Winter 2003 Newsletter

Table of Contents

1. Voluntary Sector Initiative

2. Building a Stronger Voluntary Sector by Martha Parker

3. Commentary from the Co-Chair of the Joint Regulatory Table by Robert Wyatt

4. Courses

5. Conferences & Workshops

6. Planned Giving Via Life Insurance by Paul Kilduff

7. News from the Clifford E. Lee Foundation

8. Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations

9. TransCanada Invests in MacEwan’s RCVO

10. Reaching Out to Canadians

11. RCVO Resources: John Carver on Board Leadership by Toni Lashbrook

1. Voluntary Sector Initiative

What’s in it for the Voluntary Sector?

Since June 2000 when the Federal Government announced a five-year funding commitment of $94.6 million for the Voluntary Sector Initiative, the sector has asked the question, “what’s in it for us”?

In an attempt to address that question, we offer a brief commentary, perspectives from several Albertans integrally involved, and some examples of projects currently underway.  For those of you wanting a more complete review with historical context and work of the VSI to date, see page 5.

Commentary

Over its first two years, the VSI has established the foundation for a better relationship with the federal government, gathered information, and initiated projects that will benefit not-for-profit organizations.

The Voluntary Sector Initiative has produced research, actions, and achievements.  How will this strengthen the voluntary sector?  There is no “quick fix,”  and not all outcomes will benefit (or benefit equally) all voluntary organizations.  Some outcomes will help the sector as a whole, while others will help certain types of organizations - large, small, national, regional, or local - in carrying out their mission.  The goal was to put support, tools, relationship building opportunities and information in the hands of the voluntary sector - volunteers and staff, individual organizations, and networks.

The remaining three years will concentrate on putting agreements and understandings into practice, and making the practical information and tools accessible to all organizations, especially those that are small and medium-sized.  Some benefits will be more concrete than others, but all will help the voluntary sector in doing its important work and in being recognized, valued, and supported by the people of Canada, by governments, and by the sector itself.

Perspectives

In order to fully understand the role and commitment of those who  were involved in the work of the VSI, we asked for candid perspectives and outcomes from two members:  Martha Parker, Executive Director, Volunteer Calgary, who sat on the Joint Coordinating Committee, and Robert Wyatt, Executive Director, The Muttart Foundation, Co-Chair of the Joint Regulatory Table.

Top of Page 

2. Building a Stronger Voluntary Sector by Martha Parker

That's the title of the final report of the first two years of the Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI) - a five year initiative of the Government of Canada and the Voluntary Sector.  The intent of the exercise is to address the 26 recommendations in "Working Together" - a document created through a joint process between representatives of the voluntary sector and the federal government in 1999.  The recommendations focus on much needed regulatory change, building the capacity of the sector and developing a new relationship with government.  The people assigned to the tasks outlined in phase one of the VSI were approximately 130 representatives from the voluntary sector and government.  Through a joint table process, they committed an immense amount of time and energy to a challenging number of cross cutting issues that impact the sector as a whole.

Pride Points and Challenges

I am very proud to have worked with the five other Albertans who were part of the joint process:

• Bob Wyatt - The Muttart Foundation - Regulatory Table

• Ian Kershaw - FocusIT Solutions - Information/Technology Management Table

• Sue Tomney - TransAlta Corporation - Awareness Table

• Dan O'Grady - Enbridge Inc. - Fundraising Task Force

• Adrianna Davies - Heritage Community Foundation - Capacity Table

Each of our representatives gave their all to the work, are fine spokespeople for the sector, and phenomenal advocates and strategists for what it will take to build a stronger voluntary sector.

I am also proud of the literally hundreds of other Albertans and our myriad of networks who were involved in the work.  In phase one of the VSI, we convened and participated in consultations, focus groups, and one on one interviews.  At every VSI event held in Alberta, we had great participation from a broad range of organizations.  Efforts by the Resource Centre for Voluntary Organizations, the Association of Fundraisers, Volunteer Alberta, United Way, volunteer centres, FCSS networks, etc. ensured circulation of information, coordination of events, exchange of lists, and increased debate and dialogue.  All resulted in creating a better-informed sector and a broad range of input into both the process and the results of the VSI.  It also gained us a reputation of being able to put "bums in chairs" better than any other province in the country.

