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Thinking Big, Giving Wisely - Tides Canada's quarterly enewsletter, June 2005, Issue #7
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In this issue:
Issue Spotlight: Core Funding
Imagine trying to build your dream house with gorgeous eco-certified wood furniture, but no floors. Beautifully tinted low-toxicity paints, but no walls. Energy-saving solar panels, but no roof to mount them on. Ridiculous, right?
Yet that's the situation - metaphorically speaking - in which a growing number of small and medium-sized Canadian charities find themselves.
For over a decade, individual and institutional donors have been moving away from core funding to project funding. This, coupled with a predominance of short-term funding, has left thousands of organizations struggling to keep their key infrastructure from crumbling, while meeting rising demands for innovation, accountability, and measurable impact.
In some cases program funding actually compounds the challenges faced by many voluntary sector groups. For example, in a detailed 2004 study of Toronto-area social agencies, researcher Lynn Eakin discovered that in some cases "the delivery of government funded services are in fact draining [emphasis added] community organizations of their discretionary and locally raised funds as agencies cover the difference between government funding and the full costs of running programs."
This funding trend is not just a problem for the voluntary sector - it's a problem for all of us.
In her seminal 2003 report Funding Matters, researcher Katherine Scott warns that "the instability of the sector threatens the future of a diverse range of social, health, cultural, recreational, environmental and other not-for-profit community services for millions of Canadians."
The last four years have seen a growing wave of studies and recommendations by researchers such as Eakin, Scott, and groups like the Voluntary Sector Initiative, the Canadian Policy Research Networks, Imagine Canada, and many others. The stories and statistics brought to light through this work make a clear and urgent case for a return to core funding that supports organizations, not just their projects.
Could we be nearing a tipping point where this trend might start to reverse itself - in both Canada and the US?
American researchers Katherine Fulton and Andrew Blau seem to think so.
In Looking out for the Future, their recent resource-laden magnum opus on 21st Century philanthropic trends, they cite the growth of core support as an 'innovation' to watch. They explain it as a response to "the bias toward project support [..] that itself emerged from an earlier call for focus and accountability in philanthropy."
At Tides Canada, a cornerstone of our social change philosophy is to promote funding practices that strengthen the voluntary sector's capacity to innovate and adapt, sustain healthy, competitive workplaces, and forward positive, long-term solutions. In 2004, fifty percent of grants made by Tides Canada donor partners - and seventy percent of the dollar value of 2004 grant totals - went to core support for a wide range of charities.
As one of our board members, Susan Pigott of Toronto's St. Christopher House says, "you can't expect an organization to change the world if it can't maintain the structural integrity of its core operations." Tides Canada Board member and Maytree Foundation chair Alan Broadbent agrees: "one of the biggest reasons for business failure is under-capitalization. The same is true for charities, and funders shouldn't make it worse by stingy funding which biases toward failure."
In the US, the issue of core funding has taken on highly political dimensions. A recent paper by Andrew Rich entitled War of Ideas, published by the Stanford Social Innovation Review, compares the funding practices of 'progressive' and 'conservative' foundations as part of an effort to understand why the American right is winning the 'war of ideas.'
Their findings? 'Progressive' foundations give more money, but the majority supports specific projects, programs, and targeted policy research. 'Conservative' foundations give less, but a higher percentage goes to flexible core support and activities that increase grantees' capacity to achieve core missions and communicate key messages. In short, the authors found strong support for their insistence that 'Ideas Need Strong Organizations,' and put out a strong call for progressive American donors to rethink their allocation of charitable dollars.
In conclusion: Impact and accountability will always be important to measure and insist upon. But equally, we need to help foster charitable organizations with strong cores - ones that can more effectively deliver innovative programs, sustain healthy and competitive workplaces, report and engage with donors, and pursue smart strategies and new opportunities for long-term change.
Changemaker profile: Janice Abbott
Janice Abbott is Executive Director and CEO of Atira Women's Resource Society and Atira Property Management Inc.
Atira Women's Resource Society is a community-based charity that supports women, and their children, who are experiencing the impact of violence. Through education and outreach, Atira is an active voice in the struggle to end violence against women and their children. The Society operates a for profit, wholly owned subsidiary, Atira Property Management Inc., which is a mission driven social enterprise providing licensed, full service residential and commercial property management services to strata corporations, cooperative and not-for-profit housing in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
What led you to this work? What is your background?
Life experience and mishap. . . Prior to accepting the position at Atira I worked as a journalist and in communications. I stumbled upon Atira by complete accident.
Why is this work important to you?
Because I have a daughter. Because I have a mother. Because I have aunts and a nephew who I want to grow up less influenced by traditional gender socialization. Because I had grandmothers. Because I have lots of women friends who mean a great deal to me. Because I am a woman.
What's been the hardest earned lesson in your non-profit career?
