Advocacy Issues

The role played by the Causeway Foundation is increasingly important because funding is the single most critical issue facing the Causeway Work Centre and other institutions in the voluntary and non-profit sector. The Causeway 2004 Strategic Plan sums up the current problem:

"Various circumstances are combining to put pressure on Causeway's capacity to fulfill its mission and achieve its vision. These include greater demand for services, and unfavorable change in the funding environment characterized by time-limited, project-based support coupled with more detailed reporting requirements, serious labour market challenges for persons with mental illness and/or other disabilities and government deficits."

There are four specific funding issues.

Funders are adopting an increasingly targeted approach to funding. There has been a marked shift away from a core-funding model, which funds organizations to pursue their mission. The new model is project-based and is characterized by contracts that give funders increased control over what the organization does and how it does it.
Funders are reluctant to fund administrative costs that cannot be directly tied to a project or program.
Reporting requirements have increased, placing even greater strain on under-funded administrative units.
Funding is being provided for shorter periods of time, and is increasingly unpredictable.

In 2003, the Canadian Council on Social Development undertook a comprehensive 175-page study, entitled Funding Matters: The Impact on Canada's New Funding Regime on Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations. In the "Summary Report" the study stated:

"Recent trends in funding, however, appear to threaten the continued viability of the sector. Much organizational time is now devoted to chasing short-term sources of funding, often at the expense of the organizations' mission and core activities."

The study goes on to state the anticipated result:

"... the capacity of the nonprofit and voluntary sector to fulfill its important role in Canadian society is being undermined and eroded ..."

More details of this important study, including the impact that current funding has on Organizations such as Causeway, can be found at the Canadian Council on Social Development website.

Home