I am proud of the work accomplished:

• the Accord and its accompanying Codes of Good Practice on Funding and Policy Dialogue

• the Canadian Volunteerism Initiative (CVI) - a five-year 35 million dollar legacy to continue initiatives started during International Year of Volunteers that will soon result in the establishment of provincial and territorial networks to develop tools, new resources and new research to improve our knowledge of and ability to promote and sustain volunteerism

• the tripling of sectoral Canadian research in the last two years

• the involvement of more than 100 voluntary organizations who are currently working on public policy development projects with federal government departments that will improve our capacity to develop processes to involve organizations in public policy

• guarantees that the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (NSGVP) will now automatically happen every three years

• a new National Survey on Voluntary Organizations that will be implemented between 2003 and 2005 to tell us more about who we are

None of the above even touches the work accomplished under the headings of the Alberta five.  To get a good summary of the work accomplished and the work to come I would suggest, if you haven't read it already, that readers access their own copy of "Building a Stronger Voluntary Sector".  You can download the report from http://www.vsi-isbc.ca/eng/about/pdf/building.pdf.

Lastly, I am most proud of a growing sense of our sector.  It doesn't take a lot of thinking to know that we have more impact together than individually if we speak of the sector and sector issues with authority, with good research behind us, and with pride in the values that drive our work.  The beginnings of a collective voice is evidenced in the formation of emerging provincial, regional and local coalitions that are springing up across the country.  In Alberta, the Chamber of Voluntary Organizations in Calgary and Edmonton are moving forward in their efforts to create local coalitions.  They interact with 11 other coalitions across the country - all are committed to taking learnings from the VSI and making them real back home.

There are a variety of projects underway that will give us additional data and tools to help us build the case for increased resources, and recognize the important role we play in ensuring quality of life for all Canadians.

Despite my pride in the VSI work, there are many challenges ahead and many questions to answer:

• Will we support those who take on leadership positions on our behalf who like us are not always right, don't always know what they don't know, and who, while they have passion for the sector, are adding on immense responsibility to the work they do in their home organizations? 

• What are we doing to apply and connect the work underway nationally to the work we do everyday?  Do we even know what projects are in the works?

• Are we becoming more proactive and deliberate in the role we should play in the development of social policy?

• Will phase two of the VSI be successful in providing oversight to the work underway?  Will key issues around financing of the sector and advocacy be resolved?  Will the Accord be taken seriously and will we see implementation of the Codes of Practice?  Without a continued joint process, will we just be a minor blip on the government radar screen?

• Are we prepared to invest our personal and organizational dollars to help fund the leadership need nationally to maintain a presence that will plug away at the three underlying objectives of the VSI - capacity building, regulatory change and a new relationship with government?  This is a very big country and these are big initiatives.  There is no magic fairy to fund work of the second phase leadership group (the Forum).  Government will commit some dollars but do we really want government to foot the whole bill?  Don't we also need to invest in the work?  In fact, if every charity in this country (70,000 plus) sent the Forum a cheque for $20 a year for the next three years, it would ensure a healthy budget and a pretty loud voice.

• I've mailed our cheque and I will try my darndest to stay connected to phase two of the VSI work and to support the new group of 21 voluntary sector leaders (the Voluntary Sector Forum) who, with greatly reduced financial support, will keep pounding away at the issues.  I was one of them a few short months ago, as were the other five Albertans.  I will try to remember from personal experience how hard the work is, how hard it is to deal with constant criticism from others in our sector, how hard it is to juggle a full time job and pretty much a full time volunteer commitment and how very complex the issues are when expectations are so high.  I invite you to join me in supporting our colleagues who continue this work, to be generous with your encouragement, and to make an effort to stay connected.  It is only by adding your voices to theirs that we will succeed………now go write that cheque and check out the Forum website at http://www.vsi-isbc.ca/

Top of Page 

3. Commentary from the Co-Chair of the Joint Regulatory Table
   by Robert Wyatt

I think it's fair to say that when we embarked upon this adventure, no one had any idea of what we were getting into.  None of the members -- from either movement or the sector -- understood how much time this was going to take, nor did we have a lot of understanding of how the other side operated.  The idea of jointly developing policies, programs and recommendations for legislative change was new to all of us.

There were certainly stumbling points.  But we managed through them and through the uncertainty and for the last two or three years, the voluntary sector has had a significantly higher visibility among some fairly senior government officials -- elected and non-elected.  The challenge will be to maintain this visibility and mechanisms by which we can talk "with" each other, not "to" each other.  VSI was the start of a process, not a complete process in itself.  As Patrick Johnston, the former president of the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, told me at the beginning:  "We have a window of opportunity.  Our job is to keep that window open."

From the perspective of the Joint Regulatory Table, probably the most far-reaching accomplishment was the redesign of the annual reporting form.  Volunteers and staff of charities will save literally hundreds of thousands of hours a year because of the shorter form.  The recommendations we will make on the legislative front -- changes in appeals mechanisms, changes in how the regulator operates, the introduction of intermediate sanctions and others -- are going to be longer-term propositions.  I don't expect the Income Tax Act to be changed immediately.  The sector is going to have to continue to work to ensure those recommendations are adopted.

