Tell us Your Funding Priorities | Connections Conference Slide Decks and Photos
If You Had More Funding, How Would You Spend It?
If you work in the nonprofit sector (paid or unpaid) and have an understanding of your organization's daily operations, this survey is for you and your participation is crucial!
CCVO is charting a course to secure appropriate funding that will help stabilize Alberta’s nonprofit sector - and we’ll get further if we get specific about our funding priorities. We invite you to share what you would do with new funding. Grow existing programs? Diversify programming? Improve DEI practices? Your responses will be used to inform funders, governments, and other stakeholders about sector priorities and help make recommendations on how to best allocate funding dollars. Thank you in advance for your time and expertise!
The deadline to complete the survey is June 30.
Connections Conference Photos and Slides
It's hard to believe that it has been a month since Connections Conference 2024! If you're looking for conference photos or a presentation slide deck, you can now find them on our website here.
Policy Highlights
A Toolkit for Working with Non-Qualified Donees
Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon, Inspirit, Laidlaw Foundation, McConnell Foundation
The Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon, Inspirit, Laidlaw Foundation, and the McConnell Foundation have come together to create a toolkit to help and encourage more funders to support non-qualified donees (NQDs).
In 2023, the CRA issued new guidance to make it easier for funders to support NQDs. A charity can now make qualifying disbursements to NQDs if they meet the following criteria:
The disbursement furthers the charitable purpose of the charity.
The charity ensures that the disbursement is exclusively applied to charitable activities in furtherance to its charitable purpose.
The charity maintains documentation sufficient to demonstrate:
The purpose for which the disbursement is made.
That the disbursement is exclusively applied by the NQD to charitable activities in furtherance of a charitable purpose of the charity.
See the full guide here.
Learning Opportunities
Lobbying 201: Understanding the What, Where, How and Why of Government
Jun 5-7 | online
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Charities Granting to Non-Charities with the CRA
Jun 6 | online
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Accounting Governance: Unlocking Treasurers and the Finance Committee
Jun 6 | online
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Community Development Practitioners Mini Summit
Jun 12 | online
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Board Revolution: Rethinking Nonprofit Governance for Organizational Impact
Jun 13 | online
REGISTER
Let's Talk about Core Funding: A Panel Discussion
Jun 13 | online
REGISTER
Social Finance Forum
Future of Good's Social Finance Forum will convene 1,000+ social purpose leaders from coast-to-coast to learn actionable insights, celebrate game-changing ideas, convene community, activate capital, and reshape finance tools for a better future. Explore a range of topics from community finance to gender-based investing and Indigenous capital to corporate impact investing. This year's national conference will have a robust digital experience with thoughtfully curated simultaneous in-person events in five community hubs, including one in Calgary. Register and find out more information here.
Funding & Grants
ATCO Community Energy Fund
ATCO’s Community Energy Fund supports solutions, opportunities, and education that will contribute to a more sustainable, net-zero future. Projects could include energy audits, energy efficiency upgrades, education programs supporting renewable solutions, lower-emitting options for transportation, feasibility studies for clean energy, or renewable energy solutions. Nonprofits, schools, and municipalities can apply for up to $15,000. The deadline for applications is June 30. Find the application and further information here.
Canadian Dermatology Association Shade Structure Grant
The Canadian Dermatology Association Shade Structure Grant Program provides grants of up to $7,500 for permanent outdoor shade structures. Applications are open to nonprofits, schools, daycares, and city parks. The deadline for applications is June 28. Find out more information and apply here.
Werklund Foundation Grants
The Werklund Foundation focuses on positive change in the lives of youth. Program grants are available for organizations with existing programs that work with youth and innovation grants are available for organizations that want to try a new innovative approach. Both grant streams typically have a maximum grant amount of $25,000.
Applicants must be a registered charity. The deadline for applications is June 28, and organizations will be notified by December. See the application details here.
Lululemon Here to Be Grant
Lululemon’s Here to Be grant program seeks to seed and sustain the work of community-led organizations that actively remove barriers to wellbeing in their communities and serve those most impacted by systemic inequities. Organizations can receive up to $50,000 USD for programming that works to advance physical, mental, and/or social wellbeing for a population that is impacted by systemic inequity.
Applications are open to registered nonprofits that are community-led with diverse and representative leadership. Organizations with an annual budget of less than $2,000,000 USD are preferred. Letters of intent are accepted from June 3 to June 28. Find out more information here.
Doing More with Less: Positive Results of a Four-Day Work Week in the Community Impact Sector
IONS recently released Possibility Brief shares the experiences and results of nonprofits that have switched to a 4-day work week. Imagine Canada is almost a year into its 4-day work week pilot and has reported a 66% increase in the overall mental, physical, and emotional health of staff. They also had a 105% increase in satisfaction related to work/life balance, a reduction of sick days by 40%, and a staff retention rate of 100%. The Possibility Brief also shares steps on how to start implementing a 4-day work week at your organization. Read the full brief here.
Blogs & More
The Journey That Led to ONN’s New Public Policy Agenda
Pamela Uppal, Ontario Nonprofit Network
Building a public policy agenda for your organization is simply putting on paper the public policy and advocacy issues you want to engage on and how. While it may seem daunting that there isn’t a template to follow, the beauty is in the fact that you can make it whatever you want it to be. The agenda serves your organization.
A policy framework is different from a policy agenda. The agenda is the whole document, whereas the framework articulates your vision/mission, values/principles, and other critical pieces guiding how you do the work. Read More→
How Nonprofit Executives Can Build Their Digital Leadership Skills
Katie Gibson, The Philanthropist Journal
The work of digital leadership requires no technical development expertise. “Making strategic decisions about tech, budgeting for tech, including tech in your strategic plans, ensuring every staff person has training for the tech skills relevant to them are all some of the biggest influencers for how successful an organization may be with technology … and none of those things requires technical development knowledge or certifications,” says Amy Sample Ward, CEO of NTEN. Read More→