APRIL 2010
Preparing Ourselves for Change in Our Sector
by Judith Maxwell
There are fresh winds blowing in the non-profit sector as community organizations begin new conversations with each other and with their funders and stakeholders. There are also dark storms on the horizon—oncoming fiscal restraint, shifting political values, changing demography and new technologies.
As the social and community missions we strive to achieve are pushed down governments’ priority lists, do we hunker down? Or is that the kiss of death?
This is the time to assess the impact of the changing context on the sector at large, its many sub-sectors and our own organizations. Our core strengths have always been our adaptability and responsiveness to need. Our core weakness is that we are fragmented and weak. Compared to earlier times of stress, we now know a great deal more about the work of the sector and the trends in giving and volunteering.
Do we have the adaptive capacity to cope with these changes? Can we embrace this instability? What are our greatest vulnerabilities? Which of our many challenges are better managed collectively? Where is it better to go it alone?
On April 12th, Judith Maxwell will try to establish some guideposts for table discussions about how we can adapt to the new context and commit more of our considerable energy to strengthening our communities and our organizations. Come and reflect on our future!
Giving to Our Own
by Rob Howarth, Toronto Neighbourhood Centres
Toronto Neighbourhood Centres (TNC) is an association of 30 multi-service community agencies located across Toronto. In March this year the TNC Board of Directors agreed to allocate $1,500 to support the work of ONN. We would encourage all non-profits benefiting from the work of ONN to consider taking similar steps to sustain our sector-wide capacity for tackling our collective challenges and opportunities.
Resources for many of our community-based programs come from up to ten provincial government Ministries that partner with nonprofits to pursue public policy objectives like poverty reduction, social support for children and families, health promotion, social inclusion, skills development and employment training.
The complexity of our diverse multi-funded organizations means that we need to keep abreast of numerous provincial policy and regulatory changes. Executive Directors in TNC organizations have remarked that without ONN’s work they simply would not have had the capacity to be a part of things like informing the province’s new incorporation act, or untangling the implications of the HST for their operations.
And as Toronto-based nonprofit agencies we are keenly aware that alliances across our province are going to be an essential ingredient in forging new and more effective relationships with our provincial government. We won’t be able to do it alone, and ONN is the perfect network of networks to help us build the momentum for change that we need—connecting us across the fields of arts and culture, environment, social services and recreation, and across the vast geography of our province.
We hope you will join with us in supporting ONN financially, and building our collective capacity to make all of our non-profit solutions to community-building flourish.
Donate Now>>
Crossing Boundaries
by Ian Bird, Sport Matters Group
There is much commentary these days about the benefits to be found in new ways of working across boundaries and by enabling citizen participation. Some of these new ways of working are what the Sport Matters experiment has been about for the past 10 years. How do we move past our competitive instincts and find co-operative strategies that work? What kind of leadership is drawn to this approach? Where does the participation come from and how do we aggregate those contributions in real places around shared priorities? How do you actually do this kind of stuff, not just hope for it?
At the upcoming ONN conference, we can explore these questions in further detail. But there are a few observations worth sharing now.
Read More>>
Renewing Our People Power
by Rob Howarth, Toronto Neighbourhood Centres
Industry sectors, like agriculture, mining, or manufacturing typically get support from their provincial governments to analyse their workforce characteristics, anticipate skills shortages, and implement proactive measures to attract, develop and retain their most important resource— dedicated, skilled and motivated people.
Comprising 7.5% of Ontario's workforce, and six million volunteers who contribute the equivalent of 400,000 full-time jobs each year, skilled staff and passionate volunteers are all central to our sector.
Usually the non profit sector is thought of for the programs, innovation and engagement that it generates in communities. But complex human resource challenges lie behind this dynamic civic capacity. It is well documented that current employees in our sector strongly identify with the mission and purpose of their organizations. It is also true that creating and sustaining competitive salaries and benefit scales is a growing challenge in our sector, as is the increasing reliance on part-time and precarious contracts. What’s more, many organizations lack the capacity for critical succession planning, leadership development and opportunities for career advancement.