Examples of projects currently underway.

The Developing Human Resources in the Voluntary Sector (HRVS) is a project initiated by the VSI. HRVS is designed to strengthen the ability of  Canadian voluntary sector organizations to attract, support, and keep skilled and committed employees. The project is led by Community Foundations of Canada with United Way of Canada and the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations. It is funded by Human Resources Development Canada. Products and outcomes will include:

• “Good HR Practices” Tool Kit

• HR Assessment and Planning  Information

• Employee Benefits, Compensation, and Retirement Planning appropriate for small organizations

• An awareness campaign targeted at Boards to promote the importance of effective HR practices

For further information contact: Lynne Toupin at ltoupin@community-fdn.ca or
613-236-2664.

A related study,” Job Quality in Nonprofit Organizations”, also  provides useful insight. It was produced by the Canadian Policy Research Network Inc. and is available at www.cprn.org or 613-567-7500.

The National Learning Initiative for the Voluntary Sector is a collaborative effort by post-secondary educational institutions that offer programming related to voluntary sector leadership and management and national voluntary sector organizations. It is sponsored by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (ACCC) and the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations (NVO). The project outcomes include a survey of competencies required by leaders in the sector, an inventory of related post-secondary programming in related areas and development of additional innovative learning models which more effectively serve the sector. The long term vision is to create a stronger learning culture in the sector and appropriate, accessible responses to future needs.

For further information contact Bev Suderman at bsuderman@nvo-onb.ca or phone 613-238-1591, ext. 254.

Canada Volunteerism Initiative

The Canada Volunteerism Initiative is a program designed to enhance and promote volunteerism across Canada.  This ambitious program will also serve as a lasting legacy of the 2001 International Year of Volunteers.  The goals of the CVI are to encourage Canadians to participate in voluntary organizations; improve the capacity of organizations to benefit from the contributions of volunteers; and enhance the experience of volunteers.

The Canadian Volunteerism Initiative will be delivered through three national Centres - the Knowledge Development Centre (to be delivered by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy), the Information, Capacity-Building and Awareness Centre (to be delivered by Volunteer Canada) and the Community Support Centre (to be delivered jointly by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy and Volunteer Canada).

Canada Volunteerism Initiative Advisory Networks will be established in each province/territory and will identify volunteer development priorities in their respective communities and provide advice and direction to the three Centres in the delivery of their activities.  The provincial CVI Advisory Networks will aim to have representation from a broad cross section of the sub sectors within the Voluntary Sector; such as Social Development, Health Environment, Art/Culture/Heritage, Volunteer Centres, Recreation/Sport, etc.; as well as population groups that may include persons with disabilities, Aboriginal peoples, persons in a visible minority group, youth, seniors, etc.  Other representation may include funders (Federal, Provincial, Foundations) and cross-sectored groups such as local and/or Provincial/Territorial coalitions.

Through an RFP process, a Host Centre has been established in each province/territory to administer and support the work of the CVI Advisory Networks.  Volunteer Alberta has been selected to be the Provincial Host Centre to administer and support the work of the Alberta CVI Advisory Network.

For information contact Karin Hoernig at karin@ahainitiatives.com, or phone 403-230-4322.

Historical Context and Work of the VSI

The voluntary not-for-profit sector was showing signs of severe strain in the 1990s.  Globalization, years of public-sector restructuring including downloading of services by governments, and other factors had left many voluntary sector organizations overworked and under-resourced as they faced increased demand for their services.  Simultaneously, financial factors, e.g., the shift from core operational funding to project funding, and funding cuts to a wide variety of groups (particularly those engaged in advocacy), had left many organizations in tough financial shape and struggling to keep qualified staff.  Moreover, the sector was routinely described as “special interest” groups, with its legitimacy increasingly questioned.

The sector is diverse in terms of purpose, e.g., service delivery, advocacy, minority and ethnic communities, arts and culture, international development, sports and recreation, faith, and environment.  This diversity, combined with the lack of a national voice to speak for the voluntary sector, makes effective response to changes and criticisms difficult.  In this climate, national voluntary organizations realized the need for collaborative action by a national coalition - one that could exercise more effective, broadly based leadership on behalf of the sector.

In 1995, a group of 12 national umbrella organizations came together as a Voluntary Sector Roundtable to strengthen the voice of the sector.  The Roundtable established an independent panel of inquiry, chaired by Ed Broadbent, to examine the state of the sector.  In February 1999, the Broadbent Panel on Accountability and Governance in the Voluntary Sector released its final report entitled, Building on Strength: Improving Governance and Accountability in Canada’s Voluntary Sector.  That report, with its 41 recommendations, received a great deal of attention, putting the issue “on the radar screen.”

