The following five ideas will help to preserve a sound working relationship with your union.

1. Know your collective agreement, including what works and what doesn’t. The agreement represents common ground between management and the union. In bargaining, proposals for change reflect places where that ground is shifting.
Workplaces do not stay the same: the services that they provide change, equipment and technology changes, clientele changes and needs of an organization change. Unions react to operational changes by relying on provisions in their collective agreement or on contract negotiations to influence and to impose limits on these management-imposed changes. The collective agreement is enforceable; it is binding in arbitration, and if necessary, through the courts. It represents a set of promises and expectations that both parties have committed themselves to honour; it is one of the foundations of a relationship of trust.

Managers need to know in detail what is in their organization’s collective agreement and to incorporate that knowledge into both day-to-day and longer term planning and administrative decision-making. It is also important to have an understanding of why certain provisions are in the agreement in order to prevent unexpected challenges, for example, to proposed organizational changes.

2. Prepare carefully for negotiations; don’t just react to union proposals. Assess how much change you can make in one round of negotiations. Work carefully on the language of your proposals. This may be the time to consult a professional. The new language will be binding; it is critical that the words say precisely and clearly what the parties intend.
The negotiation of a new agreement means that you prepare, prepare, and prepare! An employer’s negotiating team is in a tough position: it represents management but it must respond to and balance employee interest. Negotiations can become a world unto themselves: intense, time-consuming and lengthy. Preparation should start early and consider input from a variety of angles including consultation with financial, legal and operational staff. The employer bargaining team needs to understand in detail what is currently happening in the organization and what challenges are anticipated in the future. Management priorities need to be sorted out and then converted into proposals, which are organizationally sound. If bargaining takes an expected turn, the management team needs to be kept up-to-date and involved.

Bargaining involves more than simply reacting to union demands. An absence of employer proposals reflects an absence of management preparation and consultation. It is a loss of opportunity and credibility and the cost to an organization can be high.

3. Put yourself in the driver’s seat. Face tough management decisions responsibly. Don’t expect the union to make them for you. Follow a sound process. Act in a controlled and timely manner. Consult beforehand with those who should be involved. Take advantage of available resources. Consider the consequences. Have a communication strategy.
Many progressive organizations face constraints that limit their ability to provide compensation and benefits that they believe are fair and reasonable due to uncertain and inadequate funding arrangements. While one response might be to make provisions for severance arrangements in the hope that these will never have to be dealt with, a more responsible approach is to:

• Identify tough management decisions early on;
• Sort out what you can do and what you can’t;
• Involve those management staff who are accountable;
• Spend time beforehand planning how you are going to communicate together;
• Listen to feedback and figure out where you can be flexible.

4. Keep the channels of communication open. The union/management relationship does not allow for separation and divorce. When conflict arises and tensions mount, communication channels are the means to sustain a viable relationship. Listening is essential. Restraint is invaluable.

The employer and the union continue to be partners in the workplace after negotiations are complete and the relationship plays itself out through their communications. The second relationship to be considered is that between the employer bargaining team and the senior management team. In a negotiating environment, communication does break down unless people listen with the aim of understanding what is being said, unless they exercise self-restraint in the way they respond to one another and unless they are restrained in the way they represent their own issues and concerns.

5. The management/union relationship is professional, not personal. Mutual respect is fundamental; the need for it is constant.
The fundamental relationship between an organization and its union is a professional one; to preserve the mutual respect that the relationship demands, each party has to keep some distance between the issues in dispute, the people who are voicing them and the impetus to respond in a way that betrays too much feeling, as opposed to expressing thoughts and ideas. When frustration arises, it is more effective in the long run to remind oneself that these are professional matters, not personal ones. Good negotiators are exceptional in understanding and articulating this fundamental difference.

Good Resources on Managing Relations with your Union

Canadian Master Labour Guide, published annually by CCH
Ontario Labour and Employment Legislation, published annually by Canada Law Book
Ontario Ministry of Labour
Ontario Human Rights Commission
Canadian Labour Arbitration, by Brown and Betty 3rd edition, Canada Law Book Inc. 2003 (with periodic updates available as a service)
CLV Reports (Canada Labour Views Reports), newsletters reviewing Canadian wage settlements, cost of living increases, arbitrations and labour board decisions, published monthly by Carswell

1. The old rules still apply. As a nonprofit professional you already know more than you think about technology strategy.
Nonprofit organizations are traditionally very good at creating extended organizations, often out of necessity due to a lack of funds and resources. Technology, particularly the internet, is uniquely suited to the creation and support of this type of ‘viral’ network.

