2023 Platform Priorities and Party Responses | CED Event Featuring Provincial Party Leaders
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Too Essential to Fail: 2023 Platform Priorities
With a Provincial Election on the horizon, we are pleased to share our 2023 Platform Priorities, courtesy of The Nonprofit Vote members: Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations, Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations, FUSE Social, Volunteer Lethbridge, and the Rozsa Foundation.
Between the pandemic, inflation, surging demand amid a workforce crisis and historic underfunding, the nonprofit sector is in crisis. Nonprofits that fill critical needs across the province are at risk of shutting their doors or scaling back on essential programs and services if our sector isn’t adequately supported. If Alberta’s nonprofits fail, more Albertans will go to bed hungry, go to sleep without a roof over their head, and use our healthcare and justice system.
Alberta’s provincial parties have a critical opportunity to ensure essential nonprofit services are there for Albertans when they need them. Our five platform priorities help them get there. They include:
Appropriate Funding: Invest $300 million over 3 years in a Community Prosperity Fund for nonprofits to address the impacts of the pandemic, inflation, and historic under-resourcing to ensure this essential sector is here for Albertans when they need it most.
A Workforce Strategy: Undertake a labour market study and strategy to stabilize the nonprofit workforce through addressing recruitment and retention concerns.
Better Data Collection: Collaborate on data collection to ensure government and nonprofits can be more effective through data informed actions.
A Door To Government: Explore creating a dedicated space in government to share challenges, successes and opportunities with renewed partnership from the Government of Alberta to address them.
An Empowered Sector: Make funding go further by cutting red tape and sharing decision-making with nonprofits on the most effective allocation of government dollars.
Read more about the platform priorities here.
The Nonprofit Vote has launched a campaign in conjunction with the platform priorities. Sign on to the campaign to tell the provincial party leaders that nonprofits are important and you want to see these 5 priorities included in their platforms.
Responses to the 2023 Platform Priorities
In the News
Media is taking notice of the impact and importance of nonprofits in Alberta, and we are very grateful to LiveWire and CTV for their coverage of the launch of these election priorities!
In response to CTV, the UCP and NDP responded to the election platform priorities and we are pleased to hear that both parties are committed to supporting the nonprofit sector. While these verbal commitments are a great start, we will be looking for firm commitments to the five priorities in party election platforms. We will continue to advocate and to meet with all parties to advance these priorities. The response from each party is noted below and taken verbatim from the CTV coverage.
Party Responses
UCP
Jeremy Nixon, minister of seniors, community and social services, says the UCP is committed to partnering with the nonprofit community.
"Which is why we increased funding to the Seniors, Community and Social Services budget by nearly $700 million this year. This funding supports countless non-profit organizations as they care for Albertans throughout the province," he said in a statement.
NDP
Nicole Goehring…says the NDP can't commit to the $300 million, but would support all the other asks if elected.
"What I can do is commit to working with them to ensure they have strong stability in their funding formula," Goehring said.
"Having them at the table, having a clear understanding of what their needs are, and a definite commitment to work alongside them to make sure that their needs are met, is a commitment that we have."
Subscribe for weekly platform priorities updates here.
Calgary Economic Development: Report to the Community
APRIL 18 | 2:30PM - 5:30PM | Telus Convention Centre
Calgary Economic Development presents an intimate conversation with The Honourable Danielle Smith, Premier of Alberta and The Honourable Rachel Notley, Leader of the Official Opposition, led by Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
Additional Speakers include:
Navin Arora, EVP and President, TELUS Business Solutions
Brad Parry, President & CEO of Calgary Economic Development
Business Panel:
Arlene Strom, Chief Sustainability Officer of Suncor
Salima Shivji, Director of Movement51
Scott Gravelle, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Attabotics
Community Panel:
Calgary Mayor , Jyoti Gondek
Chi Iliya-Ndule, Corporate Commercial Lawyer at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, and Co-Founder and President of Calgary Black Chambers
Holly Singer, Founder & CEO of Milk Jar Candle Co
Lourdes Juan, Co-Founder & CEO of Fresh Routes
Join Calgary Economic Development for engaging conversations with political leaders, community builders and champions of Calgary’s leadership in digital transformation. A nonprofit rate is available
Policy Updates
Federal Budget 2023: What is the Nonprofit Sector Asking for?
