To Be or Not to Be … a Sector

February 22, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | by communityconversations | 1 comment

There are a couple of recent and very exciting contributions to the discussions and debates we need to have as Sector.

Bob Wyatt of the Muttart Foundation has just released Letters to (not always of) Joy. A series of his musings about the Sector – where we have come from, where we are and where he thinks we should be going. (Stay tuned for Meg’s Picks about the monograph.)     

The latest issue of The Philanthropist is also now available online. In this issue:

  • Tim Brodhead offers his take on the major challenges and promising new directions for the Sector. 
  • Bob Wyatt and Don Bourgeois tackle opposite sides of the question are we or are we not a Sector? 

This is exactly the kind of challenging thinking we need.

We need to broaden our thinking from the usual way of doing business. We need to be exposed to challenging and provocative points of view. We need to debate those points of view (in a “nice” Canadian way) and accept or reject ideas based on thoughtful reflection. We need to be open to change. 

Let’s talk: Take the time to review these articles. Post your thoughts and let us know of others articles, you have found interesting.   

Submit your thoughts to The Philanthropist. Discuss some of these ideas with your Board, among your networks and with those who are not part of the Sector. 

Thanks Bob, Tim and Don for getting us started.  Let the debate continue.   

~Brenda

Perchance to engage anyone?

February 22, 2010 in Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | by communityconversations | Leave a comment

What does it take to get an incredibly diverse nonprofit sector working as a united force and talking collectively with one empowered voice? This was one of many questions discussed by me and Elisa Birnbaum for a recent Charity Village cover story, Perchance to engage: Imagine Canada’s pan-Canadian engagement strategy.

Kudos to Elisa for doing a brilliant job of conveying the initiative. The article has already been sparking interest and as you will read, also conveys a sense of excitement and innovation.

~Brenda

Understanding our history & learning from others (Nov 2-5, 2009)

February 16, 2010 in Community Conversations, Meetings | Tags: , , , , , , , | by communityconversations | Leave a comment

In Calgary, we also talked about the value of learning from where we have come from as important to determining where we will go. After having read the article mentioned below, I realized that I certainly did not have a good understanding of the history and roots of the Sector in Canada. 

The Baring Foundation’s article outlines the history of the Sectors and the relationship to Government in Canada, England, Germany, Northern Ireland, Scotland, USA and Wales.

I would certainly suggest reading the Canadian component written by Peter Elson of Mount Royal College. And if time permits, the rest too as it is really interesting to get an inside look at the other countries and a sense of the similarities and differences.

~Brenda

Blurring of the Lines … Good or Bad? (Nov 2-5, 2009)

February 16, 2010 in Community Conversations, Meetings | Tags: , , , , , , , | by communityconversations | 1 comment

In Calgary, we talked about the blurring of the lines between the Government, Private and Charitable/Nonprofit sectors. Charities and Nonprofits often offer support and carry out work on behalf of Government. In the Health Sector in particular, there is a mix of Private, Government and Charitable/Nonprofit services.

Charities and Nonprofits who are moving more to earned income/social enterprise are moving into the for-profit realm. One organization in Calgary is finding the rules and regulations for charities so restrictive that they are looking at becoming a for-profit.

Is that good or bad? … I don’t know, but I think it is an important discussion for us to have.

~Brenda

Local Resonance in Calgary (Nov 2-5, 2009)

February 16, 2010 in Community Conversations, Meetings | Tags: , , , , , , | by communityconversations | 2 comments

Thanks to Zoe Fleming and Volunteer Calgary for bringing together a group to meet with me. 

Participants shared that they were beginning to locally talk about a number of the “big issues” and saw the value of the pan-Canadian approach in a number of areas. 

There was some discussion around the need to improve our metrics for assessing what we do and how we are doing. The increased demand for accountability and transparency is driving this and we have not yet found the tools to convincingly tell our story. I found the comment that we have allowed accountability to be reduced to accounting to be a very good descriptor. 

We also talked about how we as a sector have been accepting detrimental practices. For example, accepting funds that we know do not cover the full cost of operating a program. Changing this will require a major culture shift in the sector and with our funders. One of the things we need are tools that will help some organizations and individuals to be open to the changes that will be required over the next decade for organizations and the sector to play a significant role in the future of Canada. 

~Brenda

The Importance and Role of Volunteer-run Organizations (Nov 23-26, 2009)

January 20, 2010 in Community Conversations, Meetings | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | by communityconversations | 1 comment

Michelle  and I had the opportunity to travel to Marystown on the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland and Labrador at the end of November. Thanks to Sharon Snook a member of Imagine Canada’s Advisory Council and Foundation Director of the Burin Peninsula Health Care Foundation for making the arrangements for us to visit the area. We also appreciated the warm welcome from Marystown’s Mayor Sam Synard who agreed to host the Community Conversation at the Town Hall. 

Brenda Cameron Couch, Director of Community Outreach

This was an important visit for us and a reminder that many organizations in the Sector do not have paid staff. Many people around the table had multiple volunteer roles. The power of community and collective action was evident at first glance as the group brainstormed ideas for who might replace the usual Santa in this year’s parade.

A focus of the conversation in Marystown was around volunteering and changes in volunteers. This is an area that has seen significant out migration of young people and this has had an impact on volunteers. Some people also felt that there was a decline in the willingness to be involved in community activities.

One person posed the question: Do we need to look at another model of volunteering or another model completely for community involvement? There are no answers to this at the moment but it is one of many important questions that we heard raised across the country that would benefit from our collective thinking as a Sector. 