There are lots and lots of people who while they may admire the work you do and respect you for it, really don't want talk about it. In fact, it's really useful to learn a lot about something safer and more interesting; fenestration installation for example. Very few people get nervous when you tell them you're an architect...
What do you tell people who are contemplating a career in the non-profit sector?
Partner well!! Choose someone with lots of patience, empathy and understanding. And it's even better if s/he has lots of cash and/or a really good job!
What are some of the biggest obstacles to systemic change in the work you do? Is there a public policy that you are hoping to change that would have significant 'downstream' impact?
I'd like to see the Ministry of Womens' Equality and the human rights commissioner's office reinstated. I'd like to see land claims settled. I'd like to see an end to the debate on same-sex marriage. Basically, public policy that is inclusive of and respectful to all.
What are some of your most inspiring or entertaining recent reads?
I have five books on the go right now; two of which are almost finished and one of which I've read before. They are:
King Leopold's Ghost - Adam Hochschild
A Problem from Hell - Samantha Power
A Poison Stronger than Love: The Destruction of an Ojibway Community - Anestasia Shkilnyk
Disordered Minds - Minette Walters
The Bone Woman - Clea Koff
What are your top three bookmarked websites?
Giving Tips: Collaborative Giving
More and more donors are developing communities of peers to share the giving experience. A great way to learn and expand horizons, it's also a way of making philanthropy more fun.
Tides Canada is thrilled to be providing support services for one such community, or giving circle as they're sometimes called. Based in Toronto, The Funding Network is inspired by a UK group of the same name. Recently founded by a group of Torontonians committed to growing giving for social change, TFN seeks to remedy the fact that "we work together, eat together, dance together, yet mostly give alone."
A few times a year, TFN will meet in a social setting to make gifts together. In advance, members nominate charities they would like to profile at the gathering, and make a sponsor commitment with a minimum starting pledge. A committee then chooses amongst the nominees for the upcoming event. Either a representative from the charity or their sponsor then has a chance to make a presentation to all the TFN members at the event, inviting people to join in supporting the particular cause. It's a fantastic model for donors, as well as for charities that gain exposure to a whole new group of potential supporters.
Membership to TFN is open. Their first inaugural gathering - on October 20th in Toronto - will be an invitation for new members to join the circle. If you're interested in attending, please contact Florence James - Tides Canada's Toronto Executive Assistant - at florence@tidescanada.org.
TFN's model is one of many ways that collaborative giving can be structured. If you're interested in starting a collaborative giving group of your own, please contact Lesley Anderson, Director of Philanthropic Services, at Lesley@tidescanada.org or 1-866-843-3722 ext. 245.
Tides Canada news
- We're honoured to announce that Tides Canada will be sponsoring the first phase of the Canadian capital campaign for BC's Great Bear Rainforest initiative.
The GBR - the largest intact, unprotected coastal temperate rainforest left in the world - is poised to become a globally significant model of sustainability. Years of partnership among environmentalists, governments, and First Nations are now culminating in innovative long-term plans to protect and enhance the diversity of the region's environment, economy and livelihoods. Stay tuned for more news on our website.
- The Power of Giving - written by Harvey McKinnon and Azim Jamal, and published by Tides Canada - is making waves, even signing recently with a publisher in India. This book is a seamless "giving" project. All profits from sales will go to promoting giving and to a fund at Tides Canada that will make grants to non-profits. If you're looking for an inspiring read, check out http://www.thepowerofgiving.org
- Did you miss the Changemaker Wednesday series that were part of Bruce Mau's MASSIVE CHANGE exhibit at Toronto's AGO? Then watch for free audio downloads of all eleven discussion sessions with Toronto-area innovators, coming soon on our homepage.
Tides Canada's Tim Draimin led a discussion on April 27th about how to activate wealth to support social change. Other talks spanned a range of topics including ideas in collaboration design, energy, finance, mobility, information-sharing, urban greening, and global health.
Tides Canada was one of nine Toronto-area innovators featured in Massive Change's Wealth and Politics gallery.
Must Reads and Resources for charities
- Move over Dubya. Kofi Annan says international NGOs are the world's new superpower. Read this article on the recent Montreal International Forum: http://www.ipsnews.net/interna.asp?idnews=28943
- Want a bird's eye view of Canada's voluntary sector? Take a look at The Canadian Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector in Comparative Perspective, a recent study done by Johns Hopkins University and Imagine Canada: http://www.nonprofitscan.ca/pdf/jhu_report_en.pdf
- Starting a revenue generating enterprise for your non-profit, but feeling frustrated with modeling the business? You might want to check out new software available through the Social Enterprise Alliance, specifically developed as an easy-to-use interactive planning tool for successful earned income ventures: http://www.se-alliance.org/resources_bpp_se.cfm
- Are you a fundraiser looking for accessible information on charitable bequests? Visit http://www.bequestguide.org, a new site by Natasha van Bentum, CFRE, development director at the Victoria Symphony.
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