Imagine Canada
This year there were 300 pre-budget submissions for the 2023 federal budget from nonprofits. Unlike previous years, the 2023 pre-budget submissions contained several overarching priorities. These priorities include core funding, support for data collection, a comprehensive workforce strategy, an annual basic income, a home in government and continued investment in DEI initiatives.
Across all sub-sectors, organizations asked the government for some form of core funding support. Core funding is a crucial tool to help the nonprofit sector weather crises, such as public health emergencies and economic downturns.
Year after year, the sector at large continues to ask for funding and support for data collection and information sharing. Several organizations also asked for workforce data collection to develop solutions to tackle the healthcare workforce shortage and address factors hindering recruitment and retention. Read the full Imagine Canada article here.
Trico Foundation Joins International Call for Improved Funding Practices
Trico Foundation
Catalyst 2030 is an international coalition of members and allies working to make the world a better and fairer place for everyone. Founding members include Ashoka, Echoing Green, the Schwab Foundation of the World Economic Forum, and the Skoll Foundation. Their recent letter entitled "Shift Funding Practices" outlines the shift they want to see donors and funders make.
“We are calling on donors and funders to remodel their traditional practices to more effectively support grassroots organisations and sustainable social impact. We have co-written a letter that highlights the changes we are calling for. We invite all organisations working to improve the quality of people’s lives to sign it and join us in our open call to donors and funders.”
Trico Foundation has signed on the Shifting Funding Practices initiative, joining The Institute for Community Prosperity and CCVO who signed on to the Shifting Funding Practices initiative quite some time ago. CCVO’s Blueprint for Community Recovery offers recommendations for funders in-line with the Catalyst 2030 goals. As such, Alberta already has considerable momentum in advancing this dialogue. Read Trico Foundation's full post here.
Learning Opportunities
Blogging Best Practices for Nonprofits
Mar 29 | Online
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Grants That Stand Out From The Crowd
Mar 30 | Online
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Partnership Brokers Foundation Course
Apr 11, 14, 18, 21 | Online
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Breakthrough Community Change, Impact and Evaluation
Apr 18 | Italian Cultural Centre, Calgary
Apr 20 | Stanley A Milner Library, Edmonton
REGISTER
Your Money Story: How to Talk About and Ask for Money
Mar 15 | Online
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Writing Effective Policies and Procedures
On Demand | Online
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Funding & Grants
The ARK Foundation Grants
The ARK Foundation is dedicated to advancing the education and well-being of youth globally. The Foundation aims to support youth led, or youth serving programming that focuses on equity, sustainability, and life long learning opportunities.
The current granting focus is on youth education and/or wellness with priority given to Calgary based programming. Applicants must be a local or international charity registered in Canada.
Applicants can apply for up to $15,000. The next deadline for consideration will be April 15, 2023. Find the grant application here.
Community Organization Grants Burns Memorial Fund
Burns Memorial Fund offers project grants to Calgary organizations working with low-income children and youth (under the age of 21) in the areas of health, education and recreation. Funded projects must align with at least one of the following goals:
Each child is healthy, safe and has access to optimal health care
Each child is ready for school, experiences success in school and graduates
Each child has the opportunity to participate in recreational activities that help them to discover their talents and develop their full potential
Project grants are intended to support time-limited projects, seed or start-up activities, capital costs, one-time program costs, capacity-building or other similar endeavors. Grants are not multi-year and cannot be used to cover ongoing program or staff expenses.
The maximum grant size for 2023 is $20,000 per grant. Grant decisions are usually made within ten weeks of the application deadline.
Applicants must be registered charities working in Calgary. Before submitting an application, applicants must discuss their proposed project with Kendall Quantz, Executive Director of Burns Memorial Fund. The deadline for 2023 applications is May 1. Find out more information here.
Paul Barber Foundation Arts-Based Programming Grant
The Paul Barber Foundation will be awarding a grant to be used on a new or established arts program that impacts the lives of underrepresented and/or marginalized Canadians through the arts.
