A new approach to travel – “Air Brenda”

June 30, 2010 in Regional | Tags: , , , , , , | by communityconversations | Leave a comment

My trips to Whitehorse and then Edmonton were fraught with travel challenges. As I told someone I could have been to China in the time it took me to get to Whitehorse from Ottawa! Then heading from Whitehorse to Edmonton, again it seemed that I was jinxed with more flight delays.

My trials and tribulations were shared with our Alberta colleagues and at the end of the Alberta Forum, I was presented with a way to avoid the commercial air options in the future. Yep, my very own personal jet … the only one in the Air Brenda fleet.

Many thanks to Martin Garber-Conrad for arranging donations of the craft. By the way, Michelle threatened to change her flight so that we were not travelling together on the way; but the Edmonton-Ottawa flight was just fine.

~Brenda

"Fly the friendly skies of Air Brenda"

Alberta Nonprofits and Charities gather in Edmonton (June 18, 2010)

June 30, 2010 in Engagement Strategy, Regional, Symposium | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | by communityconversations | Leave a comment

More than one hundred Albertans gathered on June 19th in Edmonton for the Alberta Forum co-hosted by the Community Foundation of Edmonton and their partners the Muttart Foundation, Edmonton Chambers of Voluntary Organizations, United Way of Alberta Capital Region, and community foundations in Calgary, Grande Prairie, Red Deer and Medicine Hat.  They were joined by three Ottawans, as Marcel,  Michelle and I had the opportunity to hear from the participants, their thoughts and ideas.

There was a great buzz in the room throughout the day and a number of people commented that it was rare that they had an opportunity to discuss some of the big picture issues.  Once again we heard that people were meeting each other for the first time. This opportunity to network and connect is a key part of the Forums.  

There is some great work being done in Alberta and we heard about the efforts around a sector labour force strategy for the sector, an initiative reaching out and connecting to rural communities and trends around volunteerism.  There is much happening in Alberta that can be leveraged to benefit communities across the country. 

Check back for details on the discussions during the day.  A report will be available soon.

~Brenda

Young People: Institutions or Causes?

June 29, 2010 in Engagement Strategy | Tags: , , , , , , , , | by communityconversations | 1 comment

Brenda Cameron Couch, Director of Community Outreach

While in Whitehorse I stayed at the Midnight Sun B&B. I had three breakfast mates one morning and the topic turned to charities and nonprofits (surprise, surprise). One guest was affiliated with a church and was visiting them throughout the Yukon; another was a member of a service club, and the other a volunteer in a number of social and health organizations. 

We had a lively discussion about young people and how they were or were not involved in organizations. We agreed that while some of the rituals in many service clubs were very important to some members they did not appeal to many young people.  In fact, many young people did not own the blue blazer that is a requirement of membership.  The gentleman with the church community said he had learned that young people were committed to causes not institutions. That resonated with the rest of us at the table. 

I wonder how many of us are and will hang on to our “institutions” and what the impact of that will be in the future?

I recommend B&B stays, often great conversations and you never know when you will find that little tidbit of a thought to take away with you.    

~Brenda

Yukoners provide their thoughts (June 16, 2010)

June 29, 2010 in Engagement Strategy, Regional, Symposium | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | by communityconversations | Leave a comment

I recently arrived in Whitehorse at midnight and had a clear reminder as to why this is called the Land of the Midnight Sun. It is quite amazing to arrive to dusk at that point in the day.  

Many thanks to Bruno Bourdache and his colleagues at Volunteer Yukon for pulling people together. I was joined for this junket by Ruth McKenzie, President of Volunteer Canada and a member of my advisory committee and Lee Rose from the HR Council, one of our partners for the 2010 Forums.  We met in the renovated Fire Hall right on the banks of the Yukon River.  

We met with people from a wide range of organizations and once again found that some people were meeting others for the first time.  I kicked off the morning talking about the Framework for Action and the Drivers of Change.  While all of the drivers seemed to resonate with people drivers #3 and #4 were definitely of interest to the participants.  

