OUR FOCUS

MANAN Strategy, founded by Amanda Gellman, creates new beginnings and opportunities for businesses and non-profits to achieve community and/or global impact. As a result, we are continuously building our network of trusted consultants.

We primarily focus in FIVE KEY AREAS.

• Financial Strength and Fund Development (Government and Private)
• Film & Digital Media and Graphic Design (Print & Web) 
• Image, Profile and Reputation Building – Media, Public, Donor and Government Relations; Special Events
• Strategic Reviews and Business Planning; Research, Surveys and Trainings
• Employment to Fill Skills Gaps for Increased Productivity

For the following SECTORS when they are looking to grow, diversity and/or reach new audiences:

• Charities, Non-profits, Foundations and Faith Groups 
• Start-up and Emerging Businesses, Filmmakers and Entrepreneurs
• Established Businesses, Manufactures and Agri-businesses
• Educational Institutions and Healthcare Centres
• All Sectors with Skills Gaps (in partnership with Work Global Canada)

MANAN adds value to a business or organization.  We provide our clients with a host of services offered by talented, resourceful and dedicated professionals who work collaboratively to empower people and nurture business growth.

MANAN Strategy Consultants, some of whom are listed on this web site, have diverse work experience and can meet your business needs.

(Photo is of the APAG Electronic team, which MANAN and The Funding Envelope have worked closely with since 2017.)

MANAN Media provides a broad range of digital media and/or print solutions and opportunities for non-profits and businesses. MANAN Media is a full service shop, able to write and design your website, annual report, advertising campaign, promotional materials (video, web and print) and more. We also plan press events, conferences and seminars.

Businesses generally request MANAN Media’s expertise for corporate films, media relations, government relations, business plans and investor packages. Non-profit and charitable organizations call upon us for the above listed services as well as assistance with fundraising campaigns (video, web and and print) and donor recognition material.

Amanda is currently directing The Human Trafficking Film Project documentary, and assisting Paul Ruggieri (36 Emmy Award Winner) as a Producer on his documentary, Culture Kills Culture Healers.  

Previously, Amanda launched Aging & HIV: A Story of Resiliency on World AIDS Day 2020, a documentary film portraying a lifelong bond formed between a group of individuals from southern Ontario, Canada, who were diagnosed with HIV between 1987 and 2013. 

Amanda is also involved with corporate video production for corporations and non-profits.  In 2017, Amanda directed IZZAT, a documentary about elder abuse in the South Asian community, which was commissioned by the South Asian Centre.

Proudly, Amanda has received numerous recognitions for her community service, some of which are: 40 under 40 in St. Louis recognition, The McDonnell Douglas Feed America Award, Windsor’s Women of the Year 2001, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, The Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal, and The Queens’ Platinum Jubilee Medal.

Amanda’s last FTE position was as Vice-President University Advancement (External Affairs) for the University of Windsor.  She served the university for 10 years as an employee, with three years prior on its Board of Directors where she assumed the role of liaison to Senate.

Amanda resides in Windsor, Ontario.  She is a native of Newfoundland and a (former) visual artist. Thank you for your interest in working with our Team. The easiest way to request our services or additional information is through text (519-819-8964), Facebook Messenger (line below) or email (amanda@mananstrategy.com). 

MANAN is a proud sponsor of the Media Arts Community Centre & Museum, the Windsor Centre for Film Digital Media & the Creative Arts and Film Camp for Kids & Youth. (see below)

The Funding Envelope offers development services to businesses and non-profits, regardless of location. Amanda works in partnership with Leona MacIntyre.

Grant Writing and Government Relations

We have had great success in securing funding from municipal, provincial and federal levels of government. The key to accessing these programs is knowing the best fit for your company.  

Organizational Development

We can help you implement a detailed plan of action plan that may include the following: mission and vision, Board governance, policies and procedures, financial oversight, government regulations for charitable receipts, HR procedures, media relations strategies, and more.  

Campaign Oversight

Professional fundraising services are oftentimes required to structure a fundraising campaign – and we can guide you in the short-term or the long-term. We can help key leaders plan campaign strategy, develop the case for support, set realistic goals and timelines, and train and coach.  

Grant Writing Training

We offer hands-on skills building and opportunities to review the activities related to grant writing, including needs assessments, government relations, evaluations, measurable objectives, data tracking and monitoring, funder compliance and reporting, site visit preparation, and more. 

Fund Development Training 

Sustainable organizations most often require diverse sources of income. We can recommend and/or help your team review tried and proven fundraising methods that will strengthen your budget and provide for long-lasting impact on programs.

Feasibility Studies and Needs Assessments

A needs assessment is an important part of the planning process, generally used to compare present status and impact to desired performance and outcomes.  We can guide your team through this process.

Evaluation: Program(s) and/or Fundraising  

A timely internal or community-based evaluation can strengthen your organization’s impact on the community and/or increase your potential for future support. We are regularly called on to conduct evaluations as required by current and future funders.  