The project should meet one or more of the following objectives:
Provide equal access to arts programs for marginalized, underserved, or underrepresented groups.
Using arts to improve the lives of women and girls.
Using arts to improve the lives of youth.
Special consideration will be given to programs that also address the following areas:
Promoting mental health.
Education and/or career-building.
Inclusivity and diversity.
The grant may be single-year or multi-year depending on the program's needs and vision. $15,000-$30,000 is available per year with a total grant amount of up to $120,000.
Applications are open to registered Canadian charities. The application form is due April 15 and projects that are selected to move forward will be invited to submit a proposal. Find out more here.
Public Voice Fund
The Public Voice Fund provides funding to Canadian environmental organizations so they can hire skilled government relations professionals to influence decision-makers in federal, provincial, or territorial governments.
This funding is for external experts to engage in a policy or financial issue in one of two subject areas:
innovative responses, insights and measures that mitigate climate change and achieve GHG emission reductions in sectors such as energy, transportation, industry, buildings, and others; and
natural climate solutions that take an integrated approach to benefit biodiversity, sustain livelihoods, and mitigate climate change.
Grants of up to $30,000 are available and applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Only registered Canadian Charities are eligible to apply. Find out more information here.
Decent Work Resource Bank
The Decent Work Resource Bank by the Ontario Nonprofit Network is a curated collection of the literature that presents what is currently available and what is missing in the literature around decent work. Structuring it as an open resource bank enables nonprofits, advocates, and researchers to engage with the material in a myriad of ways. Nonprofits can look to the resource bank to find sector-specific information about decent work including precarity and volunteer work in the sector.
Additionally, included databases provide sector-wide national and provincial data that nonprofits can use to assess their work. The resource bank is a living document that will continue to grow and change. Check out the Decent Work Resource Bank here.
Blogs & More
Volunteerism: In crisis or at a crossroads?
Yvonne Rodney, The Philanthropist Journal
The data is telling and consistent, no matter the source. Statistics Canada data released in November 2022 show that more than 65% of non-profit organizations serving households and individuals are experiencing a shortage of volunteers and intend to recruit. Fourth-quarter data from the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions show that non-profit organizations are dealing with volunteer shortages, difficulty recruiting new volunteers, and volunteer burnout. And in the Charity Insights Canada Project survey, 59% of respondents indicated that the pandemic affected how they engaged with volunteers, and 57% said they were experiencing difficulty recruiting volunteers.
Though there seems to be a degree of forward momentum in volunteer re-engagement within some agencies, a first-quarter report from Imagine Canada predicts that the volunteer shortfall woes will continue well into 2023. Rodney gives 5 suggestions for the way forward in volunteerism which involve both organizations and funders. Read more →
Our Take on the New CRA Guidance About Funding Non-Charities
Chantal Edwards, Imagine Canada
On November 30th, 2022, the CRA released draft guidance for registered charities making grants to non-qualified donees. This guidance is intended to provide a framework for the grant-making process, with guidelines on how to assess risk and tools to ensure accountability when granting to non-charities. This is a summary of what we heard from members and organizations in the sector.
The term “risk” is mentioned 62 times throughout the Guidance without being defined. The immediate assumption of risk being high when working internationally implies the continued application of direction and control in the relationships between Canadian organizations and international colleagues. Usage of this term is also problematic because “risk” in this Guidance is often conflated with equity-seeking groups. Read more →
Nonprofit Workforce Through the Immigrant Experience With Debbie Douglas
Let's Imagine
National data from Statistics Canada, analyzed by Imagine Canada to identify employment trends in the nonprofit sector, uncovered that nationally, employees in our sector are more than twice as likely to be immigrants. In addition, half of all jobs held by immigrant women are in our sector. Charities and nonprofit organizations, which employ 2.4 million people, are, by far, the country’s biggest employers of immigrant women.
There’s no doubt that the contributions of immigrants to the sector are something to celebrate. However, many immigrant women work in the nonprofit sector not because it is their first choice, but because their options are limited. While our sector is an important employer for this population, it is perhaps not for the right reasons. Learn about how nonprofits can take action to improve working conditions and reduce employment barriers faced by immigrant workers. Listen to the podcast →