While the Yukon has many residents who came for “a week years ago” and never left, another part of the population is quite transient. This of course has a significant impact on both paid and volunteer human resources.  It was great to have some participants who attended as volunteers. We were reminded on the Burin Peninsula in Nfld and Labrador last fall that many people in smaller communities wear multiple hats.  Those communities are very lucky to have people who contribute in so many ways and I welcomed and appreciated their perspective in the Whitehorse meeting. 

After a great lunch, Volunteer Yukon held their annual meeting. Lee was then up to talk about some of the great tools that the HR council has available to assist on issues related to paid staff.  People really appreciate the clear information that is available from the HR council.  We finished the day with Ruth talking about some of the trends that are happening in volunteerism.  She challenged people to think about how they would be engaging volunteers in the future.  It was a full day!      

Oh by the way, we also visited the CBC station in Whitehorse where Ruth and Bruno did a live interview on the morning show.  I had taken Elizabeth Hayes novel Late Nights on Air with me.  It takes place in Yellowknife, with a focus on the CBC station. There are many similarities between the CBC station in the book and what we saw in Whitehorse.  It is a good read.  

 ~Brenda

We’re off! (2010 Provincial Forums)

June 29, 2010 in Engagement Strategy, Regional, Symposium | Tags: , , , , | by communityconversations | Leave a comment

We are hitting the road again, but this time building on the Community Conversations hosted in 2009. I look forward to your continued involvement as we collectively build an action plan for the Sector through the Provincial Forums we will be co-hosting across the country!

Your participation in the broader discussions about the issues facing the sector during the Community Conversations have been most helpful in setting the stage for the 2010 Provincial Forums.

Throughout the country we are working with local partners as our ability to reach out effectively will depend in large part on the willingness of organizations, such as yours, to play a leadership role in bringing people together to begin these conversations.

Find out when we will be in your neck of the woods (click here) and don’t hesitate to contact me or the provincial co-host if you’ve got a question.

See ya soon.

~Brenda (coming to a theatre near you …)

Charity Leaders Speak in Yellowknife (May 6, 2010)

June 21, 2010 in Engagement Strategy, Meetings, Regional, Symposium | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | by communityconversations | Leave a comment

David Hartley (Imagine Canada) & Major Dale (Salvation Army)

Thank you to Lyda Fuller, the Executive Director of the YWCA in Yellowknife for hosting a “territory” conversation on May 6, 2010.  Lyda is one of the most gracious charity leaders I’ve met in my travels over the past 30 months in my risk management work.

We had 17 leaders around the table (including two from the NWT government who were there to listen which was terrific) discussing local and territory issues that nonprofits and charities face. So many issues were raised, here are a few:

  • Volunteers are burning out and dying off while the next generation isn’t stepping up to the plate.
  • Tremendous need for skilled workers among the approximately 80 charities and 600 nonprofits in the region.  It can take up to 1 or 2 years to fill some positions (YWCA had one position that took 4 years to fill!).  On top of this, often competing with the NWT government to keep good staff.
  • Increasing numbers of people needed to serve, decreasing funding, cannot increase staff
  • Large amount of time writing proposals and follow-up reports, so much of the funding is year-to-year. Several told me “I wish I could spend more time writing proposals, but front-line work has to be my priority”.

Real need for training.  I asked the $25,000 question (“If someone gave you $25,000 and you needed to say right now what you would spend it on, what would you say”) …  training was by far the #1 answer.  Other answers were more urgent: a food bank that needs new shelves to replace those that are falling down.

We discussed the 7 “Drivers of Change” that have come out of Imagine Canada’s “community conversations” across the country.  Many of these resonated with this group.  Here are the top 4 that were ranked by Yellowknife’s leaders:

#1: Driver 1 – increasing importance and influence of social innovation

#2: Driver 3 – shortage of talent

#3: Driver 6 – growing need for transformative partnerships

#4: Driver 2 – shifts in the revenue base which support mission work

After spending a morning on this conversation and then another two full days facilitating risk management workshops in Yellowknife, I can’t tell you how wonderful this trip was.  A lot of wisdom up in the North that “southern Canada” (the first time I’ve heard that term!) really could benefit from.

