community by increasing the number of Nova Scotians and Canadians in Coady courses;
  • shift the socio-economic development narrative in communities, including our own, from a focus on weaknesses and deficits to an emphasis on strengths, opportunities, and assets;
  • continue to share local innovation and build local economies through growth and training connecting ordinary people in communities across Nova Scotia, Canada, and the world;
  • grow our work with Indigenous women leaders, through our “Circle of Abundance” initiative;
  • support initiatives aimed at gender equality and the increase of women in leadership positions at the local level;
  • expand our work with African Nova Scotian communities, and;
  • re-establish the Topshee Memorial Conference to provide a forum in which people from all walks of life can meet to discuss critical social and economic issues affecting life in Atlantic Canada.

We are all global citizens!
As a Coady Change Leader, your donation can help Coady secure its future and ensure the Institute can continue to bring international participants here to Antigonish.

Now, I know for sure that when vision is backed up with passion and resolute will, people can be mobilized to do extraordinary things that may have been perceived seemingly impossible. Visiting the ARISAIG community was the icing on the cake for me, a community of people that breathes with one heart.… I have a responsibility to share the knowledge I have acquired, I have a responsibility to positively impact other lives, I have a responsibility to make my community better.

Oluyemisi Ayoola

Federal Ministry Of Health, Nigeria, (Asset Based and Citizen-led Development, 2019)

Global Citizens

Coady’s Impact

Did you know?
Antigonish, Nova Scotia and St. Francis Xavier University are unique in that NO OTHER community, province, or university in Canada has an institute combining international and local development work like Coady Institute.

For over 60 years, Antigonish has welcomed Coady participants from around the world creating a truly international community enriching our culture, our economics, and our community spirit.

My experience with the IWCL program at Coady was one of the most supportive and eye opening experiences of my life. Coady helped to promote the awareness that we are part of a bigger whole in this world we live in. I use Asset Based Community Development in my day-to-day work, I am constantly searching for the strengths in all areas I work.

Michelle Hanson-Cunningham

Practice Specialist-Indigenous Supports North Region Children’s Services in High Prairie, AB, (Indigenous Women in Community Leadership, 2017)

Proud history, exciting future

Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and St. Francis Xavier University are unique in that no other community, province, or university in Canada has an institute combining international and local development work like Coady Institute.

We all take pride in Coady’s history including the early days of the StFX Extension Department and the Antigonish Movement. What began as search for solutions for chronic socio-economic problems, led to ordinary people in communities across Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada realizing that they could, in the words of Moses Coady, “use what they had to secure what they had not.”

The Antigonish Movement was responsible for inspiring Co-ops and credit unions all over the world! Today, it still inspires us all by showing what is possible when people build their communities from the inside out.

For 61 years, Antigonish has welcomed Coady participants from around the world creating a truly international community enriching our culture, our economics, and our community spirit.

Coady continues to support change leaders through a diverse set of educational programs and projects. In 2021-22, we are offering more than 16 online courses open to international and Canadian participants as we continue to plan for in person courses including an exciting, newly designed Diploma Program as we hope to welcome participants back to Antigonish in the near future.

I was first impressed by the Coady philosophy as a student at StFX in the 1950s and have followed the impressive work of Coady Institute ever since, and note how respected Coady is throughout the world. Janet and I are committed to build scholarships to provide support for individuals who will study at the Coady and bring their knowledge and leadership skills back to their communities.

Dr. T. Jock & Mrs. Janet Murray

We also continue to work with partners around the world on:

  • ENGAGE! Women’s Empowerment and Active Citizenship
  • Supporting Transition, Retention and Training for Girls (START4GIRLS)
  • Farmer-led Tools, Dashboard Development and the Future of Farming
  • Nobel Women’s Initiative
  • Circle of Abundance
  • Strengthening the Community Housing Sector (StFX Extension)
  • Pathy Foundation Fellowship
  • Self-Employed Benefit Program (DiscoverBox)
  • Wallace Family Internships (DiscoverBox)
  • Diversity and Inclusion Program (Centre for Employment Innovation)
  • Collective Impact for Inclusive Youth Employment (Centre for Employment Innovation)

It is helping people with a hand up. It is unleashing passion in people. It is unleashing a passion for change in individuals and communities. That is in your DNA at Coady.

David Martin

COMART Foundation

Or download a remittance form to donate by mail.

Donate by mail:
Coady International Institute St. Francis Xavier University
PO Box 5000 Antigonish, NS
B2G 2W5

By supporting Coady International Institute, you are empowering community leaders to make impactful positive change in their communities locally and around the globe.

Learn about the impact Coady alumni are having through their stories of change.

Jeannine Deveau Education Equity Fund Commits $14.5M to StFX including Renewed Commitment to Coady’s Circle of Abundance

Jeannine Deveau Education Equity Fund Commits $14.5M to StFX including Renewed Commitment to Coady’s Circle of Abundance

StFX University announced an outstanding $14.5 million contribution from the Jeannine Deveau Education Equity Fund. This funding will support the creation of two new centres on campus – the Deveau Centre for Indigenous Governance and Social Justice and the Black Student Success Centre.
It also includes a five-year commitment to Coady Institute’s Circle of Abundance – Amplifying Indigenous Women’s Leadership programs alongside many other programs and projects.

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Support Social Change Makers this National Day of Giving

Support Social Change Makers this National Day of Giving

As we approach the National Day of Giving (November 28) now, more than ever, Coady Institute NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT in creating educational opportunities and supporting leaders from around the world. Leaders who are tackling pressing global issues such as climate change, human rights and equality, the changing nature of work, and rising conflict and ethnic tensions.

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Ela Bhatt Memorial Bursary

Ela Bhatt Memorial Bursary

For close to 40 years, Coady Institute has partnered with the Self-Employed Women’s Association, founded by the late Ela Bhatt. On the first anniversary of her death, Coady Institute and friends of Elaben are honoured to create a bursary in her memory.

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For information on specialized giving, such as Gifts of Securities or Leaving a Bequest to Coady International Institute, please contact us or visit the StFX website.

To learn more about how you can support social change, contact:
Toll Free: 1 (866) 820-7835
Local: 1 (902) 867-3960
Email: coady@stfx.ca