Alberta Budget 2023 | Statistics into Stories Webinar April 4 & 5
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Budget 2023 and Alberta's Nonprofit Sector
Budget 2023: A missed opportunity to support Alberta's Nonprofit Sector
An Ipsos poll conducted in November 2022 shows 22% of Canadians and 30% of Albertans expect to access charitable services for their basic needs in the next 6 months. Budget 2023 does not address this reality; the strategic requests made by CCVO have not been met, and despite recording a $2.4 Billion surplus, Alberta’s 2023 Budget does not support Alberta’s essential nonprofit sector.
In CCVO’s pre-budget submission, we made two requests to support a sector in crisis:
1. A commitment to indexing all granting programs to inflation and growth in the budget, starting with 2023/24, such as Community Facility Enhancement Program (CFEP), Community Initiatives Program (CIP), and Family and Community Support Services (FCSS).
While there have been adjustments within CFEP and FCSS, all of these critical programs are left with a substantial shortfall totalling $73 million, which means that the sector will continue to operate in a deficit position while attempting to meet growing demand amid rising costs.
2. An investment in the 2023/24 budget in a strategic Community Prosperity Fund, eligible only to nonprofits totalling $300 million over 3 years.
No such commitment was made for nonprofits in Alberta in budget 2023. Verbally, we were told that the Civil Society Fund, which ended after 3 years in 2022, would continue in 2023 with a $3 million commitment.
This budget offers some notable pockets of good news for the sector, in disability services, homeless shelters (although funding for women’s shelters is not keeping pace), and multiculturalism.
Because this is an election budget, we are opting not to do a detailed analysis of all ministries. This is a budget that may or may not come to fruition after the election in May, regardless of who forms government. Read more about the budget and implications for the sector in our latest blog post.
Statistics Canada Workshop: Turning Statistics Into Stories
APRIL 4 & 5 | 9:30AM - 2:30PM | ZOOM
CCVO will be hosting a two day workshop in partnership with Statistics Canada. This workshop encourages effective communication of statistics via stories. The focus is on knowing your audience and acquiring tools and technique to convey key messages.
Through the use of examples and exercises, participants are shown how to construct the elements of a story and package text, tables and graphs into narratives which bring data to life.
The 2023 Boland Survey is Open: Enter Your Data Today!
The Boland Survey is open and organizations can submit their data until April 30, 2023. The Boland Survey is the most comprehensive source of nonprofit sector compensation data in Canada. It has compensation information for 96 positions as well as data on flex time, onboarding, paid time off, professional development practices, employee recognition, recruitment practices and more. Check out a sample report here.
With inflation, changing employee needs, and a labour shortage, up-to-date information on compensation and HR practices is more important than ever. Contributing your organization's data to the survey helps provide more accurate information and deepens the shared understanding of the labour market and HR trends in the nonprofit sector. It also helps strengthen advocacy for sector-wide supports.
Taking part in the Boland Survey takes around 1-3 hours of time and gets you a discount on your subscription. Subscription rates are based on organization size and can be found here. Sign up for the report today using the link below.
Policy Highlights
Building the Cybersecurity and Resilience for Canada's Nonprofit Sector
Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience
In nonprofit organizations, skillful use of technology combined with strong digital leadership can multiply impact. Nonprofits often adopt systems, software, and automated processes without fully understanding the risks though.
The constraints faced by nonprofits that limit their ability to adopt effective cybersecurity controls and implement security requirements include:
Awareness and Attention Many nonprofits believe that they are not big enough or rich enough for a security threat or are unsure of their basic legal and compliance responsibilities
Funding restrictions Funders rarely fully appreciate cybersecurity as a standard program cost.
Scale Small nonprofits tend to have limited capacity and expertise to create custom policies and other interventions to ensure cybersecurity.
Time Horizon Nonprofits’ planning and budgeting cycles impose a barrier to building and maintaining a cybersecurity program.
Outdated hardware and software The use of donated or low-cost/no-cost hardware and software solutions can also increase cybersecurity risk.
Other issues Operating in a federation or association context, funder requirements, rights and values and connectivity can restrict efforts for cybersecurity.
Many cybersecurity resources available today do not require significant investment, and many good cybersecurity practices can be adopted at low-cost. However, resources are only as good as organizations’ awareness of them, understanding of how to apply them, and motivation to use them. Read the full report here.
Learning Opportunities
Ask US Anything About ChatGPT
Mar 14 | Online
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AI for Nonprofits
Mar 14 | Online
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Pitching Your Passion in 2-3 Minutes
Mar 15 | Online
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Common Foundations for Impact Measurement
Mar 15 | Online
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How to Optimize Your Income Streams
Mar 15 | Online
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The Life of a Grant
Mar 16 | Online
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Funding & Grants
CIRA Grants
CIRA’s grants fund community-led internet projects to build a resilient, trusted and secure internet for all Canadians. Grants of up to $100,000 are available to fund infrastructure, online safety, and policy engagement. For 2023 they are especially looking to fund initiatives that benefit:
Northern, rural and Indigenous communities
Students (kindergarten to grade 12 and post-secondary)
Applications are open to charities, Indigenous communities, nonprofit organizations and academics and researchers associated with a university or college. Applications close April 12. Find out more information and apply here.