Project Execution and Management

Our Team can help small and large business achieve specific goals to meet the project requirements. Working with your team, we can take a project from finish to start.

Aging and HIV: A Story of Resiliency is dedicated in loving memory of our family members, friends and colleagues who left us too soon, but taught us much about living with purpose and having resiliency. We hope this community-based film project serves to educate and inspire! 

Hearing an unexpected and/or unwanted medical diagnosis can bring on worries and fears. In the 80s and 90s, tens of thousands of people living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) were left with much uncertainty and, thus, “the AIDS movement” was born. 

Our film shows how a group of PHAs from southwestern Ontario, Canada, who were diagnosed with HIV between 1987 and 2013,  stayed meaningfully engaged.  At first, the news was life-limiting, but they turned the news around by choosing to support one another, help others and make the world a better place. 

The film begins by showing where people were in their lives when first diagnosed, and the unrest this news caused for them and their loved ones.  It gives a glimpse of the journeys of seven persons living with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) in the film (in order of appearance): Greg Scratch, Joanne Schingh, Mark McCallum, Don Turner, Jack Haight, Eli Martin and Steve Pratt. These stories represent millions of others around the world. 

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The Human Trafficking Film Project, in partnership with the Sexual Assault Crisis Centre of Essex County, is creating:

- six 10-15 minutes training videos with training manuals

- one feature length documentary to showcase testimonials from individuals formerly caught up in the horrors of human trafficking

The number of human trafficking incidents reported in 2019 marked a 44% increase from the previous year. The vast majority (95%) of human trafficking victims were girls and women, and overall, most (89%) victims were below the age of 35. More often than not, human trafficking victims knew their trafficker. While Ontario represented 29% of all violent crime reported in Canada in 2019, the province accounted for the majority (62%) of Canada’s human trafficking incidents that year. In 2019, few victims (11%) were trafficked by a stranger. Instead, for 29% of victims, the accused was a friend or an acquaintance and for 25% it was a current or former boyfriend or girlfriend.

While girls and women are often the victims of human trafficking, men have represented the majority of individuals accused in human trafficking incidents between 2009 and 2018. Consistent with this trend, in 2019, the large majority (83%) of accused individuals in human trafficking-related incidents were men.

(See navigation bar for more information.)

The Story of Milton Gregg, in partnership with The Royal Canadian Regiment, is intended to be a documentary film to remember and honour a Canadian Hero, Milton Fowler Gregg, Victoria Cross recipient and member of Parliament.

The film will look upon his early days as a boy in New Brunswick, his service with the Black Watch of Canada, and his becoming an officer of The Royal Canadian Regiment. The focus of the documentary will primarily be on the action of September 28th - 30th, 1918, during the historically critical Battle of Canal Du Nord.

Milton Gregg was born in a small farming community in eastern New Brunswick. A school teacher and university student before the First World War, he left his studies to go overseas as a soldier to serve as a stretcher-bearer. Wounded in battle, after recovery he returned to the field as a Lieutenant in The Royal Canadian Regiment (The RCR). 

Proving himself an outstanding combat leader and wounded two more times, he was awarded the Military Cross for bravery twice and the Commonwealth's highest award, the Victoria Cross. Returning to civilian life after the war, Gregg remained connected to the Canadian Militia, and went back overseas with The RCR in 1939. After the Second World War, which he finished in Canada as a Colonel training new officers, he was elected to Parliament, after which he served Canada in diplomatic roles. Dedicated to the service of Canada throughout his life, Milton Gregg was a true Canadian hero.

Southern Ontario is proudly reinventing itself as a region where diverse industries can flourish. The Media Arts Community Centre (MACC) will contribute to the cultural and economic development plans set forth by the municipal, provincial and federal governments and economic development associations.  Local arts, charitable and non-profit groups will host small and large events in the city’s core; artists and filmmakers will host fundraising events to bring their ideas to fruition.

“Filmmaking is the ultimate team sport.”
– Michael Keaton

Young people and career seekers interested in filmmaking and digital media, also including animation, graphic design, photography, music videos, web design and gaming, will be attracted to opportunities which, in the past, others relocated to high-cost urban areas to explore. Producers, directors, authors, actors, costume designers, musicians, set builders, make-up artists, camera operators, musicians and others will have access to an accessible, affordable venue to produce their craft. Accountants and lawyers will be busy chasing tax credits and contracts.

High school and post-secondary students will have opportunities for internships, co-ops and job placements. 

Now that the University of Windsor has moved its Visual Arts, Music and Media & Film programs downtown, and St. Clair College has its MediaPlex, MACC will be the perfect community-based facility for students to gain hands-on work experience. Students from other disciplines  of study will also reap the benefits of having MACC as a community resource. Library Science students will be intrigued by the archives and collections, Human Kinetics students will co-op in event planning, and Business students will work for MACC as well as emerging businesses we support.

