Case Study
A participatory training approach that instills trust
The Ottawa Community Loan Fund (OCLF) is a bilingual non-profit organization based in the National Capital Region dedicated to supporting, training and empowering people on financial matters. Founded in 2000 to bridge Ottawa’s social finance gap, OCLF supports marginalized people and newcomers through training programs and microcredit for small businesses and people looking to return to school or seek recognition of their foreign credentials.
The Storyteller has been supporting OCLF as a trainer and facilitator since 2019, regularly hosting workshops on entrepreneurship and finance in English and in French.
Background
The Ottawa Community Loan Fund has been offering a series of financial literacy workshops for the general public for several years, in addition to longer educational programs targeting aspiring entrepreneurs, start-ups and expanding businesses.
Thanks to its experience in workshop facilitation and communication, The Storyteller was recruited to the team of trainers and facilitators in 2019 for an open-ended mandate. This relationship has continued ever since and testifies of the quality of our teaching approach and the ongoing appreciation of participants.
Our distinctive approach to training
Intensive entrepreneurship program
One of The Storyteller’s first assignments was to organize and facilitate the BizTOC program, a three-week intensive entrepreneurship training course for cohorts of around 30 future entrepreneurs from various sectors.
As part of this program, The Storyteller assumed several strategic responsibilities: facilitating and creating the entire communications and marketing module, coordinating the program as a whole, identifying and inviting relevant speakers and specialists, and facilitating peer exchanges. This integrated approach demonstrates our ability to develop comprehensive training programs in addition to facilitating existing ones. Participants benefit from specialized, structured expertise rooted in real-world experience, as well as concrete learning opportunities through peer-sharing.
Several participants said that this program and the advice provided were very useful and would help them on their path to entrepreneurship. This positive feedback reflects our ability to make sometimes complex concepts accessible and to create a learning environment that is friendly, open, safe and adapted to different profiles, where questions are always welcome.
Regular training sessions
In addition to BizTOC, The Storyteller regularly facilitates no fewer than five different training courses on entrepreneurship and finance on behalf of FECO. Year in, year out, we facilitate around 30 workshops lasting approximately two hours—a volume that demonstrates our reliability and our ability to maintain a high level of quality.
Participants are always very satisfied and grateful for these training sessions, saying they have learned a lot in these workshops and felt listened to and comfortable asking questions. This consistently positive feedback underscores the importance of our approach, which focuses on interactivity and discussion rather than simply conveying information.
Adaptation to virtual and in-person formats
While workshops were always conducted in person in the past, they have been offered online and in person for several years now. This flexibility demonstrates our ability to adapt our teaching approach to the format, while maintaining the same level of engagement and interactivity as in person.
Our experience in virtual facilitation allows us to effectively organize and manage these remote training sessions, using relevant collaborative tools and facilitation techniques to maintain attention and encourage active participation from learners.
Photo Credit: OCLF
Our added value as a trainer
Given our catalogue of virtual, hybrid and face-to-face communication courses and our customized training offering, The Storyteller goes beyond simply delivering content and brings a distinctive touch to each training course: we tailor the workshops and encourage discussion, peer-to-peer learning, and constant interactivity. This participatory approach creates an environment where participants feel confident to ask questions, share their challenges, and learn not only from us, but from each other.
Our contribution also goes beyond the facilitation aspect: we have gradually improved the content of existing training courses, enhanced visual aids, and adapted curriculums to maximize educational impact.
This collaborative approach with our partners—where we adapt, improve, and customize content as needed—perfectly illustrates our work philosophy: to become true strategic allies rather than mere executors. Depending on the topic and the client’s specific expertise, this formula proves particularly effective, especially when training sessions are to be repeated regularly.
“The Storyteller is impeccable and resourceful. As a facilitator, Genevieve works with passion and honesty on every project and is a pleasure to work with. Her facilitation and training skills are unparalleled, and she’s very comfortable wearing multiple hats simultaneously.”
