Transparent accountability for authentic health equity work

Our Community Commitments

We're just getting started, but our accountability measures are already in place. Here's what we've committed to from day one:

Community Service Guarantee

  • 20% of annual organizational hours dedicated to reduced-rate or pro bono work

  • All NHEC-affiliated consultants commit to the same community service standard

  • Sliding scale pricing ensuring accessibility across economic circumstances

  • Community benefit value scales with organizational growth—more success means more community impact

Financial Transparency

  • 15% of annual profits reinvested in community health equity initiatives

  • Public pricing transparency showing how premium rates enable community subsidization

  • Annual Community Impact Report with verified metrics and community feedback

  • Community Advisory Council oversight of financial commitments and impact measurement

Accessibility Commitments

  • Payment flexibility: Accepting in-kind contributions, skills exchanges, and deferred payment

  • Resource sharing: Free toolkits, frameworks, and educational materials publicly available

  • Knowledge commons: Research findings and methodologies shared openly

  • Barrier reduction: Multiple pathways for community organizations to access support

Community Advisory Council: Building Authentic Oversight

We're currently recruiting our Community Advisory Council to ensure authentic community accountability from the start.

Planned Council Composition:

  • Community representatives from equity-deserving groups including Indigenous, Black, and other racialized communities (minimum 40%)

  • Rural and Northern Ontario community members (minimum 30%)

  • Healthcare and social service professionals (maximum 20%)

  • Academic and research partners (maximum 10%)

Their Role Will Include:

  • Quarterly review of Community Access Policy implementation

  • Assessment of eligibility criteria and decision consistency

  • Community feedback integration and policy recommendations

  • Annual evaluation of community benefit delivery

  • Strategic guidance on community partnership development

Community-Centered Recruitment: We're taking the time needed to build authentic relationships and invite community leaders to participate. Council members will receive appropriate compensation once our revenue supports it.

Annual Impact Reports

Transparency Promise: Every January, we publish our Annual Community Impact Report with verified metrics, community feedback, and third-party accountability review.

What We'll Track:

  • Total community benefit hours and financial value provided

  • Community-defined success metrics and outcome measurement

  • Participant feedback and satisfaction assessment

  • Cross-subsidy model effectiveness and sustainability indicators

  • Community feedback on our authentic partnership approach

Community Verification: Our Community Advisory Council (once established) will review and validate all impact claims before publication.

First Report Timeline: We'll publish our first comprehensive Annual Community Impact Report in January 2027 (covering 2026). We may release a shorter summary of 2025 community activities in early 2026 as we get started.

How to Access Community Services

Automatic Eligibility (Free Services)

  • Indigenous communities and organizations (regardless of budget size)

  • Grassroots patient and family organizations

  • Community organizations with annual operating budgets under $100,000

  • Organizations serving Northern Ontario's most marginalized communities

Note: Eligibility doesn't guarantee immediate availability—we maintain sustainable capacity limits to ensure quality service delivery.

Sliding Scale Eligibility (Reduced Rates)

  • Non-profit organizations with annual budgets $100,000-$500,000

  • Community health organizations without government core funding

  • Educational institutions with community benefit missions

  • Organizations demonstrating financial need and significant community impact

Application Process

  1. Complete our Community Access Application

  2. Provide organizational budget and description of community served

  3. Initial review and community consultation (timeline varies based on community protocols and relationship building needs)

  4. Decision communication with clear rationale and appeals process

  5. Partnership planning with clear expectations and success metrics

Note: We respect that authentic community engagement takes time, especially with Indigenous communities. Our application process prioritizes relationship building over speed.

Capacity Management: We maintain maximum 40% of organizational capacity for community access services to ensure cross-subsidy model sustainability and quality service delivery.

Our Cross-Subsidy Business Model

How it works: Premium consulting rates from hospitals, health systems, government agencies, and for-profit healthcare enable reduced-rate and free services for community organizations, Indigenous communities, and grassroots groups.

Why this matters: Instead of competing for the same limited grant funding that community organizations need, we generate revenue from institutions with consulting budgets to fund community access.

The commitment: Minimum 20% of our organizational hours and 15% of annual profits go directly to community benefit—separate from our paying work.

Why For-Profit Works Better Than Non-Profit

Let's address the elephant in the room: yes, we're a for-profit health equity consulting business. Here's why that's actually better for northern communities than traditional charity models.

What for-profit enables:

  • Operational flexibility and strategic vision enabling rapid response to community needs without complex board approval processes

  • Premium expertise retention through fair compensation for specialized northern health equity knowledge

  • Long-term regional presence rather than grant-dependent project cycles that end when funding runs out

  • Financial sustainability without competing for limited grant funding that community organizations need

What non-profit creates:

  • Grant dependency that creates unstable, short-term programming vulnerable to funding cuts

  • Complex governance that can shift priorities away from community needs through board dynamics

  • Revenue restrictions that limit income integration and sustainable business growth

  • Fundraising obligations that take time away from direct community service

The result: We're not just consultants who happen to care about community benefit. We're a business built specifically to cross-subsidize community access through professional-rate work with well-funded institutions.

Our Future Vision

2025: Establish authentic community partnerships and begin annual impact reporting
2026: Launch first free community health equity toolkit funded by consulting revenue
2027: Achieve 40% community access capacity with measurable health equity improvements
2028: Explore foundation establishment when business reaches sustainable scale
2030+:Regional recognition as authentic community partner with transparent accountability

The bottom line: We're building a sustainable business that serves community benefit through professional expertise fairly compensated. No corporate speak, no performative consulting—just results that matter for northern communities.

Ready to Partner with Us?

Whether you're questioning our authenticity (thank you for holding us accountable!), exploring community partnership opportunities, or considering how our cross-subsidy model could work for your organization, we're here for honest conversations.

For Community Organizations

Learn more about our Community Access Policy and application process.

For Premium Clients

Your consulting investments directly enable community benefit. Every premium engagement funds free and reduced-rate services for organizations that need expertise but lack resources.

For Skeptics and Critics

We welcome tough questions about authenticity, accountability, and community benefit. Once our Community Advisory Council is established, meetings will include public input opportunities.