In January and February the Ontario Trillium Foundation interviewed a number of community service organizations and funders across Ontario to determine the effects of the recession on their activities and to develop strategies that might enhance their ability to continue their work. The results of their interviews can be organized into the following themes: Read More…

In many ways, the local food bank is the canary in the community’s mineshaft. In Waterloo Region Ontario, for instance, the food bank has just reported a doubling in the number of emergency food hampers they provide. Normally the number is 700-800 per month. In January it was 1,400. Read More…

Gear up the employment training programs; gear up the welfare offices; gear up the counselling agencies; gear up the food banks. The numbers are in for the increase in Employment Insurance recipients from January 2008 to January 2009.

Looking at Census Metropolitan Areas, which are the largest urban areas in the country, it becomes obvious who is in real trouble. British Columbia, with increases of over 50% in Victoria and Vancouver, and Calgary with an increase of over 60% have certainly been hit. But the greatest damage by far has been in Southern Ontario – Hamilton at 69%, London and Kitchener at 70%, and Windsor at 82% have taken huge losses. It should be remembered, as well, that it is much harder to qualify for E.I. in Ontario than in other parts of the country, and the benefits don’t last as long, so the strain on local services and the local municipalities will be large. Read More…

The Ontario child benefit available to low-income families will nearly double to $1,100 a year beginning in July.

Ontario Works leaves recipients $100 a month short. Access to nutritious food suffers and this can lead to health problems. Read More…

Dear Premier McGuinty,

Since you have a budget coming down next week I thought this would be a good time to make some suggestions about its content. Yes, I know you are already preparing us to accept a hefty deficit. I just want to suggest some ways to make the deficit pay off. We all know you have to spend some money to create economic stimulus. Here are some suggestions on where to spend it. Read More…

Tax time is a good time to warn vulnerable clients of fraudulent tax schemes. Apparently at least two are active right now – one asking for personal information required for a rebate and another focusing on RRSPs and RRIFs.

The Honourable James Moore, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages, today announced additional funding for the National Arts Training Contribution Program. Read More…

We hope that the worsening provincial economy will embolden Dalton McGuinty’s government to act swiftly on poverty reduction.

Whether you have electronic or paper records, you may destroy your records earlier than your required retention period if you receive written permission from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). To get permission, you or an authorized representative must apply in writing to your tax services office and provide the reason for your request.

Effective Capacity Building in Nonprofit Organizations brings some common language to the discussion of capacity building and offers insights and examples of how nonprofits have pursued building up their organizational muscle.

According to a report on CBC, Alberta is launching an initiative to end homelessness by 2019.  Based on the government’s plans, it looks like they have put all the major pieces together and at least one provincial government in Canada has a decent chance of being successful.  Yes, there will always be some homeless people.  But it is possible to provide decent affordable supportive housing for the vast majority, and Alberta has a plan to do that.

The plan “focuses on moving homeless people into permanent housing and giving them support programs to help keep that accommodation, rather than creating more temporary spaces in shelters.” 

Studies in the U.S. have shown that supportive housing does work and is less expensive than emergency shelters.  Ignoring the problem is more expensive than addressing it.

Listen up Ontario.  Sure we’re looking at a large deficit here.  But just think of all the construction jobs we could create building affordable housing.  According to Alberta’s financial analysis it would cost that province $6.55 billion to manage homelessness or $3.4 billion to end it.  That’s a no-brainer.

Here’s an Ontario consultant with extensive experience in addressing homelessness saying “Three Cheers for Alberta”!

Food bank representatives agree on one thing: The need for their services is spiking in a way none of them can recall.

When Kellogg’s dumped its endorsement of Michael Phelps after a photograph surfaced of the Olympic gold medalist using a bong, the company was stuck with thousands of boxes of cereal featuring the swimmer’s image.

The president of the Edson Alberta Food Bank attributes increased usage at the facility to the economic downturn.