Abstract

FUNDING MATTERS: THE IMPACT OF CANADA’S NEW FUNDING REGIME ON NONPROFIT AND VOLUNTARY ORGANIZATIONS

Katherine Scott

The need for better information about the financial capacity of the nonprofit and voluntary sector is pressing in the face of profound social, economic and political change. The current study examines the changing funding landscape for Canadian nonprofit and voluntary organizations and documents the impact of these changes on the ability of organizations to meet their goals. The paper argues that there is evidence of an emerging funding regime in Canada that is characterized by increased targeting of funding; a shift from a "core" funding model to a "project-based" funding model; increased reporting requirements; and a greater emphasis on partnership in the request for proposals and choice of funding mechanism. Taken together, the combined stress is threatening the capacity of nonprofit and voluntary organizations to pursue their missions. While organizations have responded by increasing their financial diversification, levels of funding uncertainty have increased substantially and continue to undermine the efficacy and quality of organizational programs as well as their long term prospects for sustainability.

Bio

Katherine Scott is a Senior Policy Associate with the Canadian Council on Social Development in Ottawa. She has worked with the CCSD since 1995 as a researcher and policy analyst. Her employment at the CCSD builds on past experience in government, in the university, and with other research organizations, working on issues of social and economic inclusion as they affect women, children, and families. Her publications include a study of the potential impact of welfare state restructuring on women, a study of the dynamics of poverty, and articles on gender and citizenship rights. At the CCSD, she has worked as the Project Director and Principal Author of the Council's publication series, The Progress of Canada’s Children in 1996 and 1997, and more recently wrote The Fact Book on Poverty 2000 with David Ross and Peter Smith. In 2002, she was the co-author of a study on social inclusion, employment and children, entitled Does Work Include Children? She is currently working on a book on funding for the voluntary sector in Canada. She holds degrees in political science from Queen's University and York University.

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