Welcome to ONN, a new network for nonprofits in Ontario. Find out how we got started, how it works, why we're here and what we can do for you.
Just why has it taken so long for the nonprofit sector in Ontario to get organized? So many of us have been involved with previous initiatives to build a voice for the sector in Ontario. Where are they now? Why do we think this time will be any different?
These are the questions that faced a small group people in the nonprofit sector when, in 2007, we were confronted with the idea of working together to respond to changes Ontario's nonprofit legal framework. We knew we would be more effective if we worked together, but these 'sector-wide' issues so often fell to the bottom of our priority lists. Honestly, I was perhaps the most cynical of all about the time and effort it would take to connect the sector. Why waste my time?
But times have changed. We now have amazing online tools to help us organize. We have matured as a sector and have clarified our respective strengths. And, finally, there are new models of organizing available that can help us make things happen.
So, in 2007, we formed a small steering committee representing various sub-sectors of the nonprofit world to guide the creation of a network of networks to 'connect' the sector,' 'give voice' to the sector and facilitate action. And the Ontario Nonprofit Network (ONN) was born.
We have established some basic directives for ONN that will guide our work as we go forward. We will:
- Honour and work through existing networks. We are interested in strengthening local and sector umbrellas, not threatening them.
- Focus on action! We want less talk and more action. How can we bring the smartest and most interested people together to move quickly on specific issues?
- Engage the people that care most about the issues - those with energy to do the work.
- Give up on one coordinated voice and focus on building and giving voice to the many perspectives of the sector.
- Make it easy, using online tools to communicate.
- Under-promise and over-deliver.
- Stay focused on areas where we can really add value and not compete with the work of our members.
We are off to a great start. Now it's time for you to get involved and make this yours. We are here to serve, to provide a way of communicating and to help you take action. We are you!
Thanks so much for your support of ONN. We are so delighted that you are taking an interest and we can't wait to work with you on the issues that matter most to you.
Sincerely,
Tonya Surman (Co-Chair, ONN)