At that time, the federal government was looking at its relationship with the voluntary sector, and recognized the need for a strong sector to carry out programs and offer services that would improve the quality of life for Canadians.  It sought to respond better to the challenges of constrained budgets by relying on the voluntary sector for service delivery and partnerships, and to “engage” Canadians by reaching out to those who were already active in the voluntary sector.

After the Broadbent Panel report was released, voluntary sector members and federal officials met together in three groups, each of which tacked one of the following goals:  to make recommendations on sector-government relationships; to strengthen the voluntary sector’s capacity; and to improve regulations and legislation that governs the sector.  Their August 1999 report, entitled Working Together: A Government of Canada/Voluntary Sector Joint Initiative, contained 26 recommendations for action.

The 1999 Speech from the Throne reinforced the federal government’s stated commitment to build its relationship with the sector, the result the Voluntary Sector Roundtable has been seeking.  In June 2000, the federal government announced a five-year funding commitment of $94.6 million for the Voluntary Sector Initiative.

The work of the VSI was focused on:

• building a more effective and sustainable relationship between the federal government and the voluntary sector. Issues included the development of an Accord web site and codes that give greater clarity to working relationships between both parties. Initiatives were begun to ensure greater participation in the development of public policy (federal) by the voluntary sector. The sector’s role in advocacy was considered.

• strengthening the capacity of the voluntary sector to meet current and future challenges.  Areas of focus were funding/finance, human resources, new knowledge generation, awareness, and information management/technology.

• improving the rules and regulations within which the voluntary sector must work. Significant efforts were made to simplify government funding requests and annual information filing. Other bigger issues relating to who should regulate charities and who should qualify as a registered charity were examined.

• achieving greater inclusion of diverse voluntary sector representatives and developing/strengthening networks within the sector (individuals and organizations). One of the most valuable outcomes of VSI has been the new or strengthened relationships between individuals and organizations. This will contribute to more shared learning and collaboration in other areas.

Top of Page 

4. COURSES

Voluntary Sector Management Program

2003-2004 Voluntary Sector Learning Opportunities at Grant MacEwan College

Interested in credit and non-credit learning opportunities related to:

• Volunteer Management

• Fund Development

• Board Governance

• Voluntary Sector Leadership

• Nonprofit Organization Management

Choose from more than 20 courses delivered in both distance and classroom formats, convenient to your life.

Learning at a Distance

Whether you live in Brooks, Fort McMurray, or anywhere else in the country, you can participate in self-paced courses with the convenience of self study.  Register in single courses for professional development or work towards a credit certificate in Voluntary Sector Management majoring in either Fund Development or Volunteer Management.  You can combine classroom and self study or choose to learn at a distance in your home, workplace or while you travel.  Do course work at your own pace and choose the time of day. 

Distance courses, depending upon the course you choose, are delivered in two different formats.

Self paced courses are correspondence style utilizing print packages and e-mail/phone tutors.  You work alone at your own pace.  One-credit courses are completed in three months or less and three-credit courses in six months or less.  You can register at any time of the year.

Web enhanced courses, which are 12 weeks long, include print resource materials (mailed to you), so that you have reference materials to keep, without the inconvenience of printing the packages.  Online activities include facilitated discussions, group projects and learning activities and web resource links.  You can submit assignments online and receive your graded work back in the same format or use more traditional methods, if you wish.  What do you need to participate?  You can access the online activities from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection and your password.  Register for start dates in September and January.

Contact us today for a complete listing of courses that can help you and your organization enhance your effectiveness.  We can also develop group workplace/ conference training programs to meet your needs.

Self Paced Courses Available Spring 2003

Overview of Volunteer Management

VSMT 103 (820)

$182 (includes materials)

Overview of Fundraising Management

VSMT 104 (820)

$182 (includes materials)

Introduction to the Voluntary / Nonprofit Sector of Canada

VSMT 105 (820)

$182 (includes materials)

Working With Not-For-Profit Boards and Committees

VSMT 116 (820)

$182

Conducting Effective Meetings

VSMT 118 (820)

$182 (includes materials + text)

Prices in effect until June 30, 2003.

Funding Sources for Edmonton’s Nonprofit Sector 2003

This updated source of funds for Edmonton and area is now available from the RCVO.  To order call

780-497-5616 or toll free at 1-877-897-5616.

Top of Page 

5. CONFERENCES & WORKSHOPS

We are excited about spreading the news of our new and improved Vitalize.  This is our 15th anniversary and it will be the conference that you won’t want to miss.  Vitalize is undergoing important changes in program content and session format in order to meet the needs of all delegates.

