The Road So Far.
Planning for the future has us reflecting on where we’ve been.
With the election a month behind us, we’re using the summer to hunker down and plan our next steps. Kind of like hibernating, but on the opposite schedule of bears. Safer that way.
We’re considering how to keep nonprofit issues on the agenda, whose agenda to put them on, and whether those issues have substantially changed in the last year. You’ll be hearing more from us on that for the remainder of 2023. For now, we’re reflecting on what we’ve accomplished over the past year - so we can build on what’s worked, and let go of what hasn’t.
TL;DR: CCVO has done the research on nonprofit issues and priorities. * Submitted multiple & ongoing recommendations on critical issues faced by nonprofits. * Been active in budget recommendations. * Been at the legislature speaking with elected officials and their offices. * Provided a platform for leadership & administration to hear from nonprofits through our Leaders’ Forum. * Built a nonprofit coalition across the province to speak in a unified voice through The Nonprofit Vote (NPV). * Mobilized thousands through successful NPV letter writing campaigns. * Amplified our message in the media. * Hosted UCP & NDP leaders to speak to their vision for our sector and be asked direct platform questions. * Exercised patience. *
Identifying the issues
Our November 2022 report on the state of the sector, Too Essential to Fail, found that while other sectors recovered, nonprofits remained in crisis - juggling heightened demand for services with increasingly complex needs, while revenues decreased.
Too Essential to Fail built on three years of research and sector feedback during the COVID-19 pandemic. From our first report on the impacts of the pandemic to calls for action to budget requests - CCVO has been keeping a pulse on the state of our sector and advocating on its behalf.
a call for emergency intervention
Along with The Nonprofit Vote partners, CCVO sounded the alarm in November 2022, calling for a $30M emergency cash injection to prevent failure in the #nonprofit sector - and save millions in downstream costs. This represented a sliver - less than 1% - of #Alberta’s then $13B surplus. The #tooessentialtofail campaign supporting this $30M ask received more than 500 signatures and led to numerous meetings with elected officials. This was the first time CCVO released a report as a media event, and it became a leading story across Calgary’s televised and print news outlets.
At the same time, colleagues in the sector shared how under-investment affected their organizations, such as in this Calgary Herald article co-written by Discovery House, Inn from the Cold, Homespace and the Calgary Food Bank.
Patti Pon, President and CEO of Calgary Arts Development.
Photo: Calgary Herald
CCVO in the news: Global News, The Calgary Herald, CTV News
CCVO’s ask for emergency funding was not met, but concerns about inflation and staff wages were addressed in parts of the 2023 Budget, notably among disability services, homeless shelters and food banks.
a budget ask
In February 2023, CCVO made requests of the 2023 Government of Alberta Budget in this pre-budget submission, which responded to the sector’s need for additional funding. It called for programs - such as the Community Facility Enhancement Program, Community Initiatives Program and Family and Community Support Services - to be indexed to inflation and population growth. It also asked for a $300 million Community Prosperity Fund of $300 million over three years to respond to the challenges laid out in the 2023 State of the Sector: Too Essential to Fail.
We followed up with a light analysis of the 2023 Budget upon its release in March 2023. We noted our requests had not been met, but that there was acknowledgement of key issues facing the sector - inflation, stagnating funding, increased demand - and some funding increases in disability services, homeless shelters, multiculturalism and sports and recreation. We provided additional key points from the budget earlier this month.
the platform priorities
We shifted to long-term planning in 2023.
What does the sector need to thrive in the 21st century? Together with partners from The Nonprofit Vote, CCVO crafted 5 priorities that party leaders must incorporate in their platforms to set the sector up for success. These were rooted in research and community feedback to date, and included: Appropriate Funding, A Workforce Strategy, Better Data Collection, A Door to Government, and An Empowered Sector. We began a campaign to support these priorities under the #tooessentialtofail banner, which received more than 400 signatures, and provided weekly updates on its progress. We also made a call to nonprofits to send us their election priorities so we could share them with the general public, and with government Deputy Ministers.
a campaign
The Platform Priorities campaign was hosted by The Nonprofit Vote. It garnered 400+ support letters, media and social media coverage, public discussion with UCP and NDP party leaders, and commitments from 3 parties.
Check out these videos on the great work performed by our sector - and why it needs support!
conversations with the party leaders
The Nonprofit Vote partners invited UCP and NDP party leaders Danielle Smith and Rachel Notley to present their vision for Alberta’s #nonprofit sector. In April, we hosted Rachel Notley to a packed house, and in May, hosted Danielle Smith to a similarly packed video-conference. The NDP followed up in April with a commitment to all five Platform Priorities, while Danielle Smith, just a few days away from the election at the time of our conversation, communicated her desire to increase funding for Family and Community Support Services, and make it easier for nonprofits to access government.
An impressive #nonprofitsvote campaign was also mounted in Lethbridge by The Nonprofit Vote director Volunteer Lethbridge, including conversations hosted with UCP and NDP candidates in both of their ridings.
Volunteer Lethridge in the News: Lethbridge Herald
Karen Ball, CCVO President and CEO at An Afternoon with Rachel Notley. Photo: Jon Yee.
forging new connections
While we are mapping out our next steps, we’re forging new connections - with newly elected provincial representatives, municipal representatives, and colleagues in the sector. Meet-and-greets at the 2023 Calgary Stampede were a great opportunity to get to know each other, and CCVO is planning follow-up events to bring the nonprofit sector together with key decision-makers – and keep our issues on the agenda.