Online fundraising has often not worked because there has been no personal relationship made between the organization and the donor – online technology can create this connection with passion and compelling content through email and website interaction. Engage your constituents by providing them with interactive, feedback opportunities on content, i.e. fundraising, volunteer management. Think about using technology in a powerful way without necessarily all the “bells and whistles” that a larger organization might use. Trust your instincts about what has worked effectively in your organization and the larger nonprofit world and translate this into online possibilities.

2. However, there are also important new rules. On the internet, communication is informal and people can opt into and out of relationships with you rapidly.
Email communication can lead to information overload. Email is a powerful communication tool but recipients can just as easily ignore your messages or assign them permanently to the dustbin. Be strategic about what your organization communicates and how often. Design your messages carefully to get within the “from” field of busy people, i.e. have it sent from someone who loves your organization to his or her personal contacts rather than from your organization’s address.

3. Don’t do it yourself. Find partners you trust-companies, volunteers, and other agencies-to help you with technology. You didn’t become a nonprofit professional because you wanted to be a technology expert.
You may be lucky to have an information “techie” in your organization but there are now many companies and individuals that can help you with technology. Look for opportunities to outsource, to partner, to solve your technology through economies of scale with another organization. You don’t have to have all of your own systems running within your own organization. More and more, applications are being delivered through the internet, i.e. email solutions, time management solutions and donor databases. An example of this is www.eTapestry.com. Technology is becoming more of an “appliance technology”, so software becomes a service or a utility that is housed off-site.

Note: An outsourced relationship involving data collection does not violate privacy legislation but it should be acknowledged somewhere in the organization’s privacy statement. It can be safer to house data with a specialist that has appropriate security than having data in-house where security is not kept updated.

4. “Standard” is a positive word in technology. You don’t want to have systems that are “unique”…save that for your campaigns.
Nonprofit organizations often have had someone they know build a database for free. While it is enticing, in technology you do not want to be unique because the cost of ownership of the application becomes quite high in terms of ongoing development and maintenance. A general rule of thumb: buy technology unless you are absolutely certain after a thorough analysis of the market than nothing exists which meets your organization’s needs. Remember the question of long-term maintenance: this is more easily done by a technology company, leaving a nonprofit organization to do what it does best.

5. Be realistic about yourself and your organization. By definition not all organizations must be a leader in technology, and there are some important benefits to being a follower.
Know where your organization is on the ‘technology bell curve’. An ‘enthusiast’ loves technology and adopts technology at an early stage but pays a price, both in monetary terms and in the risk of betting on the ‘wrong horse’. The ‘strategic adopters’ pick up new technology to have a competitive advantage, i.e. fundraising, database management. The ‘early majority’ picks up new technology to solve a specific problem they can’t solve with their current tools. The ‘laggards’ pick up technology so they will not be left too far behind – for this group the technology is much cheaper and they avoid the uncertainly of unproven applications. As you think about your organization’s technology requirements, think about where your organization needs to be strategically on this bell curve. There is often pressure to adopt new technology before it is mature and standards have developed. ‘Old toys’ are cheaper!

Unless your technology is a problem, don’t change it. When exploring the introduction of new technology, don’t forget to consider the issue of stress on the organization and the issue of training and maintenance. Have a conversation on the role of technology at the leadership level in your organization and include a section on technology in your strategic plan. Or, establish a team of management, line staff and technical support staff to design a specific strategic technology plan for your organization.

Good Resources on Trends in Technology

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell
The ePhilanthropy Foundation, Washington DC
Canada Helps
Microsoft Canada I CAN Community Programs

What does it mean to be ‘strategic’ in your communications?

First of all, it is essential to define and understand your target audience. Next, identify and create key messages, and then communicate using a range of appropriate tactics. These are the foundations of a solid communications plan.

