SVP Calgary

My Experience with Poverty in the Community

Urban Exposure Project 2010: Poverty in the Community is a volunteer project that I am a part of, using photography to document my own learnings and reflections on this social issue in Calgary. As part of the learning process, I went out on a little adventure with a few friends over the weekend, walking in downtown on Stephen’s Ave, all the way to Chinatown and looping back along the c-train line, observing and hoping to be inspired.

I went out with an optimism that there are people out there who are doing their best to overcome poverty and all they need is just a little bit more understanding and help from the society to guide them onto the right track. I also went out with an open mind eager to learn about the stories behind each person wondering on the street or busy working on a weekend. The outcome at the end of my adventure was bitter and sweet.

I met a young man on 8th Ave near Flames Central, his name is Henry. He’s 20 years old originally from Ontario. He just got laid off a month ago and is now living in the Homeless Shelter because he couldn’t afford rent on his part time job delivering papers for the Calgary Herald. He was energetic, clean groomed and dressed, and very open to answer all of my questions. He has 5 years of experience working in kitchens, but now having a real hard time finding a job due to the economy. He also mentioned the discrimination he’s experienced as soon as people find out that he currently does not have a permanent home address.

During our short conversation, he asked me to spare him 40 cents for a phone call. He said he needed to call some restaurants where he applied for jobs. I was sympathetic of his situation and also hopeful to see someone living in poverty is still trying hard to turn things around. I was optimistic in that whatever we (the people who want to help in society) do have a positive effect in some ways. He was almost the ideal example I could find and I felt good about stepping outside of my comfort zone to understand what poverty means to this young man.

I left with satisfaction and a sense of wanting to contribute more. When I was waiting to cross the street at a traffic light two blocks down, a street cleaner sweeping the curb came up to me and said

“How much did you give him, young lady? He fooled ya!”

I was confused…and I replied “5 bucks.”

Then he said, “Oh perfect! Just enough for a beer!”

Chatting with the street cleaner, I learned he has been sweeping 8 Ave for two years now and he had heard Henry asking for money and telling people the same story many times already. The street cleaner showed contempt towards Henry saying that he was just lazy regardless of having a healthy body, intact limbs that are more than enough to find a job to support himself. He claimed that Henry is an alcoholic who rather bag for money than getting back on his feet. In contrast, he’s doing everything he can include sweeping the street on a Saturday afternoon in order to feed and support his entire family.

A combination of emotions flood over me. Anger that I was fooled and that I was too naive, sympathy towards Henry’s situation nevertheless, apathy because of the lies and human nature, and a faint memory of slightly smelling that alcohol 0n Henry…

Obviously, Henry and the street cleaner are just two examples of the different perspectives of poverty out there in our community. After the emotions fade away and calming down, I recognize that there are many layers of issues contributing to the root of poverty, both internal and external problems. My friends explained it as that Henry didn’t lie intentionally, he was just too desperate for his current needs that he would make up stories to get alcohol, which is probably the main reason why he’s impoverished. His act of lying does not erase the fact that he is in poverty and he still needs help.

I wonder, is it simply a matter of personal choice or is it deeper than that? No surprise that there is a tension out there between those who dedicate their lives to help end poverty and those who are skeptical about whether all the charitable works have a impact or not when personal choice is really the determining factor! Now, if it’s really a matter of personal choice, is it realistic to have a goal to end poverty someday? I mean, it’s scary to think that a small decision could set back all the effort people put in trying to help! Perhaps it’s part of human nature that we keep hope and strive towards that goal.

Even though I work in the non-profit sector, I am still learning. For others who contemplate these same questions, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Provincial Budget affects the Nonprofit/Voluntary Sector

The new budget presented by Government of Alberta on February 9, 2010 offers mixed results for the nonprofit/voluntary sectory – maintaining same level of funding in some areas and deep cuts in others.

Click here for a great synthesis by the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations (CCVO) on how the budget affects the sector.

I Can Change the World!

What can you do to change the world?

Helping to Stretch your Charitable Donations

Over the course of the past year, it has become  routine in the sector to hear of funding cuts and shortfalls in fundraising efforts.  While there have been some bright spots, for the sector-at-large and for the foreseeable future, funding is weighing heavy on the minds of Executive Directors across the city.

As the voice of the voluntary sector, Imagine Canada is using their role to find innovative ways to incent charitable giving.  In Alberta, we’ve already seen this innovation in the Community Spirit Grant offered by the Ministry of Culture and Community Spirit.  This grant rewards organizations who are able to increase their base of private donors.  Imagine Canada continues this type of charitable innovation with their proposal of the Stretch Tax Credit.

The purpose of the Stretch Tax Credit for Charitable Giving is to encourage more Canadians to give and to support those who do give to give more.