The Wild Rose Foundation, an Alberta Lottery Funded Foundation, is pleased to announce that the Vitalize 2003 Annual Provincial Voluntary Sector Conference will be held in Edmonton, Alberta on June 12, 13 and 14, 2003 at the Shaw Conference Centre.  The Wild Rose Foundation has established a conference program that we believe will meet the skill development needs of a wide range of delegates.  We would like to encourage your organization to start budgeting now and plan to be represented at Vitalize 2003.

Vitalize 2003 will be the year of new and dynamic changes.  We hope that Albertans will join us to network and learn new skills to further develop their volunteer and nonprofit organizations.  There will be national and international speakers presenting on various topics of interest.  The conference will provide an awesome opportunity to focus on areas that will provide strength and stability to your organizations for the changes of the present and future.  “Start Spreading the News” is the theme of Vitalize 2003.  Mark your calendar now; you will not want to miss being “Revitalized.”

Vitalize is open to all Albertans, but is targeted particularly to community volunteer service organizations, to those working with volunteers, those managing volunteer programs, committee and board members and those wanting practical information to take home and apply to their community work.  The Wild Rose Foundation, along with a number of community investment partners, underwrite the cost of this conference to make it affordable for organizations that would not otherwise be able to receive this type of high quality, educational development opportunity.

The registration fee will be $120, and includes all educational/keynote presentations, all conference meals, and a delegate kit bag, and entrance to “Vital Village and the Cyber Cafe.”

Plan now to attend Vitalize 2003 in Edmonton on June 12, 13, and 14, 2003.  If you would like additional information on Vitalize 2003, please call Leah Paton at the Wild Rose Foundation (to call toll free through the Government RITE Operator, dial 310-0000 and ask for (780) 422-2247).  You can also access information on our website at www.cd.gov.ab.ca/wrf and click on the “Vitalize” logo.

Top of Page

RCVO on The Road

RCVO on the Road is a mobile information resource for voluntary organizations in Alberta. It brings current information and support to Alberta’s voluntary sector on topics pertaining to

• agency management

• board development

• fundraising

• volunteer management

Planning and scheduling has occurred for the spring and requests for the fall are starting to come in.  If your community is interested in hosting RCVO on the Road contact Laura Berezan, toll free in Alberta at 1-877-897-5616  or by e-mail: berezanL@macewan.ca.

Here are the places you’ll find us this spring.

May 7 (Wednesday): 8:30-4:00 – Wildwood Community Centre

May 29 (Thursday): Time 9-4 – Heisler Town Hall in Heisler

June 12-14

Vitalize 2003 Conference

Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton

June 20 - 21: Time TBA –

Northern Alberta Small Communities Conference in Fairview

Top of Page 

6. Planned Giving Via Life Insurance by Paul Kilduff

The typical idea of life insurance revolves around family protection that is, providing enough money to the surviving spouse to take care of children, payoff the mortgage etc.  What many people don’t realize is that life insurance is used for many other reasons such as business purposes, succession planning and more recently for charitable and planned giving.

In Canada it is estimated that the over 60 generation will be handing down over one trillion dollars in wealth to the next generation.  Yes we hear of the very large estates held by high profile business people. However, there are also the people next door who bought their house in the ‘60s, the cottage in the ‘70s, have a pension plan, RRSPs etc. which suddenly amounts to significant wealth.  Traditionally, these people would have accumulated their wealth in order to pass it on to the next generation but there seems to be a changing philosophy in regards to this.  The next generation, in most cases, includes children who are of the Baby Boomer generation.  These are children who had a better upbringing materialistically speaking, better education chances and subsequently a broader range of opportunities in adult life.  In many cases the parents are feeling that they do not have a total commitment to leave their wealth to their children and perhaps they would like to leave a legacy via a contribution to their favorite arts group, charity or foundation.

This new philosophy bodes well with Government of Canada who in recent years has continued to shift the responsibility of funding many social programs from itself to the general public.  The government has even gone so far as to enhance the tax credits available to donors in order to further encourage contributions.

So how does the concept of life insurance come into play for giving purposes?  Before looking at this, we need a slight understanding of life insurance.  Whereas an auto dealership really only sells two types of products, those being cars and trucks, but within each category there are numerous variations.  Life insurance is similar as there are only two types of products, those being lifetime policies and non-lifetime products.  

Lifetime policies, which are also known as permanent policies, are policies that last as long as you live.  If you live to be a 100 you will still have coverage under this type of policy. 

The second category or the non-lifetime product includes everything else such as your group insurance at work–when you retire it’s gone, your mortgage life insurance–when the mortgage is paid off it’s gone, plus many types of term insurance that expire at certain ages be it 60, 70 or even 80.