Whether you’re in the private, public or charitable sector, transparency and accountability are the currency of the day. Stakeholders expect greater transparency and accountability. It is no wonder that the three themes currently dominating communications in the 21st century are:

• reputation management
• crisis communications, and
• advocacy.

Your strategic communications plan should enable your organization to be proactive and be prepared for any communications challenge or opportunities which may arise. Here are these elements in more detail.

1. Develop A “Living” Communications Plan.
A communications plan must be aligned to and encompass your organization’s vision, mission, core values, strategic plan and principal activities. Take the time to ensure that all-important communications to stakeholders, both within and outside of the organization, are aligned with its’ mission and values. Commit the infrastructure, budget and personnel to develop and deliver on the plan.
Be sure to also monitor and evaluate each of your activities within your overall communications plan. Ideally, the plan
should be an integrated portfolio of:

• public relations (building relationships and generating goodwill)
• marketing (building and maintaining markets); and
• advertising.

Where do you begin your plan? First ask yourself the “5 W’S” -
Who? What? Where? When? and Why?
WHO is it that we want to communicate with?; In other words, WHO is my audience? Who are we trying to reach?
WHY do we want to reach this target audience? and Why are we relevant to them?
WHAT is the message we want to communicate?
WHERE do we the best reach our target audience?
WHEN is the best timing to communicate?

2. Know your target audience.
The more you know about your target audience, the better your communication will be. For example, what are their demographics (e.g. age, residency) and psychographics (e.g. attitudes and habits)? The more you know about your audience’s needs, hopes, fears, habits, and attitudes, the better prepared and more effective you will be in engaging them in relevant and meaningful communications. Formal and informal surveys, focus groups, comment boxes, and website chat rooms are just a few examples of information-gathering methods for learning about your target audience.

3. Develop and Refine Clear and Compelling Key Messages.
Messages should establish or reinforce your “brand” and “unique selling proposition” (USP). The best messages about your brand are always simple, clear, and consistent. Look at the successful brands. Key messages should be delivered in a number of different ways and as frequently as possible. Establish the key words or phrases which best describes your core business. An effective mission statement, for example, should be easily recalled by stakeholders and be used in all key materials.

4. Choose Effective Communications Tactics.
Develop tactics that meet your organization’s objectives and are relevant to your target audience. Depending on your objectives, your target audience, your overall strategy and your budget, examples of tactics may be media relations, speaking engagements, events and promotions. Ideally, a multi-faceted, layered approach utilizing a range of tactics over a specified period of time is most effective.

5. Build Multi-Disciplinary, Multi-Sector Relationships And Strategic Alliances.
Develop relationships which enhance, extend and leverage your internal and external communications capacity. You may seek partners who have complementary client databases or can help you open up new markets. Develop relationships that offer ways to establish new or non-traditional communications channels to your existing target audience. The key is to establish relationships which enable your organization to achieve more than it could on its own.

Good Resources on Strategic Communications

Canada Newswire is Canada’s most frequently used and most widely accessed full-text news release site and a national leader in audio/video webcasting for real-time around the world. Provides innovative services to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of your communications and to target key audiences. Also offers free subscription services.
IABC/Toronto Chapter is the largest chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators, providing access to products, services, workshops, professional development and networking opportunities in Toronto and around the world.
PR Canada provides news, information and commentary for Canadian communicators.
PR and Marketing provides the latest news and strategies on public relations and marketing, including case studies and web seminars. They are also publishers of PR News.

To contact Lynn Communications Inc. email: solutions@lynncomm.ca

The most common reasons for strategic planning are:

• Funders ask for strategic plans as a condition of granting to ensure that the organization has a strong sense of direction or can absorb a higher level of funding;
• Strategic planning is used as a solution to a crisis of loss of direction or of a changing external environment. However when a crisis arises from funding or staffing, other tools may be more appropriate.
• The calendar says “it’s time”. If conditions inside or outside the organization have changed substantially since the last strategic plan, strategic planning may be helpful. However, it is better to ‘drive’ a strategic plan out of need, rather than schedule.

How can we make strategic planning more effective with better processes and better outcomes?

