Just before Christmas 2010, Ontario’s immigration and settlement sector received a very unwelcome gift from the federal government. Over $43m in cuts were announced to 53 nonprofits working with immigrants in the province. Some organizations lost 100% of their government funding and hundreds of settlement staff will be laid off in the coming months.

Thankfully, in January 2011, a grassroots campaign called Rewind the Cuts was launched to advocate maintaining funding to these organizations. This campaign, however, faces an uncertain outcome. It’s possible that this is simply the beginning of a wave of cuts to settlement services in the coming years.

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Last month, United Way Toronto announced a staggering goal for its fall campaign, $113,000,000, the largest in North America.

This is the time of year when individuals are asked to think about “giving back” and about how we get more money to organizations working on social problems. In hundreds of corporate and government offices all across Canada, many charity fundraising drives are getting underway. People are being asked by their colleagues to dig deep and donate to help fund non-profits in their communities.

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As a consultant to the non-profit sector in Toronto, I have seen an increasing number of financial challenges faced by non-profit organizations over the past year.  I believe these challenges will encourage more organizations to rethink their financing models and encourage them to look for new options. 

Now is the time for the social finance movement to put forth its value proposition to established sector leaders and some of the largest and most influential nonprofits in Canada - the YMCAs, Community Living organizations, United Ways, as well as community foundations and government funders.  Many of these organizations are not as involved in the dialogue on future of innovative financing models as they could be.

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