For planned giving purposes, lifetime coverage is the norm.  As mentioned, there are numerous variations of lifetime policies but for now we’ll just deal with it in the broader context.

So how can life insurance be utilized for Planned Giving?

In the first situation the donor may already have an existing lifetime policy that they’ve had for a number of years.  Chances are that the named beneficiaries on the policy may include the spouse, children or other loved ones.  In this situation the donor may consider just adding on an additional beneficiary so that it could read:  spouse-50%, child A-20%, child B-20%, charity-10%.  Life insurance companies prefer to express beneficiaries as a percentage of the death benefit not as a certain amount of dollars per beneficiary. 

In the second situation, you may have a potential donor who has already allocated a certain amount of dollars in their Will to be left to their favorite charity.  With this scenario you can assume that the donor already has the money on hand, possibly sitting in the bank or some type of investment.   In assessing their options it could possibly be advantageous for the donor to look at utilizing the allocated money to pay life insurance premiums because there is a good chance that the life insurance policy may leave a larger gift to charity than just the money in the bank would have.  The larger gift also results in an increased tax credit for the donor’s estate which will offset other taxes due, thus preserving more money for heirs.  These are appealing concepts but what about the basics of life insurance such as:

1. Up to what age can you get lifetime coverage? Coverage is available to age 84.

2. How healthy do you have to be? Reasonably healthy commensurate with your age.  Obviously having had cancer, stroke or heart attack would make it nearly impossible but there are many people over 60 who are in good health and who would qualify to get life insurance.  Nobody should assume that they can’t get life insurance until they have discussed their personal situation with a life agent.

3. How big or small a policy can you get? Policies are available in amounts from $10,000 and up.  Yes, there are older people who get million dollar polices for any number of reasons but also a lot of policies are acquired for lower amounts.

4. How much does it cost? When you look at the cost of non-lifetime coverage for a younger person it is very inexpensive as the insurance company is primarily just insuring you for the 2% chance of accidental death.  When a person over age 60 buys lifetime coverage they are insuring for natural death, therefore, if they continue to pay their premiums there is a 100% chance that the life insurance company will have to pay a benefit at some point in time.  For this reason the life company needs to collect an adequate amount of premium over the course of years, along with their investment income, in order to pay the beneficiaries.  For example, a 60-year-old non-smoking woman could obtain a $25,000 policy for approximately $50 per month whereas a 70-year-old woman would get a $15,000 policy for the same amount per month.  On larger policies of say $100,000, the 60-year old would pay around 2% of the face amount in premium or in this case around $2,000 per year and the 70-year old would pay around 4% per year as they have statistically less years to live and subsequently to pay premiums.  This type of coverage is priced to “Pay a Claim” at some point in time.  Males, smokers and less healthy people would pay higher premiums as they have less time to live but everyone’s premiums are truly commensurate with their life expectancy and how much coverage they want.  There are far too many variables to deal with here when it comes to price and the assistance of a life agent would be best for each particular circumstance.  

Every life insurance policy has three parties associated with it, those being the Owner of the policy, the life insured and the Beneficiary (ies). Obviously the Life Insured has to be a natural person but the Owner and the Beneficiary can be any legal entity such as a person, company, charity, foundation etc.  When structuring a life policy for Planned Giving purposes, there are three scenarios that the donor (life insured) could consider:

1. Have the charity as the Owner and Beneficiary–in this case the donor gives a contribution every year to the charity to pay the premium and the donor writes off the annual contribution as a charitable donation.  This scenario would probably provide the utmost in confidentiality to the donor.

2. The donor as the Owner and the charity as the Beneficiary–in this case the tax credit for the donor’s estate won’t occur until the donor dies and the insurance pays the charity.  Benefits to the donor are that as they are the Owner of the policy they can change the beneficiary if they have a change of mind.  As well, the final gift is a private matter between the charity, the donor and possibly a close family member.

3. The donor as the Owner and the donor’s estate as the Beneficiary–in this case the donor makes a provision in their Will for the donation.  While this arrangement does provide a large degree of flexibility, it’s possible that the Will could be contested, thus interfering with the Planned Gift and as well a Will becomes public knowledge on execution and possibly the donor wants the gift to be a private matter.

The choice of structure can be made after discussions with a life agent and/or an accountant who may be familiar with the donor’s situation.

The last couple of areas to look at from the fundraiser’s perspective are the identification of potential donors and how to promote life insurance for Planned Giving.  In today’s information age, people of all ages are becoming far more sophisticated when it comes to money and most potential donors would be appreciative of information that would show them how to possibly increase the amount of their gift, while getting their estate a larger tax credit which in turn would keep more of their other money for their heirs.