1. Identify what your organization can do best – elevate good work to great work through effective strategic planning
No organization can do everything well. As activities get added on each year, an organization may risk losing the perspective of what it can deliver best. Organizations are similar to individuals: we cannot reach our goals if we try to take on too much. Discover what your organization does really well, what is needed in its service area and what is under-served by other organizations. Focus maximum effort on these activities. For multi-service organizations, try to find a common thread between activities and concentrate on those activities that are a good fit for the organization.

There are no easy solutions to dealing with activities that an organization does less well. Several options: outsource the activity if it supports a core activity, seek partnerships with an organization that does the activity better or make the decision to discontinue an activity.

2. Passion drives successful organizations. Align the existing core values within your organization to targeted social needs and priorities
While this is true in all organizations, no organizations are more driven by passion and values than nonprofit organizations. Staff, directors and volunteers of nonprofit organizations often see themselves as having a ‘calling’, however this passion often runs up against the realities of day-to-day management, resource constraints and continually growing needs. In addition, in any organization passions can take the leadership in different directions. The strategic planning challenge is to clearly articulate the strongest passions of the organization’s leadership team and define the focus around these passions. This is not about motivating people but about tapping into what already motivates the leadership and building the organization around this motivation. An exploration of these motivations requires an honest and open conversation which may require an outside facilitator.

3. Measure performance and strive for improvement in outcomes – identify one crucial measure of success and track it
While quantitative and financial measures are more easily found in businesses, they can also be identified in not-for-profits. As more and more funders look for some measurement of performance, it is important for nonprofit organizations to develop one critical measure of organizational success and measure it carefully. Strategic planning is in part the process of clarifying the objectives of your organization, how to reach these objectives and identifying an appropriate measurement of these objectives. Other values such as the qualities of “human experience”, “social justice” or “dignity” are all important even though they cannot be measured. Measurement does not mean becoming more narrow; it means focusing the organization on becoming more effective.

Why limit performance to one measure? This approach focuses on knowing what is the most important measure for your organization and then applying it in a disciplined way throughout the organization. Choose a measurement of outcomes which closely links your mission in relation to the available resources. This measurement is implemented in a disciplined way within the organization and then tracked over a number of years to ensure that program effectiveness has increased over time. In addition, incorporate the measure (along with other tools) into your program evaluation. Can the measurement ever be changed? Yes, it is likely inevitable and even desirable as the organization becomes experienced with the discipline of tracking a measurement.

Avoid the trap of choosing many different measurements, as your valuable staff time and resources are likely to be drawn away from program delivery.

4. Good strategic planning is about making choices between competing priorities
Even well-positioned organizations face continuous trade-offs in managing programs and activities. For example, in an organization focused on children’s services, both service delivery and advocacy are currently carried out by the organization and could be compelling paths. However the organization sees a value in specialization. Their strategic planning exercise considers trade-offs between the two activities in part based on the passions of the leadership group.

Too often organizations engage in strategic planning by simply re-stating what they are currently doing without questioning why – this is an example of poor strategic planning with high opportunity costs for an organization.

5. Align mission, activities, processes and resources – when these four come together, your organization will deliver better outcomes

• Mission – a simple statement of why the organization exists. Keep it simple and up to date.
• Activities – programs and services that the organization is engaged in to advance its mission.
• Processes – how activities are carried out – who is involved, what standards and rules are used.
• Resources – what is required to carry out the activities (skills, people -volunteers and staff, money and space).

Strategic planning identifies what you can do best and aligns it with the passions and values of the organization, and then picks the best way to measure the outcomes of what you do and defends the choices the organization has made between the trade-offs. The strategic planning process is partly about ‘finding and destroying’ inconsistencies between the four areas.

Who should participate in the strategic planning process? In general, a broader consultation is better than an exercise done more exclusively, for example, by only the board of directors. However, there is a trade-off between an inclusive model involving everyone in the organization versus selecting key members of the organization’s leadership team. Inclusiveness can be resource-wasteful and can raise unrealistic expectations if all participants’ views are not represented in the final strategic plan and its implementation.

A final word…your final strategic plan needs to be practical and flexible. Participants should ask themselves: Do we have the resources and staff to pull this off? If the situation changes, can our strategic plan be adapted to accommodate new circumstances?

