INDIGENOUS FRIENDS ASSOCIATION

Author name

Indigenous Friends Association had so many community programs to develop but no learning management system to deliver them. Then they discovered OWL. 

IFA has an amazing mission: To cultivate opportunities to advance digital pathways rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being, driving positive change for generations. A free learning platform would enable them to easily deliver lectures and classes and would provide growth and development opportunities to upskill staff and drive effectiveness.

How we discovered OWL

Our CEO, Alejandro Mayoral Banos, learned about the OWL platform at The Partnership Conference, an annual event created by Spire Philanthropy to bring together corporations and non-profits in the social impact sector.

How we are using OWL

On OWL, we deliver pre-workshop courses to our staff which serve as prerequisites to our monthly workshops we call the IFA Boost Camp. Focused on key organizational themes, the workshops are designed to enhance team skills and knowledge in communication, leadership, conflict management, and more. Our staff also uses OWL for development, whether self-paced or IFA-defined.

Our favourite courses so far are...

  1. Unconscious Bias
  2. Project Management and Time Management
  3. Mental Health and Well-Being 

What we want other charities to know

With its vast and varied range of topics, OWL has become our go-to resource for upskilling and learning. The free courses help our staff to be more effective in the work that they do for our charity.

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OWL has become our go-to resource for upskilling and learning, at no cost to the organization. The flexibility and support is top-notch!

Paolo

Indigenous Friends Association

4 free courses to help you communicate better in the nonprofit sector

By Emma Browne • July 8, 2026
Running a nonprofit means wearing a dozen hats at once — board liaison, team manager, grant writer, fundraiser, and more, often all before lunch. That's why we're excited to announce 4 new courses on OWL (Open World Learning) designed specifically for nonprofit and charity professionals who want practical, real-world skills without the fluff. We launch new courses every quarter to best serve our nonprofit champions. If you're interested in our last course drop, you can browse through 13 free nonprofit courses we released in March 2026 . Why These Courses, Why Now Nonprofits are being asked to do more with less — tighter budgets, smaller teams, and higher expectations from donors and boards alike. These four courses were built to address the exact pressure points that come up again and again in the sector: governance, people management, funding, and fundraising. Each course is self-paced, practical, and built by people who understand nonprofit work isn't a scaled-down version of the corporate world — it's its own discipline with its own challenges.

Hot Off the Press: Online Courses Launched on the OWL Platform

By Emma Browne • March 17, 2026
We’re excited to announce a new set of courses on the OWL Learning Platform , designed to support nonprofit professionals, board members, and organizational leaders. These new additions focus on the core skills needed to run, grow, and sustain effective nonprofit organizations. You'll find these courses under the following categories on your dashboard.