How it works: The Stretch Tax Credit for Charitable Giving would increase the federal charitable tax credit from 29% to 39% on all NEW giving that is over $200. This incentive will allow Canadians to “stretch” their giving even more.

Finding innovate ways to finance our charitable sector is cruical for its operations and sustainability.  We know there is great value of the sector to deliver services both for the good of the community and on behalf of the government.  For this reason, it is great to see Imagine Canada using its voice to find new ways of incenting charitable giving.

For more information or to get involved, please visit Imagine Canada.

Attracting Young Leaders of Tomorrow – Let’s get Creative!

When I tell people I work in the non-profit sector, many come back with questions like: “Can you make a living out of it?” or ”Do you go help people like you feed the hungry?” or “Did you choose your job because it give you a good feeling at the end of a work day?” As superficial as these questions sound, they show that there is a skewed understanding or stereotypes of non-profit work and the voluntary sector. Especially for the “Y” generation or “Millennials” (those who are born after 1980), working for a non-profit may not be on the top of their list of desirable career paths as the most glamorous jobs offering high pay or a well established corporate ladder to climb! In 2009, an annual survey conducted by the HR Council based in Ottawa suggests that:

“[In] a total sample of 16,688 students from 50 post-secondary institutions across Canada. The majority – 84% – were university students, most pursuing an undergraduate degree.

A total of 1,732 students surveyed (10%) indicated an interest in a nonprofit career in response to a question that allowed multiple responses; in this summary report, this group of students is identified as “Nonprofit Sector: A Possible Career Choice.” When asked which (one) type of organization they would prefer to work for following graduation, 988 students (5.9% of the total sample) chose “non-profit/charity/social enterprise”; this group of students is identified as “Nonprofit Sector: A Preferred Career Choice.”

Statistics like this have the soon-to-be retired Executive Directors, Managers, recruiters, and workers in the non-profit sector worried – who will be the leaders of tomorrow? Without a definite answer, perhaps it is time for us to get creative! In the past two weeks, it just happened that I was informed of many of such creative attempts to encourage the young and the motivated to get involved in their community by promoting the voluntary sector in a different way. To name a few:

• HR Council is looking for young nonprofit employees to profile in new video series to promote the nonprofit/voluntary sector as career choices.
• Urban Exposure Project 2010: Poverty in Our Community - a project of United Way’s 2335 initiative encouraging interested photographers between the age 23 and 35 to give their time to document and express what they learn about poverty.
• PhotoPhilanthropy.org - an online space and forum recognizing photographers around the world pushing for social change through their images of local non-profit works. 

Perhaps it is difficult to change people’s perception on the characteristics of nonprofit jobs and voluntary work, it is possible to encourage and excite people to be involved in many other innovative and non-traditional ways.

We’re in it for the long term.

From Pat Morris, Connections Counselling – in her 2010 New Years Greeting.

I once read a quote that loosely translated said “we don’t always realize the impact we have on others -through our words and our actions. We may never know how our interactions and kind regard can positively influence and make a difference in the life of another”.

Sometimes however, we may catch a glimpse of the difference our actions or words have made. Case in point is “John’s” story.

Approximately a year and a half ago John, a 22 year old young man with some learning challenges, called to say he was in a relationship with a young woman who had a pre-school aged child.

John went on to speak about his memories when he was a child – a time when Connections provided support to his mother who had an intellectual disability. This support began when John was eight years old and lasted until he was sixteen years of age.  He recalled how the workers made him feel good about himself, and how they taught his mom many things so she could be a better parent to John and his brothers.  John spoke with fondness and gratitude of the relationship and interactions with Connections’ staff during that time.

John remembered the good work of Connections – and asked there was a program to help guide he and his girlfriend to help be the best parents they could be for this little boy?

Through a blended parenting program that Connections offered, John gained the skills and confidence to demonstrate a very positive and caring relationship with his girlfriend’s child.

By providing this type long-term support, lifetime support, tailored to the needs of a specific family – Connections does indeed reap immediate and long term benefits.  Actions and words do indeed have the ability to make a positive difference in the lives of others.

I Gotta Feelin’

Look what can happen when 20,000 strangers come together.

Oprah didn’t know that a director arrived before her.  Teaching the audience how to dance together.

What will we do together?

Let your Heart be Light

Driving around Calgary on sheets of ice and in snow, isn’t something that I love to do.  My little Scion slips and slides along the roads – and I hear my father’s voice “shift into neutral”.  I grew up in the Mid-West so I know how to drive in the snow, but it still stresses me out.

Last Thursday I was running late, had a million things on my mind, and was in the car on another icy day in Calgary.  The radio was my only weapon against insanity – and quickly put things in perspective.