Thanks especially to Lyda (YWCA) and Dale (Salvation Army) who were incredibly hospitable.  Thank you to all the others in Yellowknife who invested their time to talk together.  I hope you continue meeting together as a large sector.

 ~David Hartley

David is Director of Imagine Canada’s risk management work (nonprofitzzz.ca).  He’s facilitated nearly 140 workshops and webinars in the past 30-odd months across Canada.

The Philanthropist stimulating discussions on structure & collaborations within the sector

May 26, 2010 in The Philanthropist | Tags: , , , , , | by communityconversations | Leave a comment

The Spring 2010 issue of The Philanthropist is now online! The Philanthropist is an online journal that is doing a great job of promoting discussion and debate about issues facing the charitable and nonprofit sector in Canada. Many of the themes touch on subjects that we heard on the ground during our Community Conversations last year. We continue to partner with The Philanthropist to inform and promote discussion on some of the drivers of change in our draft Framework for Action. 

The focus of the Spring issue is on new ways of working and looks at structure and collaborations within the sector. There are lots of interesting examples in this issue. The lead article talks about work that is being done by the Tides Canada Initiatives Society (TCI) – acting as an “umbrella” for a number of projects/organizations. I have to say I think this model has great potential and I wonder how something like this could be scaled up across the country. Your thoughts? 

Bob Wyatt and Don Bourgeois also go at it on the question of social enterprise in the Point/ Counterpoint column. I must admit that this is an area where I am often confused. I was one of those Girl Guides who sold cookies for many years, many years ago (although it is all relative). 

There are more articles too and I suggest you check them out. I am eager to read the summer issue as it will look into social innovation and explore both the concept and concrete examples of innovation. 

~Brenda

Sector Monitor Launch / Lancement de l’Enquête sectorielle

May 13, 2010 in Français, Sector Monitor, Sector Resources | Tags: , , , , , | by communityconversations | Leave a comment

Marcel Lauzière, President & CEO / Président et directeur général - Imagine Canada

Marcel Lauzière, President & CEO / Président et directeur général - Imagine Canada

We released our first Sector Monitor report from a new survey program designed to monitor the state of charities across the country and their ability to deliver their missions.

With this first Sector Monitor we are embarking on a new way of getting crucial information out to the sector and decision makers. The first version focused on the effects of the recent economic downturn on registered charities and summarizes the responses of 1,508 leaders who answered our online survey between November 24, 2009 and January 11, 2010.

This publication is an important milestone, but this initiative will be an ongoing one. In addition to providing current information on the state of the sector, these results provide a valuable baseline for assessing the ongoing impact of the economy on Canadian charities and the communities they serve.

With successive Sector Monitors we will begin to get a much closer and more effective pulse on what is actually happening out there in the charitable sector. Its value will lie in the ongoing information and analysis we are able to generate.

I invite you to share your comments about the Sector Monitor, so that we can continue to strengthen it in the months and years ahead. Also note that we will be heading out into the field shortly with our second Sector Monitor survey. If you would like your organization to be involved please email us.

Click here to read more on the launch or visit our website.

~Marcel

 Nous avons publié notre tout premier rapport de l’Enquête sectorielle dans le cadre d’un nouveau programme d’enquête conçu pour suivre de près l’état des organismes de bienfaisance de partout au pays ainsi que leur capacité à mener à bien leur mission.

Cette première Enquête sectorielle est un nouvel outil qui nous permet de diffuser une information utile et importante au secteur et aux décideurs. La première version de l’Enquête met l’accent sur les effets du ralentissement économique sur les organismes de bienfaisance enregistrés et résume les réponses des 1 508 leaders qui ont répondu à notre enquête en ligne entre le 24 novembre 2009 et le 11 janvier 2010.