Good Resources on Strategic Planning

Henry Mintzberg, John Voyer & James Brian Quinn, The Strategy Process: Concepts and Contexts. Prentice Hall, 1992.
Various classic readings on organizational strategy and strategic planning.
Jim Collins, Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t. Harper Business, 2001.

A study based on business case studies with a number of conclusions applicable to all types of organizations.
Jim Collins
Website of resources by management guru and author of “Good to Great”, Jim Collins.
CharityChannel: Nonprofit Boards and Governance Review. Lots of articles on boards, strategic planning, and nonprofit management issues.
(In particular, see the series, “Strategic Plans Aren’t the Answer”).
HBS Case Study: “Strategic Planning at NFTE”. Article access requires payment of a fee. Great in depth case study of McKinsey Consulting’s strategic planning with a successful and growing U.S. nonprofit.

1. Present a clear, concise and compelling case for support
Potential funders want to know why they should support your organization as opposed to the many other, equally worthy causes seeking their help.
These funders are looking for: a clear mission statement, a positive image, success stories/endorsements, strong management, a sound strategic plan, and partnerships with other organizations. They are looking for uniqueness, urgency (but not desperation), and a clear prioritization of your needs. More than anything, they are looking for evidence of the tangible impact of your organization on the community: Whom do you serve and precisely how do they benefit from your efforts?

Package this information in a clear, concise, professional and persuasive way. Don’t spend money on overproduced and expensive brochures – it’s a bad signal of the priorities of your organization. “Less can be more effective”.

Partnerships or alliances with other organizations may increase access to fundraising, build service delivery capacity and create a unique package. It can also help establish credibility for a new organization.

2. Choose the most effective fundraising vehicle(s) for your organization
There are advantages and disadvantages associated with all fundraising methodologies – special events, lotteries, direct mail, internet, telemarketing, sponsorships, personal solicitation, etc. Some may not be appropriate for your particular circumstances. Focus on one or two vehicles which will provide the most attractive return on your precious time, staff resources, volunteer effort, upfront cost, and other limited resources.

1. Personal and direct solicitation – most effective and efficient fundraising tool with the highest rate of return; relatively inexpensive, costs $0.10 -$0.15 per dollar raised;
2. Special events have a place – they are good for raising profile, cultivating new donors or thanking old ones however they are not good fundraising vehicles as they suck up tremendous amounts of staff and volunteer time. Use special events in a very discriminating way; typically costs range $0.70-$1.50 per dollar raised;
3. Lotteries – prohibitively expensive and risky for small organizations;
4. Direct mail – reasonably effective, depends on your donor base, get professional help and don’t expect immediate results, a good return takes several years especially for new organizations; costs $0.40 – $0.80 per dollar raised;
5. Telemarketing – a higher return than direct mail but significant front-end costs, takes several years to develop a constituency;
6. Corporate sponsorship – can be fruitful but you have to have something of commercial value in terms of name recognition or linkage to a specific marketing group; corporate sponsorships can consume a considerable amount of staff time so cultivate these relationships strategically.

3. Identify your best prospects
Target prospects with the highest funding potential for your organization. Start with those who are the most familiar with your work, such as board members, service partners, close friends and current and past supporters. Pursue only those corporations, small businesses, foundations, granting agencies and individuals who have both the financial capacity and the potential motivation to support you. Prioritize those where you have direct or strong indirect linkages. Research each significant prospect and be clear about why this particular funder could/should support your organization. Research funding organizations’ track record and funding history; respond to their interests and customize your pitch to their interest.

Set specific fundraising objectives for your organization, i.e. we will approach 15 organizations this year and ask for x amount of money; don’t be unrealistically ambitious, approaching potential funders takes time and resources.

4. Ask for financial support
Don’t be shy about asking. Be professional, specific and persuasive. Clearly explain your case for support. What is your mission and track record? What are your most pressing needs? How much money do you want and how will you spend it? What are the tangible benefits which will result…for your clients, your organization, the community-at-large, and the donors themselves? Customize your appeal to each prospect, taking into account their interests and objectives as well as your own needs.

