Canadians need charities and nonprofit organizations to survive, and we won’t be the first to say it: the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the social sector, still running to keep up with the increased demands of depleted governmental, social systems. Given the whirlwind of these past few years, in what direction is the social sector headed? The Globe and Mail published thoughts from our CEO and Founder, Kim Fuller, to try and find an answer.
“Our charitable sector requires strong, unified leadership to address the many concerns, negative trends, and inequalities. The status quo is failing those in need,” —Kim.
Nonprofits and charities are seeking radical solutions, wanting to rebuild entirely the current frameworks that perpetuate inequalities in our society. As Kim explained, this sort of foundation-shaking change begs strong leaders to step up and demand better outcomes for their communities.
“Most funders want to focus on programs and services, but not-for-profits need to better remunerate their staff, have a roof over their heads and keep the lights on. The lack of funding for capacity-building is my biggest heartache,” —Kim.
The pandemic has posed significant challenges for employee retention, particularly for nonprofits, and there is a serious lack of money available to invest in administrative and human resources costs, such as the cost of keeping staff. When donors prioritize spending on programs over supporting basic organizational infrastructure, the nonprofit starvation cycle begins. Kim argues that while programs and services are critical points for funding, oftentimes the bare minimum has not been allotted to organizations yet; funders should focus their efforts on capacity-building, so non-profits have the chance to go above and beyond in their impact.
“How can we work together to address the biggest issues [that result from] a decrease in funding?”
—Kim.
Find out what Kim proposes as bold solutions by reading the full article here.
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