Core Funding - Making Government Funding Work for Canadian Communities

Organizations in the charitable and nonprofit sector have the same needs as organizations in the private and public spheres. They need to invest in staffing, financial management, governance, research and evaluation, communications, revenue generation, technology, and office space and supplies. Many of these basic needs are ineligible to be covered by project funding from the federal government. Click here to read the policy brief prepared by Imagine Canada, and find a tool to use to communicate with your MP.

Council approves Operating Budget

Back in October, Volunteer Lethbridge presented a budget scenario for city council to consider during its deliberations for the 2023-26 budget cycle.

Volunteer Lethbridge has never had a fee-for-service agreement with the City of Lethbridge. However, it is similar to organizations that DO have an agreement with the City, such as the Allied Arts Council, the Lethbridge Sport Council, and others. They deserve to be funded, as does Volunteer Lethbridge.

Unfortunately, Volunteer Lethbridge's funding request was rejected outright, with no question or debate, even though it is normal for volunteer centres across the country to be (at least partially) municipally funded.

Nevertheless, we are pleased that our member organizations are receiving well-deserved funding, and we will continue to advocate for nonprofit and voluntary services to be funded in our community.

Mobile Food Support

Mobile Food Support is a service provided by Lethbridge Food Bank that allows community members access to food support at various locations around Lethbridge. It is open to ANYONE who may need a little extra food assistance. All we will ask for is your name and postal code.

Volunteer Canada request your participation in an advocacy effort 

In October 2022, Volunteer Canada submitted our recommendations to the pre-budget consultation by the Federal Department of Finance. The recommendations focus on the dire state of the social impact sector exacerbated by COVID-19 and the prevailing challenges to volunteerism across Canada. They call to action an exploration and advancement of a national strategy on volunteering, including funding and supporting a Joint Ministerial Task Force on Volunteerism and asking the federal government to establish a minimum core funding threshold that provides the charities and non-profits with support to help meet their operating costs.

We request your participation in an advocacy effort to bring these recommendations to the forefront. Attached is a letter, provided in both English and French, to approach your Local MPs and a copy of the pre-budget submission as a toolkit for coalition-style advocacy to strongly communicate the urgency of such a strategy. We hope this toolkit will give you the necessary information to strengthen your case, and please do include information regarding your local context as you see fit.

The ideal time to approach the MPs is now as they adjourn to a period of recess when they usually spend more time in their local ridings.

We are confident of your participation in this advocacy of the pre-budget submission. May I also please request to send me an email with the name of the MP and their local riding whom you communicated with for our records.

Find the written submission for the Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the Upcoming Federal Government Budget here.

Angel Tree - Adopt-A-Family

• You choose a level of donation from the attached guide
• We are advised by our referral partners of a family who needs special help this Christmas
• We contact the family and discuss wish items
• Donors receive wish list items for the family

1. Purchase all gifts and bring them to the Angel Tree Toy Depot for us to gift bundle
2. Purchase all gifts and book a time to bundle them at the Angel Tree Toy Depot
3. Make a donation and we take care of everything!

Gift Wrapping at Park Place Mall

Strategic Risk Management for Nonprofits
 

The landscape that nonprofit organizations operate within has changed dramatically over the past three years. Among the many lessons that we have learned is that a vital mission and dedicated staff are not enough to insulate organizations from risk.

Strategic risk management requires thinking about a wide range of future possibilities and being willing to take risks for the good of those you serve in the face of an unknown future. These risks are not managed by rules and policies, but through approaches designed to assess and reduce the probability of negative impacts and leverage opportunities for positive outcomes.

Strategic risks include:

• Leveraging opportunities to advance your mission
• Operating without clearly defined strategic priorities
• Not examining assumptions underlying strategic decisions
• Not tailoring services based on current and future community needs
• Not attending to external trends and how they might affect your organization's operation or funding

After Giving Tuesday comes Thank You Thursday