MACC will draw seasoned media and creative arts experts, as visitors and tourists, some of whom will ‘be from’ the area. They left to pursue their dreams and will return to serve as guest lecturers and visiting artists. They will teach and mentor to help us grow regional talent in Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent and Sarnia-Lambton.

Bursaries will be available to those in need. The building will be fully accessible with an elevator and a fire alarm system suited to the general public as well as those who the visually or hearing impaired. In our attempt to be as green as possible, we will also have updated LED lighting, a solar roof, and an organic waste management system.

There is land to add an additional 10,000 sq ft of creative spaces (100 seat theatre and larger film production and music studios) in Phase 2, pending funds and city permits.

Film Camp for Kids & Youth has been serving the community since 2013 (in 2012 we completed a film camp research project). More than 600 children and teens have attended the program over the last 10 years, some for 6-9 years each. The camp was originally planned as a hands-on summer job training program for unemployed post-secondary students -- over 10 years we have proudly offered more than 160 summer jobs, and in recent years most of our staff are former "campers' who are now post-secondary film students or recent grads or emerging filmmakers.  We serve about 150 children and teens each summer; and most will attend 2-4 weeks.

The camp offers a 10-week summer program in 2024. Prior to the pandemic years, we also operated year-round after school programs, but the facility was sold in 2020 and we are started over in a new location in 2023 which, once fully renovated, will again allow for a year-round operation. 

The program is unique in that, while on the surface it sounds like an arts camp, it is very much a life skills program that builds self-esteem and short- and long-term friendships. As with sports, filmmaking is a team effort. The art of filmmaking teaches children and teens discipline, patience, creative writing, technology, creativity, presentation skills, speaking skills, and much more that can last a lifetime and benefit any career choice later in life.

Most youth come back for multiple years - many times participants are surprised to find like-minded youth who they can relate to, which they can find difficult at school. They then plan to return the same week as their new friends (from different schools) the next summer - or to the winter or March break programs. 

The camp does offer some recreational breaks and, since most of our participants are not "athletes" at school, they enjoy the noncompetitive nature of our activities. We have many children and teens from refugee and newcomer families who enjoy the diversity of the program, both in terms of learning and participants/staff. Children and teens on the Autism spectrum and many others diagnosed with ADHD, all of whom tend to flourish in this program (research would support this); most teens, including our LTBGTQ2+, trans and non-binary youth, enjoy the self-directed nature of the program. 

The ultimate goal is to grow talent and jobs and, for those who select digital media as a career path, filmmaking covers more than 70 jobs ranging from make-up artistry, costume design, film directing, camera (cinematography), corporate video production, set building, sound and lighting, writing, film accounting (budgets and tax credits), film law (contracts and agreements), music (scoring films), and more.

The Windsor Centre for Film is the non-profit organization that is responsible for the restoration, maintenance and upkeep of the future 22,000 sq. ft. media arts facility (plus adjacent lot) to be located at 664 Victoria Ave in Downtown Windsor.  The mandate is to grow talent and jobs.

The facility is under renovations and will provide production and post-production facilities, e.g. for filming, editing and sound, arts-based retail, film equipment rentals, teaching spaces, and office spaces for small media arts companies and more to emerging film and digital media companies, including recent graduates of the University of Windsor and St. Clair College. 

Once launched, the operation will be fully self-sustaining, but MACC will continue to raise funds for endowments for facility upkeep, the continues purchase of state-of-the art equipment and bursaries.  

The centre will offer affordable office spaces and equipment to rent, a place to network and work together on projects, technology that they could never afford to purchase given until established, and much more. 

A cluster of skilled labour with experience developed over more than two decades, and our proximity to Toronto and Detroit are also key, and we have been working with filmmakers from both regions over the past five years. Ontario-based and international tax credits make Windsor-Essex a draw.  

The Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit is generally calculated as 35 per cent of the eligible Ontario labour expenditures incurred by a qualifying production company with respect to an eligible Ontario production. However, productions in Ontario entirely outside of the Greater Toronto Area can receive a 10 per cent bonus on all Ontario labour expenditures incurred for the production, which includes Windsor-Essex. 

Windsor offers visitor directors and producers four distinct seasons, with a short winter, and a low cost of housing for out-of-town actors and crew members. Windsor-Essex also offers affordable filming locations, e.g. farmland, water, small town imagery, and/or a large-city, look that Windsor-Detroit can provide. 

The time is now – and we need the entire community to lend a hand.  “The downtowns that have achieved the most success and transformation have been patiently committed to revitalization efforts for decades,” notes Canada’s Urban Institute in The Value of Investing in Canadian Downtowns.  

We agree! Let’s do this now and stop the brain drain of local talent heads to larger metropolitan centres. The centre will instead work with others to attract filmmaking to Windsor-Essex.