New CCVO Report: Too Essential To Fail and a Campaign for Immediate Relief to The Nonprofit Sector
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New Report: Too Essential To Fail and a Call For Immediate Sector Support
Last week we launched our latest report on the state of the nonprofit sector Too Essential to Fail and a campaign to ensure relief for organizations facing the effects of the inflation and the pandemic.
Too Essential to Fail surveyed hundreds of Alberta nonprofits and describes a sector in crisis. Some of the key findings include:
68 percent of respondents reported an increased demand for services
74 percent of respondents experienced increased need and complexity of the people/communities they serve
71 percent of respondents experienced negative impacts on staff mental health and well-being
88 percent of respondents experienced impacts of inflation
While no sector emerged unscathed, nonprofits were particularly under resourced and undervalued through the pandemic. While other sectors recover, nonprofits juggle heightened demand for services with increasingly complex client needs and decreasing revenues.
Nonprofits fill critical needs not provided by governments or the for-profit sector spanning poverty reduction, health, mental health, environmental protection, cultural and language support, sport and recreation. They contribute $5.5 billion to the economy, leverage astounding added value at 227 million hours of annual volunteer time, and employ 1/20 Albertans.
We are calling for an urgent, one-time top-up of $30 million in immediate relief to protect our programs and services. The $30 million in emergency funds would be used to provide short-term relief from inflation and ease recruitment and retention issues at nonprofit organizations across the province.
Policy Highlights
Government of Canada Opens Consultations on a National School Food Policy
One in five children in Canada are at risk of going to school hungry on any given day. School meal programs can help reduce hunger and food insecurity, improve children’s access to nutritious food, improve academic outcomes and achievement, and help support families by reducing food costs. The Government of Canada is currently seeking feedback from Canadians on a national school food policy.
The input received will help build towards a national school food policy that is responsive to the evolving needs of children and families, while also setting a foundation for a future where more children in Canada have access to nutritious food while at school.
A national school food policy needs to take into account the diverse realities of children in Canada, their families and their schools, and it should constructively build on the programs that already exist. The online questionnaire will be available from November 16 to December 16. Fill out the questionnaire here.
Volunteer Recruitment and Retention Challenge
Data shows that the majority of nonprofits are facing challenges related to volunteerism; 67% report facing a shortage of new volunteers, 51% report challenges with retention, 42% report that volunteers aren’t able to commit long term, 29% lack time or resources to recruit volunteers and 26% report high volunteer burnout and stress. To deal with the shortage of volunteers 28% of organizations report that paid employees are working more hours, 35% report a reduction of programs or services, 17% report cancellation of programs and services and 21% report employee burnout. Find out more information here.
New Social Entrepreneur Resource: Namada
Namada is an online resource tool for social entrepreneurs. It was created through the collective wisdom of a Social Impact Working Group consisting of the Government of Alberta, AB Seed, and several key community partners, including the Social Enterprise Fund, Trico Foundation, and United Way Calgary.
The main purpose of Namada is to bring together all of the different social enterprise resources, programs, mentorship, funding, and anything and everything in between. The list of programs would be useful for non-profits and charities and anyone trying to move forward into social impact. When it is up and running at full capacity, you’ll be able to look for specific types of supports and resources. Check out Namada here.
Learning Opportunities
Understanding Power and Privilege: An Intersectional Lens
Dec 6 | online
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Community Services Recovery Fund Information Webinar
Dec 6 | online
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10 Digital Marketing and Fundraising Trends to Prioritize in 2023
Dec 7 | online
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Economics of Social Change
Jan 26- Mar 3 | Mount Royal University
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Strategic Risk Management for Nonprofits
Jan 26 | online
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Working Stronger Workplace Mental Health Conference
Mar 7-8 | The Westin Edmonton
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Funding & Grants
Northpine Foundation
The Northpine Foundation offers support through:
Tailored financing to shape capital according to stages of development — to facilitate scalable models
Commitment of time, expertise, networks and other non-financial supports — to accelerate scaling up or failing forward
Impact measurement and management — to ensure accountability
They are currently accepting applications for any initiatives from around Canada that focus on the following areas:
Climate, carbon and nature — initiatives to meet global targets of decarbonizing energy, atmosphere and food systems.
Formerly incarcerated people in Canada — assisting persons who have recently exited the Canadian prison system to achieve their full potential.
