LEADERSHIP – KATHLEEN PROVOST
By Kathleen A. Provost, CFRE, MAdEd
As a professional fundraiser, I am observing a considerable shift in the charitable sector which is impacting how I do my work. We all have to adjust, react and adapt to numerous factors that are shaping the philanthropic world. My question today is: how can I survive these profound changes and what does tomorrow look like?
Well, I cannot pretend to know the future, none of us do. However, it is becoming apparent that philanthropy and all it encompasses is taking a radical turn and influencing how we fundraise.
Donors intents are changing. Grants purposes have different meanings. As professional fundraisers receiving philanthropic funds, we find ourselves struggling to adapt and engage in new meaningful ways. In light of these changes, our sector is needing to re-invent itself. For example, the government is reviewing the disbursement quota rules. Charities need to address a downward trend in volunteerism, as well as staff fatigue. All of these challenges are forcing fundraisers to re-write the rules of engagement for philanthropic relationships.
A transforming sector
Author, career consultant, speaker, and non-profit worker, Yvonne Rodney recently publish an article in The Philanthropist Journal entitled; “The future of non-profit work and workers post-pandemic”, in which she states:
“In the face of unprecedented demand for services, financial vulnerabilities, and a human resources crisis, the sector is at a crossroads, in which we must re-examine the key issues relevant to the future of non-profit work and workers.” Rodney referenced a 2022 survey conducted with one thousand five hundred NGOs by Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) which clearly showed a significant increase in the demand for services (demand increased to 63 percent in 2021 compared to 47 percent in 2020). While we are experiencing an increase in the services required, charities are also experiencing an increase in demands for wage parity, flexibility, and more stability for employees. These conditions must now be addressed. Employee attitudes about what constitutes meaningful work and what they are prepared to tolerate has changed. Today, we need to focus on what makes an employee happy: such as work/life balance, quality of work, better working conditions, and more fulfilling lives. We all agree that life is short, and time is precious, but somehow, people have become more conscious of this today.
This current mind frame is seen in large labour movements, at the origin of the “great resignation,” the “big quit,” or the “great reshuffle” which illustrate the masses of workers who are now re-writing employment conditions. Emily Jensen from Imagine Canada also talks of a challenging fiscal environment in which we face rising inflation and high prices. Former Bank of Canada and Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, talks of an imminent recession which is parallel with demand for decent wages, decent working conditions, income supports, and access to basic public programs and services.
With all these economic pressures, people working in the charitable sector, particularly those in equity-deserving groups are faced today with an uncertain future. As we consider investing in our overstretched workforce, we must now add tight labour markets, increasing operating costs, and donation declines.
This may very well be a theme in 2023 — hence, what can we do about it?
A role for the government
In 2022, the federal government increased the disbursement quota (DQ) for charitable organizations, which adds another layer to the transformation of the sector. According to Imagine Canada, the higher DQ could release some $200 million in new spending; however, there are also concerns that higher DQ may hurt smaller foundations who face more challenges to meet these quota. Increasing quota disbursements is only one part of the government’s influence in our sector.
I support those lobbying for the need to put in place a regulatory body for our sector. With more than 170,000 charitable and non-profit organizations in Canada, we need to create a one “point-of-contact” for all Canadians within the federal government. We need — a “home” like a coordinating body to strengthen the relationship between government and the sector, and to educate policymakers. Yet, Carleton University Political Scientist Susan Phillips warns us that “a home in government” could be a “double-edged sword and not helpful if we don’t have a strong voice on the other side”.
A role for funders
Inspired by indigenous cultures, a trust-based approach could provide a new way of creating partnerships and communities, to harness our resources, and to support complex local challenges while maximizing impact. Funders should be inspired by values of gifting, sharing, and caring that is deeply ingrained across Indigenous cultures. These generation-old traditions of reciprocity, mutual responsibility, and respect are informing the ways of modern philanthropy. As a result, this approach can provide charities with more core funding, and more flexibility in how the money can be used.