For example, let’s go back to our 60-year-old non-smoking woman who wants to get a $100,000 policy at $2,000 per year.  If she lived another 20 years until age 80, she would have paid $40,000 in premiums and would ultimately have a $100,000 tax credit for her estate.  Conversely if she put $2,000 per year in the bank at today’s interest rates and tax rates she would have approximately $50,000 saved up for planned giving and tax credit purposes.  With proper planning it’s possible to leave a much larger gift while the larger tax credit will help preserve the estate for the heirs.  Professional advice can be helpful for planning purposes.

Potential donors could include people who have already predetermined that they are going to leave $50,000 to charity when they die or it could be someone who decides that yes, they can easily afford $50 per month for a premium in order to leave a gift to what they feel is a very worthwhile cause.  With life insurance really just being another financial product option, the key is getting the information out to prospective donors so that they can make an informed decision. 

Paul Kilduff is Vice President, Financial Products, Morgex Insurance Group Ltd., Edmonton, AB.  He can be reached at 780-413-6690, ext. 352 or toll free at 1-800-272-8848.

Top of Page 

7. News from the Clifford E. Lee Foundation

The Clifford E. Lee Foundation has enjoyed the privilege of supporting the charitable sector in Northern Alberta since 1969.

Over the past year, the Board of Directors has been planning the wind-up of the Clifford E. Lee Foundation.  It intended to have a final responsive grants cycle in the spring of 2003, before disbursing the remaining assets through a small number of already committed major legacy grants in its priority program area.

While these legacy commitments will proceed as scheduled, the final responsive grants cycle has been deferred, likely until the fall of 2003.  Prospective applicants should contact the Clifford E. Lee Foundation in August or September to inquire if applications for that cycle can be submitted for a potential deadline of October 1.

The Board of Directors is aware of the implications of this deferral for charitable organizations, and very much regrets the necessity of having to take this step.

Judith Padua
Executive Director

Top of Page

8. Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations (CCVO)

Calgary’s voluntary sector is comprised of more than 3,000 registered charities and 4,000 non-profit organizations.  These organizations influence every part of society, including the arts, education, health and recreation.  The passion, dedication and tremendous contributions of these community groups are now being coordinated and strengthened through the creation of the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations.  As a collective voice for the voluntary sector, the Chamber will ensure that non-profit organizations are represented and engaged in the key decisions that affect the future quality of life in the city.

Benefits of the Chamber’s work for individual, organizations and the Calgary community as a whole, will include:

• Building leadership, skills and enhancing accountability of the voluntary sector

• Providing guidance and direction for the expansion and growth of the sector

• Building community through a cooperative and collaborative approach

• Providing a centralized resource for knowledge and skills exchanges with business and government

• Acting as a strong and collective voice for the sector on issues related to the formulation and review of public policy

• Providing information, data and research on the impact of the sector on community.

Key Operating Principles include:

• Membership-based organization

• Non-profit seeking charitable status

• Collaborative with other organizations and agencies

• Education, advocacy and research

Vision

Calgary’s voluntary sector working together with business and government to build a strong, vibrant community.

Mission

To strengthen Calgary’s voluntary sector and provide leadership on policy matters affecting the sector as a whole.

Goals

• To build the voluntary sector’s capacity to identify and respond to emerging public policy issues

• To develop and provide leadership for the sector

• To coordinate the voluntary sector’s diverse voices, championing its important role to the public, and to the private and government sectors

• To explain the role and value of the voluntary sector to the Calgary community

• To strengthen the voluntary sector through the identification of solutions to common issues and concerns

• To develop research on policy matters which affect the sector

• To be a clearing house for information, knowledge and resources in the sector

• To provide an opportunity for the exchange of ideas among members and non-members of the sector

Top of Page

9. TransCanada Invests in MacEwan’s RCVO
   reprinted with permission from “MacEwan Today”, April 21, 2003

Alberta's not-for-profit community received a helping hand on April 14 with a $400,000 investment from TransCanada Pipelines Limited. The investment is earmarked for the college's Resource Centre for Voluntary Organizations (RCV0), which provides training and resources for Alberta's charitable and not-for-profit groups. The investment will also support MacEwan's academic programming in the voluntary sector area. The TransCanada-Grant MacEwan College partnership, Connecting with Communities, was announced at the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy's Symposium 2003 in Edmonton.

TransCanada's donation will provide greater access to skill development and learning in the voluntary and not-for-profit communities, resulting in healthier communities. Major initiatives include the development of new formats for convenient learning in the community and enhancing the current RCVO website. New learning formats will be in the form of on-line resources, workplace training, or training to volunteer and not-for-profit organizations in their communities through the "RCVO on the Road" service, a mobile resource centre that visits Alberta communities.