Johansen Larsen Foundation Grant
The Johansen Larsen Foundation is a private charitable foundation that provides grants to organizations that offer programming to enrich the lives of those marginalized in our communities (both human and animal). Single year grants of up to $10,000 and multi-year grants of up to $7,500/year for 2 or 3 years are available.
The Johansen Larsen Foundation funds two of their focus areas each year. This year the focus areas are reconciliation with Indigenous People and the One Health model. The idea of One Health refers to the interdependence between the health of people, animals and entire ecosystems.
Applications are open to Canadian based registered charitable organizations with a total revenue below $2 million. Indigenous led nonprofit organizations are also welcome to apply. Intent to apply forms are due by April 1 and those selected will be invited to complete a full grant application. Learn more information and fill out the intent to apply form here.
Oshki Wupoowane | The Blanket Fund
The Blanket Fund provides support for Indigenous cultural, artistic, and educational activities through two grant streams. Indigenous people, as well as Indigenous-led initiatives and organizations in Canada, are eligible to apply.
The Reconciliation Action grant stream will support reconciliation activities, events, and initiatives in communities that contribute to cultural revitalization, elevate Indigenous culture, languages, and traditions, increase understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, or other grassroots initiatives that move reconciliation forward. Grants of $1,500-$15,000 are available. Applications are due by March 15.
The Capacity Building grant stream will support grassroots Indigenous charities, programs, communities, and initiatives with the potential for significant impact. This grant stream commits to multi-year relationships which increase the capacity, networks, programs, and profile of the partners selected. Grants of up to $175,000 a year are available. Expressions of Interest are due by April 15.
Find out more information about the grant streams and apply here.
National Volunteer Week Enhancement Funding Grant
National Volunteer Week is an opportunity to celebrate the vibrancy and impact of volunteerism in our communities and across our country. This year, National Volunteer Week is April 16-22, 2023. Enhancement Funding is intended to promote and celebrate National Volunteer Week and volunteerism on behalf of an entire community, and is not intended to solely recognize volunteers of a particular agency or group. Applicants are strongly encouraged to collaborate with a Volunteer Centre, other organizations, municipalities/villages/counties/rural communities in your region to plan and celebrate National Volunteer Week.
Organizations can apply to be a Feature Site or a Host Site.
Feature Sites will be supported with $1,200 and will be required to promote and celebrate National Volunteer Week throughout the entire community. Sites will be required to meet the following criteria:
Lead/convene collaborative effort with other municipalities, villages, counties and/or nonprofit organizations, charities, societies in your region
Incorporate all three of the following aspects:
Recognition of volunteers
Promotion of volunteerism
Recruitment of volunteers
Host Sites will be supported in the amount of $600 and will be required to promote and celebrate National Volunteer Week throughout the entire community. Sites will be required to meet the following criteria:
incorporate two of the following three aspects:
Recognition of volunteers
Promotion of volunteerism
Recruitment of volunteers
Find out more information and apply for funding here.
Canada's Volunteer Awards
Canada’s Volunteer Awards (CVA) recognizes volunteers, not-for-profit organizations, social enterprises and businesses for their contributions across the country. The awards include:
The Thérèse Casgrain Lifelong Achievement Award for individuals who have volunteered for 20+ years
Community Leader for individuals or groups
Emerging Leader for individuals between the ages of 18-30 years
Business Leader for businesses or social enterprises
Social Innovator for non-for-profit organization, social enterprises or registered charities
The nomination deadline is April 26, 2023. Find out more and submit a nomination here.
Blogs & More
Communities pay a high price for inefficient funding of non-profits
Bruce MacDonald, Jung-Suk Ryu
It is difficult for small organizations such as the National accessArts Centre to find core funding grants. Pursuing project grants is therefore the norm for smaller organizations, but the time and resources required to apply and — if successful — manage the specific parameters of the project is excessive, inefficient and burdensome.
Project-based funding also restricts the ability of non-profits to consult with communities to design new programs to meet emerging needs. Instead, because they rely on intermittent project funding to survive, non-profits must tailor their services to meet conditions set by government, which support political priorities and may not reflect what the community needs. Read more →
Decent Work: The Rise of The Four-day Work Week With Annika Voltan
Let's Imagine
There’s no denying that the pandemic has been difficult on all of us. Staff worked extra hard, and the lines between personal and professional lives got blurred with everyone working from home. A growing number of organizations, mostly companies, but also nonprofits, have started to explore new ways of working and providing more flexibility to employees. If the pandemic was the catalyst for the rise of decent work and the 4 day work week, competition for talent is certainly another factor. Listen to the podcast →