Read More>>
ONN Announcements
Have you registered?
Our Sector, Our Vision 2010
ONN’s 3rd Annual Provincial Conference is fast approaching. We’ve invited leaders from across our sector to share their thoughts and expertise on issues of relevance to Ontario’s nonprofits and charities and to help engage us in an essential discussion of where our sector is heading and how we’re going to get there. Join us on April 12th and 13th at the Hart House, University of Toronto to meet your sector colleagues and to participate in the crafting of a provincial agenda for our sector. Make your voices heard and your issues heard! >>Register now
- Our Sector's Priorities: Crafting a Provincial Agenda for Ontario's Nonprofits and Charities
Everyday tens of thousands of workers and volunteers share their time and expertise, working towards improving the quality of life of our communities. We bring forward tremendous commitment, strength, and energy to our work, responding as quickly and effectively as we can to the needs of our communities. Yet, alongside of this work, it is just as important for us to use some of our time and energy to improve our own organizations and our sector as a whole. With all the challenges we face in our work, this is no easy task. Where do we begin? How do make the time to plan for action that really affects constructive change?
Together with the sector, ONN has identified the most pressing priorities facing Ontario's nonprofits and charities and their work. Read More>>
- Robin Cardozo to Speak at Our Sector, Our Vision 2010!
ONN is excited to announce that Robin Cardozo, CEO of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, will be speaking at our upcoming conference, Our Sector, Our Vision 2010! Over the past year, OTF has provided generous financial support to ONN, enabling us to grow and develop so that we can help our sector colleagues address the many issues facing our sector. Read More>>
- Subsidies now available for Our Sector, Our Vision 2010!
We know that it may not always be easy to find the funds to make it to events like ONN's Our Sector, Our Vision 2010, especially when you have to cover travel and accommodation on top of registration fees. Thanks to the generous support of Ontario Trillium Foundation, we now have limited conference subsidies available to help low-income organizations from across Ontario attend our conference. For further information or to apply, please visit our website.
- Interested in Sponsoring ONN's Conference?
ONN now has various opportunities for sponsorship available for Our Sector, Our Vision 2010! To download our sponsorship information, visit our website and scroll to the bottom of the page.
- ONN holds two regional consultations in Ottawa
On March 3, ONN held two consultations in Ottawa (we had to add a second because of overwhelming interest) and more than 50 nonprofits and charities came together to dive into the key issues affecting their organizations and their work. A detailed report is now available for your viewing on our website.
ONN would like to thank our local hosts, the Community Foundation of Ottawa and the Ottawa Chamber of Voluntary Organizations, for their help in organizing this regional consultation and Dick Stewart, ONN Steering Committee member, for facilitating the sessions.
ONN has now done twelve consultations throughout the province since October and we would like to thank everyone who came out and participated. We have taken all your feedback and are producing a provincial priorities report which will be released next week and which will form the basis of our work together on the second day of the conference.
- A big thank you to ONN's donors!
ONN would like to thank Toronto Neighbourhood Centres for their generous financial support! ONN works hard to respond to issues that affect your work, your organizations, and your communities. Contribute to your community: Donate Now>>
- ONN Thanks its Volunteers!
ONN would like to extend a warm thank you to its conference volunteers, Jennifer Maximattis, Vivien Leung, Natasha McKenna, Dominic Wong, and Julia Ford! We really appreciate the time and energy you've generously contributed to help plan ONN's Our Sector, Our Vision 2010. Keep up the great work!
- Want to volunteer at ONN's conference?
ONN is looking for volunteers on April 12th and 13th for things such as: on-site photography; AV/IT maintenance; and general on-site support. Please forward your CV and a brief description of why you'd like to volunteer for Our Sector, Our Vision 2010 to: manjula@ontariononprofitnetwork.ca
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