It can take three months for a director to recruit and onboard a staff with the confidence to deliver a funded program. If that director has only one year of funding for staff, with little notice whether they will receive additional money in their next budget, their contract team will have no choice but to find new jobs. If that director has to recruit a new team each year they receive one year of funding, they lose a quarter.
“How much time do I have to actually do the work that needs to be done?” says Brittan Hudson, managing director at The Enchanté Network, an organization that connects and supports 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations across Canada.
Multi-year funding is just one element of funding reform Hudson is championing with Fair Funding for Nonprofits, a national coalition advocating for more equitable and effective federal funding systems for non-profits. Imagine Canada is the backbone of the voluntary, member-based coalition, supporting administration and strategy coordination among its members. On May 4, Imagine Canada hosted a reception to connect non-profit leaders, sector partners, and parliamentarians to address solutions for federal funding practices. On May 5, it hosted a Hill Day, where Fair Funding delegates addressed funding reform in meetings with members of Parliament, senators, parliamentary secretaries, and federal department staff. The delegates discussed how reducing administrative burden and increasing reliable and responsive funding could help non-profits and the government address pressing Canadian needs...