2012: Issue 1 - kciphilanthropy.com

1 In manyparts of the country, the winterthat never was gave way to an earlyspring. And from the themes that emergedthrough discussions with our clients andother thought leaders from across Canada,it s evident that climate change pertains notjust to the weather, but across our sector aswell. Whether discussing big, philosophicalissues such as how to advance philanthropyin Canada or more tactical topics like trendsin fundraising programs, it s apparent that itreally is a new day for the Canadian charita-ble my conversations with fundraisingprofessionals across the country, I get thesense that if it was ever easy to work in phi-lanthropy, it certainly isn t any more.

2 Whileweused to be able to count on increases infundraising programs year over year, I m nowsensing that we all have to work a littleharder. While the ongoing challenges in theglobal economy are obviously playing a bigpart, another factor is the increasing scruti-ny from all corners boards, donors, volun-teers, government and media. As a result, itfeels like there is no tolerance for misstepsand that we, as professionals in the sector,havean intensifying need to dedicate our-selves totally each and every day to our the other hand, it also feels like an excit-ing time to be working in the world of phi-lanthropy as I sense both a growing aware-ness of it generally, and a recognition of therole it can play in building our Governor General, His Excellency TheRight Honourable David Johnston.

3 Has beenasking Canadians to think of what they regoing to do between now and 2017 (our150th anniversary of Canada) to strengthentheir commitment to this country. How canwe, collectively and individually, take up thischallenge as fundraising professionals tostrengthen community philanthropy in allcorners of this country in which we work?How can we tell our stories better to createa greater sense of not only how wonderful it is to give, but also how fundamental aresponsibility giving is, to being Canadian?

4 Perhaps even creating a culture of expecta-tion around giving along with a culture ofphilanthropy? Some food for this interest in philanthropy andcreating the right conditions for it to growrequire each and every one of us. And to(hopefully!) help you playyour part, wehaveput together a special edition ofPhilanthropic Trends Quarterlythat includesnot only general trends related to philan-thropy in Canada, but also Sector Scans thatidentify trends specific to some of the sub-sectors.

5 We pulled together this informa-tion through the help of thought leadersfrom across Canada who participated in aseries of Roundtables to discuss the Stateof philanthropy . To access the Sector Scans,please click all of this sounds a bit like a call to action,that sbecause it is. Climate change, at leastwhen it comes to a changing philanthropicclimate, can be a good thing!Have a bright and bustling Spears President and CEO 2012: Issue 12012 : BulletiTrends in FundraisingSPRING 20122 InNovember 2011, Stats Canadareleased data on the charitable contri-butions made byCanadians in news was good.

6 Giving by Canadiansshowed a healthy increase over theyear before, a fact made all the more pos-itive when compared to the declines wesaw in both 2008 and 2009 ( respectively).And this upward trajectory appears tohave continued into 2011. The BlackbaudIndexof Charitable Giving, a broad-basedfundraising index that reports givingtrends of more than 1,300 nonprofits inNorth America,recently reported thatgiving rose during the first sixmonths of 2011 when compared to thesame period last both pieces of news are undeniablypositive, it is important to remember thatthese numbers reflect giving from 12 to24 months ago, which, in this time ofalmost daily changes tothe global eco-nomic situation.

7 Can be a lifetime. And so,to get a sense of the mood of the char-itable sector in Canada, we convenedRoundtables over the past several monthswith fundraising professionals from allsub-sectors and from all parts of thecountry. These Roundtables enabled us tohear directly from thought leaders aboutthe current tenor and tone of Canada sphilanthropic environment and also gaveus a glimpse into the trends, as well as thechallenges, of fundraising in Canada discussions demonstrated that whileeach sector has its unique challenges andopportunities, it is also abundantly clearthat we have a great deal in common asevidenced by the following overarchingthemes that )

8 The Canadian fundraising and phil-anthropic environment best describedas cautiously optimistic .At the risk of employing the somewhatoverused term cautious optimism , it really is the best way to describe the toneand tenor with which fundraising andphilanthropy is being viewed by devel-opment professionals right now. Theoptimism reflected in the numbers described above was most certainlyechoed byparticipants in our Round-tables. And while important to remem-ber that fundraisers generally tend to bea prettyoptimistic bunch, it is great tofeel a sense of hope and enthusiasm forwhat lies optimism is tempered, however, bythe recognition that we are most defi-nitely navigating a period of business asThe evolving world of fundraising and philanthropySPRING 20123unusual.

9 The rules and commonly heldbeliefs about how economies, markets,consumers and donors will behave seemto be changing. We find ourselves livingin a time where information is literallyavailable 24/7 and where there is a ten-dency on the part of those sharing thatinformation to be fixated on the shortterm ups and downs of the markets,resulting in Canadians becoming morecautious when it comes to their in mind that the recent reces-sion taught us that charitable giving isstrongly linked to the health of our per-sonal finances.

10 There is a strong sensethat atone of cautious optimism willaccompany fundraising and philanthro-py for the foreseeable this means for charities and theprofessionals who raise money for themis that nothing can be taken for granted. I believe that it will be crucial for all char-ities to work even harder over the nextwhile to ensure that relationships withour donors are sound and that we areable to continue to attract philanthropicsupport, says Ken Mayhew, Presidentand CEO of the William Osler HealthSystem Foundation and former ChiefDevelopment Officer, the MS Society.