The ACTEW Blog

On September 27, 2007, the Wellesley Institute released the study We Can't Afford to Do Business This Way: A Study of the Administrative Burden Resulting from Funder Accountability and Compliance Practices.

The objective of the study was to gather baseline information on the administrative demands made by funders on the nonprofit organizations they fund. Focusing on three multi-service agencies, the research details some significant trends facing the nonprofit sector’s funding streams.

Some of the findings include:

• The actual impact of the funding process is directly at odds with the very reasons governments and other funders engage nonprofit organizations to deliver community services.


• Funders, large and small, rarely give community organizations any latitude to adapt or adjust programs and finances to meet local conditions and changing circumstances.


• The reliability of funding sources for agencies remains tenuous.


• The cumulative administrative burden on agencies is all consuming.


• Multi-year grants, as currently designed, do not solve the administrative burden.


• Both large and small grants impose heavy administrative burdens.


• Grant management, of necessity, takes priority over other management responsibilities.


• Funders need to do things differently.

ACTEW’s May 2007 report, Patching It Together, describes very similar funding issues in the employment sector. Through a province-wide survey we found that women-specific programming in particular, and community-based training in general, work well because agencies in Ontario are dedicated to delivering comprehensive services to diverse and multi-barriered clientele, despite working within the confines of fractured governmental policy and inconsistent funding. Agencies are indeed patching together multiple funding sources to meet the needs of their clients comprehensively.

You can download the Wellesley report at: http://wellesleyinstitute.com/files/cant_do_business_this_way_report_web.pdf

Labels: Issues_and_Trends, Resources_and_Research

On Tuesday, October 2, we had the pleasure of participating in the conference Putting Women in the Picture, hosted by the Sarnia-Lambton Workforce Development Board (SLWDB). It was an exciting group of people concerned with how the women of Lambton County can be more fully supported towards economic security. Deanna opened up the day with a talk on the labour market challenges and opportunities facing women in Ontario, including stats and policy analysis, as well as an overview of the work MTCU is currently engaging in through building Employment Ontario.

The group of about 70 service providers then went into small group working sessions, determining priority issues and trends for Sarnia’s workforce, and developed action plans to addressing those issues. This will provide SLWDB with a concrete plan to take action within the community.

Our thanks go out to Vicki, Jasmine, Kris, and others on the organizing committee for hosting such a dynamic, informative and catalytic event. It looks like this may inspire some exciting initiatives in Lambton County.

Labels: ACTEW_Activities, Meetings_and_Events