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Spring Cleaning—An Examination of Your Community Investments

Posted April 16th, 2009 by Gena Rotstein

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You’ve just finished (or are finishing) filing your taxes, and you have the list of the organizations that you supported this year.  Did you know how much you donated before you tallied up the contributions? Do you know where your donation dollars went?

Spring Cleaning - GeorgeOver $8 Billion was donated to charities in Canada in 2007.  Numbers are still being calculated for 2008, but it is anticipated that those numbers are up, even with a negative fourth quarter. 

Since you made your donation, have you heard back from those organizations? What information have they shared with you?  In a past issue of Advancing Philanthropy, one of the most common complaints from donors about the charities that they contribute to, is the lack of effective communication.Photo courtesy of: George F. Draskóy 

 

What does that mean, effective communication?  In the world of strategic philanthropy, it means that you are actually hearing, seeing and understanding how your dollars have been invested in community. An effective investment in community takes into account the following principals of community development (Simon Fraser University):
  1. EquityPrimer
  2. Participation
  3. Community Building
  4. Cooperation & Collaboration
  5. Self-Reliance and Community Control
  6. Integration
  7. Interdependence
  8. Living within Ecological Limits
  9. Capacity Building
  10. Diversity
  11. Appropriate Indicators

                                              Photo courtesy of: Kevin Saint Grey

According to the Canadian Community Economic Development Network, CED is an evolving approach to building sustainable communities. 

Looking back on 2008, do your investments support a CED model?  Deciding what to “clean” off your list can be hard.  Here are some things to questions to help you determine your 2009 community investments:

  1. Is the program/ organization I am supporting developing its services based on the feedback of its constituents?
  2. What are some of the possible unforeseen ripple effects that will be associated with my community investment?
  3. Am I willing to make an ongoing commitment to the organization/project? 

CED is ongoing.  Therefore, change may not be seen in a year or two.  Building a community’s capacity can take several years.  As a community investor, be prepared to stay connected to the project for a minimum of 3 years to see the creation, implementation and evaluation cycle through to completion.

To be effective, solutions must be rooted in local knowledge and led by community members. CED promotes holistic approaches, addressing individual, community and regional levels, recognizing that these levels are interconnected. 

Tele-Seminar

What Most Needs Doing? Building Your Strategic Philanthropic Plan

Thurs., Apr. 30th

Noon, MST

Please see bottom of newsletter for flyer
 

Safe Haven Foundation

In the last issue of Karma & Cents, we presented the case for collaboration between charities.  The Safe Haven Foundation is one example of an organization that has the collaborative model at its core.  What follows is their story.

What do you get when you combine a vision with passion and two motivated individuals?  You get an idea that becomes a reality and it begins to change the lives of young woman across Calgary.  In 1996, that is how it began, with a couple talking over dinner about an idea.  This couple didn’t stop talking about it, they began to live it, and this idea became their mission to help young woman who were facing homelessness and did not have the protection of child welfare to help them acquire a safe place to live.   In the first year after its public launch, Safe Haven Foundation secured capital and the first year operating funds and construction of the first long-term residential program of its kind took place.  In November 2000, Safe Haven Foundation officially opened Haven’s Way (formerly Safe Haven Foundation’s Life Long Homes) to serve at-risk youth.

Over the last nine years, Safe Haven Foundation has continued to evolve and expand its impact on the community.  In 2003 they partnered with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary who took over the management of Haven’s Way.  This enabled Safe Haven Foundation to focus its efforts on providing long-term funding to programs like Haven’s Way that aligned with their core values of:  prevention, accountability, respect, long term, education and individualized approaches.

In 2009, Safe Haven Foundation committed over $225,000 in financial support to Haven’s Way of Boys and Girls Clubs of Calgary; Teen Mentoring Program of Big Brothers and Big Sisters; KICKSTART of McMan Child, Youth and Family Services; Evenstart and Dad’s Programming of Families Matters.

To date, the Safe Haven Foundation has changed the lives of over 500 vulnerable children and youth across Calgary.  Deserving young people like Jenn:

Haven's Way has helped me to become more independent in a sense of being able to live on my own. [The program] is set up it has shown me how to cook, shop, and clean for myself. Also, by showing me that living in a house takes a lot of work, time, effort, and teamwork in order to make the house look good and smell decent. In doing all this and paying a monthly rent and working a decent amount of hours I feel the need to move on knowing all these skills will help me on my journey. Now I have to succeed in my education to get fully where I want to go, and I feel I can make this long trip ahead. I'm going to miss the people I lived with, but it doesn't mean I can't visit!

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