Refugees — Reducing barriers to settlement for adult refugees and claimants, empowering them to thrive and enrich the communities they live in.
Find out more here.
Canadian Women's Foundation Investment Readiness Program
The Canadian Women’s Foundation is launching a round of IRP funding to help build the capacity and investment readiness of social purpose organizations and boost women’s sector participation in the social finance market, so they are better able to access the Government of Canada’s proposed Social Finance Fund or other investment opportunities.
The Foundation believes that promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as the growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises helps women develop greater economic prosperity. With more knowledge and experience in the use of social finance mechanisms and tools, the women’s sector will be better able to support these enterprises.
Organizations can apply to one of three funding streams:
Impact Stream - Have or intend to develop or grow a social enterprise operation that plans to generate revenue or have or intend to explore, develop or launch or community-driven innovation project
Catalyst Stream - Same as Impact Steam but for smaller scale projects or one component of a larger project
System-Change Stream - Have or intend to undertake a collaborative project that builds the ecosystem that addresses a systemic issue in the intersecting areas of gender, charities/non-profits, and social finance.
The application deadline for this round is January 18, 2023. Find out more here.
Black History Month and Youth Initiatives
The Canadian Race Relations Foundation (CRRF) is inviting applications from individuals and organizations who are preparing events or youth initiatives for Black History Month 2023.
Previous events or youth initiatives have included:
Webinars/Workshops
Roundtables
Conferences
Festivals
Film screenings
Applications are open for Event sponsorships and Youth initiative sponsorships until December 31. Find out more here
Community Services Recovery Fund Applications
United Way of Calgary and Area is proud to be taking part in the Community Services Recovery Fund, a collaboration between United Way Centraide Canada, Canadian Red Cross, and Community Foundations of Canada to provide funding to Community Service Organizations, including non-profit organizations, Indigenous Governing Bodies, and Registered Charities located across Canada. The Community Services Recovery Fund responds to what charities and nonprofits need right now and supports organizations as they adapt to the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Community Service Organizations can apply from January 6, 2023 until February 21, 2023. Find out more here.
Blogs & More
How to Attract and Keep Fundraising Talent with Chad Barger
Nonprofit Nation with Julia Campbell
34% of nonprofits lost fundraising staff in 2021. Fundraisers only stay on the job for an average of 16 months. 85% of fundraisers expect to change jobs within the next two years - with more than one-third expecting to leave fundraising altogether. Many fundraisers are fulfilling all the non-program tasks, including: Marketing, Social Media, Outreach, Public relations, Donor relations, Events And oh yes - fundraising. Usually all of this is lumped into one impossible job description - "Now for the good news! There is a better way to structure development positions and to prevent fundraisers (and other staff) from jumping ship. Listen here→
How – and how much – women give is changing the philanthropic landscape
Angela Long for Philanthropist Journal
Media outlets have noted that women philanthropists are “breaking up” the philanthropic “boys club.” They demand accountability, Sager told the New York Times, and “wield funding as leverage to create policy change.” Women don’t simply want to write a cheque and get their name on a building, she said; they’re in it for impact. This shift from “an ego-system to an ecosystem” isn’t just a trend, according to PhiLab researcher Manuel Litalien: feminist philanthropy is “colouring the philanthropic landscape.” Read more here→
Supporting Non-Charities is About to Get Easier. Why Should Funders Consider it?
Malia Rogers and the Grant Connect Team
In Canada, the social-purpose sector is made up of not only registered charities, but also nonprofit associations, organizations, collectives, and social enterprises that are as diverse as the communities they serve. Many of these non-charities provide important services to communities across Canada and around the world, but have had trouble accessing funding to support their work. This blog post details the challenges faced by non-charities and the policy changes being made to better support them, and shares insights from funders that have led the way in working with non-charities. Read more here→
Tensions and Opportunities for Increased Data Transparency in the Nonprofit Sector
Neemarie Allam and John Saunders for The PhiLanthropic Year
More recently, nonprofits are recognizing and advocating for more equitable relationships between the various players in the ecosystem. They want to harness data that is free, open, and readily usable to be able to identify creative solutions to complex challenges. Nonprofits are exploring their own data needs, creating shared data systems, and figuring out how to extract needed data from other stakeholders, while being mindful of data equity principles. Read more here→