An excellent ‘asking team’ is the executive director/CEO and a senior volunteer/board member from your organization. Don’t hire a fundraising consultant to go out and represent your organization. Fundraising professionals are best used for training, mentoring and putting together a fundraising package. Training can include role-playing and team facilitation to develop chemistry. Make sure that the ‘asking team’ understands your organization thoroughly. To develop experience and confidence, practice first with an easy ‘ask’ – a funder who, ideally, is already familiar with your organization.

There are three main reasons why organizations are not successful at fundraising: they don’t make fundraising a priority in their organization; they hope that if they just do good work the money will flow to them; and fear of rejection.

5. Build relationships
The cornerstone of fundraising. Recognize and thank your donors and volunteers-personally and frequently. Continue to provide information to donors and potential donors about the fine work you are doing and the critical importance of their support. Share your success stories. Talk about your plans for the future. Ask their advice. Ongoing “friend raising” and stewardship pave the way for strong public relations and continuing financial support.

On an additional note, recruiting board members who are both donors themselves or strong fundraisers is of critical importance. Small organizations can use smallness to their advantage here: “When you come and help us or give to us even in a small way, it will have a disproportionate impact on our organization and be transformational for our clients.” In the same way, involvement in a small organization can also be transformational for a volunteer inspiring him/her to become a strong, passionate voice for your organization.

Good Resources on Fundraising

Charity Village’s Quick Guide to Fundraising provides an extensive number of articles and online resources on a wide variety of fundraising topics including grant writing, telemarketing, corporate sponsorships, direct marketing, telemarketing, and donor prospects.
Fundraising Ideas that Work for Grassroots Groups: This book was prepared by Ken Wyman for the Volunteer Action Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage, Government of Canada. It is slightly dated (1995) but provides useful, basic information on fundraising for smaller organizations.
The Canadian Centre for Philanthropy has lots of resources available online for fundraising, philanthropy, and the management of non-profit organizations.
Membership in the Association of Fundraising Professionals offers inexpensive luncheons, conferences, networking opportunities, guest speakers, audio conferences,
other resources. The plus of this organization is that it represents the breadth of development professionals across many sectors in the Toronto region

The Annual Budget Cycle

Fall
Individual ministries prepare an operating plan for the year including programs, staffing, space and IT for the following fiscal year.
Ministries receive an instruction book with guidelines on how to prepare their budget for the following government fiscal year (for example, the guidelines might include instruction that budget must shrink by 3% or can include an inflation adjustment of 2%). The single consolidated annual or operating plan incorporates the ministries’ own activities in addition to the operation of existing programs. The budget does not usually include proposals for new programs or expansion of existing programs. However since the maintenance of existing programs may not fall within the instruction book guidelines, typically budgets include notes on the implications of: a) maintaining the ministry within the budget guidelines or, b) maintaining existing programs at current service levels.

1. To be fully effective agencies should be speaking to their respective government departments in the early fall armed with program reviews, assessments and evaluations including ideally quantitative, as well as qualitative analysis and evidence-based outcomes. Recommendations might include proposals to make existing programs more effective as well as producing new program proposals.

Winter
Ministry budgets scrutinized in detail and Ministry of Finance prepares overall government budget with major program announcements.
Ministry budgets are submitted in December or January and scrutinized by central financial agencies (Cabinet Office, Management Board, etc.) and the Minister of Finance begins to prepare the overall budget. This budget does not contain the details of each ministry’s budget, only the overall spending parameters: tax increases/decreases, major program announcements and total ministry budgets. New ideas are being sought from outside government and within government. If the same idea is heard both from within government policy circles and from outside government consultation, it has a better chance of penetrating government decision-making.

2. Continue a dialogue with your respective ministry with program enhancement ideas or new program proposals. Even in periods of severe restraint the government may still add programs if they are confident that they will have successful outcomes. Individual politicians and organizations can have an impact during this period on what is funded. Develop multiple pathways to the government sector through relationships with civil servants in appropriate ministries, ministers’ political offices, M.P.P.s and M.P.s, academics, premier’s ‘kitchen cabinet’, government relations professionals, and the media. Use contacts developed through your own administrative staff as well as the contacts of your board of directors. Don’t rely on one set of government contacts. Cultivate contacts from a broad range of political stripes.

Spring
Ministries figuring out how to implement the approved budget and resources.

