The National Summit for the Charitable and Nonprofit Sector, hosted by Imagine Canada and its partners, Community Foundations Canada, Philanthropic Foundations Canada, and United Way-Centraide Canada with funding from the Agora, Trillium, and McConnell foundations, is the next leg in our Strategy. This is not a conference in the traditional sense of the word. It is a working session that will propel us forward more boldly still in 2012 and beyond. Some 500 in-person participants as well as others joining us online will determine what tangible and concrete actions can now be taken to advance the identified priorities.

On the eve of this Summit, we are therefore pleased to have an opportunity to collaborate with The Philanthropist on this special fall issue. It features a number of articles that will, hopefully, provide food for thought for the conference participants, those who will be joining us online, as well as readers of The Philanthropist, about addressing and taking action on the four identified priorities, which are the following:

1. Valuing our human resources
2. Creating a better financing environment
3. Capitalizing on new forms of volunteerism
4. Communicating with Canadians

These priorities, in one way or another, all relate to strengthening our ability to better serve our communities. Some may feel that they are too internal, but if we are really serious about increasing our individual and collective results and impact (i.e., not just doing good and nice things), then a number of “internal” challenges to the sector must first be addressed. In other words, let’s not shy away from acknowledging that we need the resources (financial and human) and the tools to do the work, we need to find ways to improve the environment in which we conduct our “business,” and we need to develop a new relationship with Canadians so that there is a better understanding of the contribution of our sector to society and the economy. These priorities are the preconditions to our future success.

With a view to generating further dialogue and debate in advance of the Summit, four young leaders in the sector were invited by The Philanthropist to author pieces on one of the four priorities. These leaders, who are also the co-leads for our four priority areas, bring their own particular perspectives on the issues relating to these priorities and while their views may be provocative for some, they are reflective of the new generation that we met through the engagement process. I can assure you that their pieces will make you think. The titles of their articles are as follows:

1. “Working for the Mission: Getting Nonprofits to be the Employers of Choice” by Miia Suokonautio;
2. “Achieving Financial Sustainability in Today’s Changed World” by Adam Spence;
3. “Engaging Youth in Decision-Making: Moving from Volunteerism to Active Citizenship” by Ilona Dougherty; and
4. “A Crisis of Conversation: Shaping a new narrative for Canada’s charitable and nonprofit sector” by Lee Rose.

While we knew that we needed to hear the voices and the ideas of the new leaders in the sector, we can draw equal benefit from listening to the “elder statespersons”; those who occupied a leadership role in sector organizations for many years, but who have now retired or gone on to pursue other interests. These individuals, and many others like them across the country, continue to have a keen interest in the charitable and nonprofit sector. Their capacity for reflection and analysis, away from the day-to-day demands of working in the sector, is an invaluable resource, as we consider new approaches and new ways of thinking about old problems. We invite you to read their reflections on the four priorities as well by going to the following articles:

1. “Canada’s Nonprofit Sector: The People Challenge” by Joanne Linzey;
2. “The Changing Face of Financial Sustainability in the Nonprofit Sector” by Tim Beachy;
3. “Rethinking Volunteerism – Should it be a Priority?” by Martha Parker; and
4. “How to Communicate Our Value to Our Communities” by Monica Patten.

While reading the various articles and reflecting on the priorities for action, some of you may say that the challenges and priorities that we will be working on at the Summit are not all that different from those that we have been grappling with for so long. In other words, we’ve been here before.

That may be the case and there is no doubt that we will still be working on some of these issues five and ten years down the road. But it is important to note that the context has changed substantially. There is a new maturity in our sector and a renewed momentum for collective action. And those are two essential ingredients for change.

When we began our National Engagement Strategy, I expected the mood to be sombre, and I was anticipating lots of complaining and nay saying. After all, we were undertaking this work in the middle of the worst recession in years and many organizations were struggling to survive, much less thrive.

But instead of complaining, the people we spoke with responded positively to our outreach efforts and three important areas of consensus quickly emerged. These became our guiding principles and they orient our work on our National Engagement Strategy every day:

• We need to take ownership of the agenda. This is not about waiting for government to do it for us.
• We cannot wait for consensus from all sub-sectors and from all organizations on each and every issue. We need to move forward with the early adopters, while continuing to continually inform others of our efforts and encouraging them to join in.
• In our dealings with governments and business, we needed to put forward a value proposition that is truly based on our assets and our strengths.

I know that John Hodgson, who was so instrumental in supporting our work, agreed with these principles and that he was pleased with the direction in which were moving, and continue to move, and the progress we are making towards collective action. In addition to the articles about the four priorities and some regularly featured columns, you will also find a tribute about John’s life and contributions to the nonprofit sector, written by David Stevens. A specialist in charitable tax law, John was also a consistent and strong supporter of the charitable and nonprofit sector and he provided financial resources for many initiatives to strengthen its capacity. Sadly John Hodgson passed away on 24 January this year. Without his support, his advice, and his very wise counsel, the National Engagement Strategy would not have seen the light of day.

Also in this issue:

• Blake Bromley’s final installment: a Letter to David Walker, Development Manager, Compliance and Support Commission.
• A look at What the Numbers Say in David Lasby’s article “What T3010 Data Tell Us About Charity Financing.”
• Bob Wyatt and Don Bourgeois engage in an animated discussion about whether the voluntary sector gets a fair deal from the media in Point/Counterpoint.
• A review by Yves Savoie on the book Spirited Commitment: The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation.
• And “Social Economy: Two Perspectives,” a review essay by Rupert Downing that looks at Understanding The Social Economy: A Canadian Perspective and CIRIEC: The Worth of the Social Economy. An International Perspective.

In closing, let me say that it is my hope that every participant registered for the Summit in November, every person who plans to join us online on November 29 and 30, and every Philanthropist reader will see fit to help us chart a way forward. I invite you to go to the Imagine Canada website (http://www.imaginecanada.ca) to learn more about our National Engagement Strategy and I also encourage you to share your comments and ideas on, and responses to the articles online at The Philanthropist website. It is only by working together that we will strengthen the collective voice of charities and nonprofits in Canada and facilitate our ability to take collective action on cross-cutting issues of importance to the sector and the communities it serves. There is a real appetite for this so let’s seize the opportunity.

Marcel Lauzière
Guest Editor
President and CEO, Imagine Canada
mlauziere@imaginecanada.ca


The full text of the guest editorial in English and French may also be downloaded as a PDF.