Mix 97.7 was running a Radio Marathon for the Calgary Herald’s Christmas Fund.  Even though I read the Herald everyday, work in the sector, and watch my Twitter feeds – nothing tugged at my heart like hearing the voices on the radio. 

Humans are hardwired for stories.  We are pulled in by the drama, we connect to the characters, and we remember the lesson – so much better than if we are thrown facts and figures.  Stories are our history, and they connect us to one another.  There is a time and place for evidence, facts and figures – but there is no replacement for that feeling of human connection.

And if you listen, you’ll soon hear stories all around:

Each year, our family puts together a Christmas Hamper for families in Calgary who need a little extra help.  Unlike most years, this year we’ve actually met the family. 

Imagine if, in your golden years, instead of retirement and vacations you were raising both your adult son and his son.  This is the reality for a family of three, who in many cases, may have been split apart – the grandson taken into protective services, the grandmother unable to care for her son. 

But this family has had the support of Connections Counselling to keep it together. 

This year, I met the father and son.  They were enjoying the day at a Connections sponsored event for families.  Laughing, talking, and engaging with one another – you knew that disability did not inhibit their love.  As I watched them enjoy one another’s company – I was filled with deep admiration for the work that Connections does to keep families together.

This year, as our family puts together our Christmas Hamper, I have the image of that day in my head.  The human connection is so important – we aren’t just writing a cheque, we aren’t just making a hamper – we are gifting to a family who we know, who cares deeply for one another.

Maybe it is just the time of year – admist the traditions, the parties, the family reunions – that pulls at my heart strings.  Quite quickly, these stories of generosity and optimism downgrade my quibble with winter driving.  They put back into perspective the reason why I do this work and the reasons why we need more people to do this work.

This Christmas, let yourself be overcome by the stories and ask yourself how you can become involved.  Leave the ole’ evaluation and metrics hat for January.

What’s Next? – 5 Trends Reshaping the Social Sector

According to a recent research done by La Piana Consulting and the James Irvine Foundation based in California, the landscape of the social sector will dratically change in the next five years.

Research identified five key trends converging to reshapre the social sector. While each dynamic has profound implications for how nonprofits will do business in the future, it is their convergence that will transform the sector. These trends include:

• Demographic Shifts Redefine Participation
• Technological Advance Abound
• Networks Enable Work to Be Organized in New Ways
• Interest in Civic Engagement and Volunteerism Is Rising
• Sector Boundaries Are Blurring

Click here to read more on the Research Report titled “Convergence: How Five Trends Will Reshape the Social Sector”

In order to survive and thrive, we the non-profits, the funders, the capacity builders alike must become futurists - to understand and be prepared to embrace the changes!

Are you ready?

“How can we help?”

I’m still mulling over my ‘helpful’ theme from my last blog post – we all (usually) have good intentions to be helpful.  In my last post, I was asking donors to be helpful – and after two philanthropic conference in one week, I am turning the tables to ask “how can SVP Calgary help?”

On one side of the coin, we are a funder – and we continue to be proud of our model of capacity building.  Especially during this economic downturn, we are hearing the same chant from non-profits and experts alike, “Fund capacity building”.  We know there is room for improvement in our execution, but we can proudly say we’ve been building capacity for the past nine years.

“How can we help?” our nonprofits survive and grow stronger through these uncertain times?  As funders, by getting down from the balcony and getting into the mix.  By walking side-by-side our Investees – asking what training and support we can provide.  And just as important, by helping to educate government on what happens when they pull back funding and informing them of other options.

On the other side of the coin, we are a non-profit charitable organization – who believes that philanthropy is made up of individual actions.  The individual action of a Partner to contribute $5000 a year, which turns into $120,000 in grants disbursed to local Calgary charities.  The individual action of a Partner to spend as much time as it takes to help coach a non-profit in a capacity building area – leading to organizational sufficiency.  The individual action of a Partner to advocate for the issue they feel the greatest passion.

I smiled this morning as I read the results of the 2007 Canada Survey on Giving, Volunteering and Participating:

Indeed, the CSGVP shows that a small group of 14% of Canadians provided 59% of all donated dollars and 40% of all volunteer hours to charitable and non profit organizations.

I smiled because when the average annual donation in Alberta was $596 in 2007 and the average annual number of hours volunteered was 172 hours, I knew our Partners are part of that top 14%.  And I smiled because I know SVP Calgary can help to raise the numbers.

“How can we help?” Calgary citizens to build strong charities in our community?  As a charity ourselves, by sharing the results that have occured over the past nine years of capacity building.  By showing the benefits of venture philanthropy, engaged philanthropy, and pushing for new innovations.  By telling the stories of how our Partners have contributed to the community – and in such, become part of the top 14% of Canadians.   As just as importantly, by inspiring others to take their own action – and inviting you to join us.

We’re always looking for ways to help.
Let us know how we can help you…help our community.