~Brenda

Wrapping up 2009

December 21, 2009 in Community Conversations, Meetings | Tags: | by communityconversations | Leave a comment

As December comes to an end I have been reflecting back on the insightful comments and consistency of messages that Marcel, Michelle and I heard in Community Conversations this fall.

There was strong support across the country of the need for the sector to come together to work on issues that affect all of us. Thank you to all those who took the time to meet with us and share your ideas. It was very helpful in assisting us in thinking through how to move to the next phase.

Unfortunately, despite my best intentions I was not able to keep up with the postings immediately after each conversation. There are more coming so please check back in the new year. We are now moving towards provincial events in 2010.

We are working to finalize our partners for these events. This is a collective approach and it will only be successful if organizations across the country contribute in a variety of ways. Stay tuned for details of these events in 2010.

I wish you all the best in 2010 and hope that you will continue to be part of this work to strengthen the charitable and nonprofit sector in Canada

~Brenda

The Philanthropist stimulating thoughts and discussions on issues facing the sector

December 7, 2009 in The Philanthropist | Tags: , , , , , , , | by communityconversations | Leave a comment

The Philanthropist is an online journal addressing issues facing the sector. The current issue includes: 

An editorial by Don Bourgeois talking about the engagement strategy and the role The Philanthropist will play in the initiative. Don also states “the purpose of these articles is not to define the future but rather to stimulate thought and discussion of the matters at stake.”

Martin Garber-Conrad sets the stage for this relationship with his article, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste,” which talks about the importance of the sector coming together on issues and the engagement strategy. 

Lynn Eakin’s article “The Invisible Public Benefit Economy – Implications for the Non Profit Sector” describes the nonprofit sector as part of a public benefit economy that operates in Canadian communities on principles that are fundamentally different from those of the commerce economy.

Bob Wyatt reminds us of the changing environment for charities in his article “Overview from Canada: Modernizing Charity Law”

Future issues will focus on many of the themes that we heard on the ground during our Community Conversations. Stay tuned!

~Brenda

Book reviews on issues affecting the charitable and nonprofit sector (Meg’s Picks)

December 7, 2009 in Meg's Book Picks, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , | by communityconversations | 1 comment

Brenda Cameron Couch, Director of Community Outreach

You will have noticed a recent post form my colleague, Meg Kwasnicki, introducing you to Meg’s Picks. Meg is the Manager of our Nonprofit Library Commons and will be posting book reviews on issues affecting the charitable and nonprofit sector (look out Heather!). 

This is another great way of connecting with the community and will add to our thinking on some key issues. Thanks Meg for your timely contribution to the Blog! 

Any suggestions for Meg’s next pick?

~Brenda

Meg’s Picks: The New Federal Policy Agenda and the Voluntary Sector: On the Cutting Edge

December 3, 2009 in Meg's Book Picks | Tags: , , , , , , | by megkwas | 1 comment

Meg Kwasnicki

Meg Kwasnicki

Welcome to Meg’s Picks, the first in a series of charitable and nonprofit sector book reviews by Meg Kwasnicki, manager of Imagine Canada’s Nonprofit Library Commons.

The New Federal Policy Agenda and the Voluntary Sector: On the Cutting Edge
Edited by: Rachel Laforest Publisher: McGill-Queen’s University Press. McGill-Queen’s University Press

This is a must-read for those of us looking to understand current Canadian federal political agenda and its impact on the voluntary sector. The New Federal Policy Agenda and the Voluntary Sector: On the Cutting Edge is an edited text of eight papers, is very accessible and complete  in outlining the shift of federal funding policies and priorities from the former liberal government to the current conservative Harper government.  For readers, the stage is set with a great context of voluntary sector policy over the last 15 years with a perspective paper The Harper Government and the Voluntary Sector: Whither a Policy Agenda? (pp. 7-34, Susan D. Phillips). The additional papers build on the broader points by honing in on topics such as: Financial sustainability (Andrew Graham), social economy (Luc Thériault), the Urban Agenda (Neil Bradford), Childcare Advocacy (Grant Holly) and Citizenship and Immigration (Jehad Aliweiwi & Rachel Laforest).

Federal government interest in the Voluntary sector: From bad to worse
One of the eight papers featured in the book, this text demonstrates that the relationship between the voluntary sector and the former liberal government was far from perfect and still needed development. Now it’s much worse. What was little long-term policy follow through on policy positions building off of capacity-building programs such as the Canada Volunteerism Initiative (CVI), has turned to overarching neglect for the voluntary sector.  Some examples: transfer whatever dollars possible to provinces to manage funded projects (e.g. Literacy, promotion of volunteerism), eliminate support for sector-based or interested research, eliminate advocacy groups. In short, I can’t say it better than one of the authors:

“The federal government has created a dilemma for itself. It appears to have made it clear that it does not need any relationship of significance with the voluntary sector- not advocacy, nor research, nor the promotion of volunteerism, nor social enterprise, nor active citizenship.” (pp. 30, Phillips)

The subsequent papers outline specifics around the nature of the how current federal government policy is ultimately creating issues with how effectively the voluntary sector can do its work. Hopefully, informing ourselves with this text’s well illustrated examples will lead to a more knowledgeable and empowered sector. Kudos to all the authors and editor Rachel Laforest for her oversight in bringing it all together and creating a great flow of articles that build off of the points made by each author.

Contributors include: Jehad Aliweiwi (Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office), Neil Bradford (Western), Andrew Graham (Queen’s), Grant Holly (Université de Montréal), Rachel Laforest (Queen’s), Susan Phillips (Carleton), Senator Hugh Segal (Queen’s), and Luc Thériault (UNB).

Find this book and other sector literature at the library site’s New Acquisition’s list.

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