The new fiscal year for the government begins April 1 and the budget is made public usually in April or early May. Ministries now work within their approved budget envelope to finalize detailed spending for the coming year. Ministries explain detailed budget implications to the individual nonprofit organizations, which requested funding. At this point the ministry may consult with outside associations and agencies about the best use of program funds for the current year.

3. Ministries are now trying to best use their resources for the current fiscal year. A well-organized agency will be consulting with ministry staff with recommendations for the best management of program funding. Even if the ministry cannot tell you final funding decisions there is still a value in speaking to them about the best use of overall program resources. Explore whether ministries have some contingency funding set aside which allows them to address small program improvements, program rationalization or enhancement, pilot projects or short-term funding.

Summer
Program review and preparation for the following fiscal year.

Program review can be triggered from a number of different areas. The previous provincial government mandated that every major spending program should have some level of review at least every five years. The new government will create its own review timetable. In addition, an extraordinary review may be prompted by such things as: auditor’s criticism in annual report, policy change by new government, media attention, fiscal constraints, court challenges, prioritization of resources, or a change in federal-provincial relations. Ministries work with the provincial auditor to review programs, which the auditor has targeted. Auditor identifies programs in February, carries out audits over the summer and publishes results in November. If the audit is well done it produces a good analysis of the program’s strengths and weaknesses and a set of recommendations. The ministry will then have to spend some time in the fall responding to the auditor’s recommendations. There is a follow-up review to the auditor’s recommendations one or two years later. Program reviews may present an opportunity for a stakeholder organization to present program enhancement/improvement recommendations or new program proposals.

4. Prepare evaluations and audits of your own organization’s programs with program strengths and weaknesses to be completed by Labour Day to allow output to flow logically into the government budget cycle. In developing new program proposals, look at existing program delivery models. In a risk-adverse environment they provide useful examples of established and effective delivery mechanisms which can be more easily understood and replicated in considering new program design.

5. If your organization’s fiscal year does not fit within the government funding cycle, consider changing your fiscal year to mesh more closely with the above seasonal cycle (for example a fiscal year beginning July 1). This can be particularly helpful to organizations whose fiscal year is based on a calendar year basis, for example, and are often halfway through their fiscal year before government granting decisions are announced.

1. Develop a long-term strategy within your organization for recruitment and retention.
The board and the senior management team must recognize that human resources is a primary focus for the organization. A full-fledged human resource plan includes compensation, benefits, evaluation, non-financial recognition and incentives, professional development and promotion opportunities. Retention strategies are as important as recruitment as high turnover can be very costly in the long-term. How you treat people will determine whether you can have the sustained talent pool that your organization needs. By looking at retention issues creatively and seriously, you can compensate for the lack of monetary compensation within the sector.

2. Recruit a Human Resources Advisory Committee which reports directly to the CEO/Executive Director and/or senior management team.
An advisory committee comprised of volunteer human resource professionals (perhaps retirees) can provide significant expertise and resources. The committee should report to a CEO/Executive Director, as a Board Committee can become a centre for complaints and a way to ‘end run’ the CEO/Executive Director.

3. Develop a mentoring partnership with an effective corporate Human Resource department on a pro-bono or tax receipt basis.
As part of a fundraising strategy, approach a corporate organization to contribute assistance to your human resources in areas such as: professional development, job evaluations, job descriptions, recruitment resources, compensation and benefit policies, legislative/legal information.

4. Check out websites for Human Resource recruitment and retention advice.
Do a broad search using key words: “recruitment, voluntary organizations”, “recruitment, non-profit organizations”, “volunteer organizations, recruitment”, “charity organizations recruitment”. Note particularly websites in the U.K: www.ncvo-vol.org.uk, and www.volunteering.org.uk.

5. Explore the Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI) for information and participation.
A Canadian government initiative, the VSI is a joint venture between the voluntary sector and the government to strengthen the capacity of nonprofit organizations. The website, www.hrvs-rhsbc.ca, funded by VSI contains a huge number of links to practical human resource tools and resources including employment legislation, sample HR policies and procedures and in-depth guides to hiring, retention, development and performance.

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Good Resources on Human Resource Management

Developing Human Resources
Voluntary Sector Initiative
Voluntary Sector Roundtable
Voluntary Sector Forum
Volunteers Online.ca
Charity Village