Marina Nuri, associate director of the WES Mariam Assefa Fund’s Canada, also introduced “shifting power” as a concept for funders. Which looks not only at “what” we fund but “how” we fund. In her 2023 article entitled “Radical grantmaking: Shifting decision-making – and power – to communities”, Nuri refers to immigrant and refugee communities as example to situate and question how decisions are made. Nuri references the increased urgency to focus on racial justice and decolonization following George Floyd’s murder and discoveries of mass graves at residential schools in Canada. She challenges how we make decisions relying heavily on our own research with recommendations from our networks. Nuri, is proposing that we use an equitable and representative process to align funding priority areas and decision-making process.
A role for charities
Statistics Canada’s recent data show that more than 65 percent of non-profit organizations serving households and individuals are experiencing a shortage of volunteers. Though labour shortages remain a staffing issue, a huge part of the sector relies heavily on volunteers to deliver their programs and services. The continued declines in volunteerism has had a compounded effect in the sector’s challenges. Finding new volunteers and retaining volunteers are both negatively impacting the charitable sector’s paid workforce. Staff find themselves having to work more hours to take on work normally done by volunteers.
On one hand, we are experiencing an increase demand for services, and on the other hand, there is a lack of volunteers. This equates to a reduction of programs and services offered. As a result, numerous communities find themselves in need of support they cannot access. Megan Conway of Volunteer Canada proposes a number of actions to create a positive momentum in volunteer engagement. Our sector cannot ignore this significant mindset shift and must factor this new reality into re-engagement plans when considering volunteerism. We need to look at who are our volunteers, and why they are not returning. As suggested by Abdul Nakua, executive member of the Muslim Association of Canada, we must change the volunteer nomenclature to “community care,” “community mobilization,” and “community engagement”.
A “big rethink” is happening in Canada. Hybrid work is here to stay. Products, technology, and tools that allow for easy and effective service delivery in a hybrid work environment must be acquired and training provided to staff and clients. Statistics Canada’s 2022 data shows that the non-profit sector — in Ontario, for example, and arguably across Canada — took the biggest job-loss hit in recent years. With these findings, we necessarily must reconsider our work ethics. To quote Pamela Uppal, Ontario Nonprofit Network: “No, to long commutes or being contained within corporate walls. No, to expensive cities and unattainable housing. No, to long hours, unrealistic employer expectations and inflexibility. Yes, to quality time with family, friends, or self. Yes, to working from home or on a boat or in a different country. Yes, to flexibility, trust, and mental health.”
My final thoughts
We are all facing tightening family budgets, increased costs, fewer avenues for generating revenue, as well as increased demand for services. This results in a growing tension between trying to alleviate the immediate problems society is facing — cost of living, housing, healthcare, and others — whilst trying to address massive long-term crises like climate change.
We are at the dawn of a new era. It’s not only the massive changes that everyone is grappling with right now, but also the rate of change. There’s so much to learn, no matter how long you’ve been doing this work. We must dedicate the effort and time in learning new ways and changing our perspective to stay engaged.
We can survive this new era in philanthropy.
We are strong.
We can empower members in our communities, with shared values and goals to find innovative approaches to dismantle barriers and re-write the rules of engagement in our sector. As economic pressures continue to strain all of us, let us turn words into action and tackle a broad spectrum of issues within the charitable sector. We are indeed facing a crossroads. Today, we must inspire people to continue, to forge forward and foster communities of care and keep our communities vibrant
Kathleen A. Provost, CFRE is currently the Vice President, Philanthropy and Communications at United for Literacy (previously Frontier College), a national organization with over 120 years of frontline experience in Canada, offering free tutoring and mentoring to adult, youth, and children who need literacy and numeracy support. Kathleen has over 25 years of experience in the charitable sector. She has been a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) since 2007 and a long-time member and volunteer for the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). She writes this column exclusively for each issue of Foundation Magazine.
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