Ce rapport marque une étape importante d’une initiative qui s’inscrit dans le temps. En plus de fournir une information actuelle sur l’état du secteur, ces données offrent également une base de référence précieuse pour évaluer les effets de l’économie sur les organismes canadiens de bienfaisance et les communautés qu’ils desservent.

Au fur et à mesure que les Enquêtes sectorielles seront menées, nous obtiendrons un pouls de plus en plus exact du secteur de bienfaisance. Sa valeur tiendra de l’information et de l’analyse que nous serons en mesure de générer.

Je vous invite donc à nous faire part de vos commentaires sur l’Enquête sectorielle pour que nous puissions perfectionner cette initiative au cours des mois et des années à venir. Veuillez prendre également note que nous retournerons bientôt sonder le secteur dans le cadre de la deuxième édition de notre Enquête sectorielle. Si vous souhaitez participer à l’Enquête, faites nous parvenir un courriel.

Veuillez cliquer ici pour en apprendre davantage sur l’Enquête sectorielle ou visiter notre site Web.

~Marcel

Meg’s Pick 2: Letters to (not always of) Joy

April 23, 2010 in Meg's Book Picks, Sector Resources | by megkwas | Leave a comment

The Letters to (not always of) Joy
The actual letters to Joy are a vehicle through which the author Bob Wyatt (Muttart Foundation E.D.), documents his observations from an international journey to understand the context of the sector in Canada. He poses  the question “Is there a sector?” off the bat on pg.7. The framework he presents discusses several challenging issues: laws and political drivers, funders’ perspectives, sector cultural perspective, public opinion (my favourite chapter “Becoming more Businesslike- AAAARGH!“) and regaining control of our own agenda.

The chapters are not your typical personal life story, often found in a collection of letters. More akin to essays, they delve into very comprehensive discussions of issues that shape the state of the nonprofit sector in Canada and get personal where Wyatt’s deep concern for general health of “the sector” – the hobbling regulations, the concept of “charity” in public perception, etc. -  is clearly felt.

The question of how  service-oriented organizations  can get  more involved in the voice of the broader picture of the sector is certainly broached  (and still remains open). To his credit, the author does point out the various constraints those in service organizations find in trying to get to the table and has dedicated a whole chapter as an “Open Letter to Funders” (pp. 135- 138) where he concludes with two major arguments, the first of : “many of the issues that currently cause problems for the voluntary sector (and indirectly for us as funders and people responsible for ensuring the existence of certain programs) have their basis in policy decisions, not administrative or funding practices.” (pp. 135).

Wyatt acknowledges his enormous privilege,  to take the time to gain understanding of the sector frameworks of our international cousins in comparison to ours.  Not a lot of sector leaders could do the same.  A caveat, while reading  one might feel the absence of the constraints  and specificities for the service-level organization.   I get the impression that Wyatt would agree, the voice of these organizations is crucial and after reading these letters,  I ask:  How can funders work on supporting  organizations to have staff representing their experiences  at the policy and advocacy table as we work together in this broader role?

It would also behoove an employee of Imagine Canada to say that yes, our role as a national umbrella organization does come up in the book quite a lot*and* we do have a role in addressing many of the concerns Wyatt points out.  Continue to check in on our Community Conversations and our other organizational  activities as we work on convening and hearing the voices of the sector.

One quick way to get a broad local and international view of the issues? Read Letters to (not always of) Joy.   It’s  easy on the things we find scarce in general,  money and time.

  1. It’s FREE – available for download online (cut and paste this link if it does direct immediately: http://www.muttart.org/sites/default/files/MTF%20Wyatt%20WEB%202010.pdf)
  2. It’s a quick read (I was able to kill a few daily commutes reading it).

When you have read it, let us know what you think: here on the blog, on Twitter (@ImagineCanada), on our Facebook page.

To Be or Not to Be … a Sector

February 22, 2010 in Meg's Book Picks, Sector News, Sector Resources, The Philanthropist | Tags: , , , , , , | by communityconversations | 2 comments

Brenda Cameron Couch, Director of Community Outreach

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

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