"This is a three-way partnership between TransCanada, Grant MacEwan College, and the voluntary sector," says Wendy MacDonald, Chair of the Voluntary Sector Management Program at MacEwan. "Organizations need to be strong to serve the community."

MacEwan's Voluntary Sector Management Program and the RCVO have one of the best collections of applied practical information about volunteerism, charitable fundraising, nonprofit boards and effective nonprofit management in Canada. This donation will provide additional access to the information so that communities can fully benefit from these resources.

Top of Page

10. Reaching Out to Canadians
    The Government of Canada’s Sponsorship Programs 2003-2004

There is a new Sponsorship Program for cultural, sporting and community events across the country, from rural areas to major urban centres.

For a group organizing an event, sponsorship may be a way to raise some of the funding required. For the government, it is a way of demonstrating its commitment to Canadians and improving communications with them - of participating tangibly in communities and making people aware of its priorities, programs, services and access channels.

Here’s what we’re looking for:

Events from coast to coast to coast

Our aim is to reach citizens in every province and territory. We welcome proposals for local, regional and national activities.

Not for profit

The event must be an activity of a group operating on a not-for-profit basis.

Varied types of events

We’re interested equally in sporting, cultural and community-based events. The event must be open to the public.

Presence for government

The event should give the opportunity to provide information to citizens on the Government of Canada’s priorities, programs and services.

Strong community support

Organizers should preferably have secured other sponsors and partners, such as provincial and municipal governments and businesses.

Solid organization

Your proposal must demonstrate that your group has the expertise and capacity to successfully organize the planned event.

What is not eligible

Sponsorship is not available for:

fund raising; book publishing; film, video and Web production; special-interest conferences (e.g. conferences limited to specific target groups and closed to the public); events inconsistent with Canadian values; purchase of media time/space; public opinion research; and capital or infrastructure projects.

For more information, contact  Communication Canada for our Guide to the Government of Canada’s Sponsorship Program.  This contains a proposal form along with detailed information on how to complete and submit it.  Get your copy on-line at communication.gc.ca or by telephone at 1-800-901-9657.

Top of Page

11. BOOK RESOURCES

John Carver on Board Leadership by Toni Lashbrook

Since the publication of his first book in 1990, John Carver has become well known in the governance community for his Policy Governance model, often referred to as the Carver Model.  In his latest book, John Carver on Board Leadership, Carver has compiled over 100 selected articles that he has written for numerous periodicals over the last decade.  Prior to this book, people interested in Carver’s writings often had difficulty finding these articles.

In his introduction, Carver explains that he assembled this book as a reference guide for anyone interested in governance, especially Policy Governance.  To help readers locate topics of interest, the book is divided into twelve sections, most of which mirror the key principles of Policy Governance. While not always agreeing with his perspectives, I did obtain a more complete understanding of Carver’s model.  With each of his articles, Carver has included an interesting addition, Frequently Asked Questions.  I know that many board members and staff members ask these same questions, whether or not they use the Carver model.  The answers are, of course, based on the Policy Governance model.

If you are looking for a complete explanation of the Policy Governance model, this book is not the place to start.  Carver’s earlier books, Boards that Make a Difference and Reinventing Your Board, give a more complete step-by-step explanation of his model, with more policy samples.  If your organization is small, and comprised of all volunteers, or only one or two staff members, this probably is not the best reference for answering your governance questions.  While many of the principles apply to your situation, I found that the examples are for larger, more complex organizations.  Thus, you may find it somewhat difficult to translate the examples into implementation for your organization.

However, if your organization is currently using Policy Governance, this book can serve as a valuable reference for questions as they arise, from both board and staff perspectives.  Another advantage is that you can use the different articles to stimulate board discussion about your understanding and use of Policy Governance.  If you are simply interested in effective board governance, there are numerous articles that will stimulate thought and discussion, whether or not you agree with the Carver model.

John Carver has again presented a book that has the potential to generate more dialogue about what is, and what is not, effective governance.  Governing boards, through thoughtful dialogue about effective governance design and subsequent changes, will be better able to meet today’s numerous challenges and opportunities.

Toni Lashbrook is a consultant with Toni Lashbrook & Associates Inc.  To borrow this book from Grant MacEwan Learning Resources Centre contact Michelle Bezenar, Interlibrary Loans, phone 780-497-5857, fax 780-497-4566, e-mail: bezenarm@macewan.ca.

Top of Page

RCVO Contributors

Paul Kiduff

Toni Lashbrook

Martha Parker

Robert Wyatt

Editor:  Lynda Robertson

Production:  Wendy Kuzio

QUOTES

We need leadership to place our values straight...to see that we’ve put first things first and last things last.  The time to have started was yesterday, so we must begin now.

 Terrel Howard Bell ( 1921 - )

Top of Page