RESEARCH & SECTOR INITIATIVES

RESEARCH

Criminal Record Check Study
The Centre has undertaken a province wide research project on criminal record checks. Over the past few years, the Centre has become increasingly aware of the varying costs for criminal records checks across British Columbia. For non-profit organizations working regionally and provincially, these variations in costs create confusion. The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of criminal record check information for the province, as well as explore opportunities to work together towards a more equitable system for the sector. The study's report will be complete by October 2009.


Do you have any areas of concern or curiosity where you would like assistance with research? Please send us an email at nonprofit.development@ufv.ca or contact us by phone at 1-877-388-8716

SECTOR INITIATIVES

HR Council Releases 4th Report
Mission Driven: Toward a Labour Force Strategy for Canada's Voluntary & Non-profit Sector is HR Council's fourth report This important research offers everyone involved with the sector an unprecedented opportunity to understand the attitudes and experiences of people working in non-profit organization s— and the conditions under which we work. The research also sets the framework for an open dialogue about how a range of actors — employers, employees, organized labour, funders, policy makers, boards and researchers — can work together to ensure that Canada's non-profit sector continues to attract the people and skills it needs to do its vital work.
For more information about this HR Council project please go to Mission Driven

Government/Non Profit Initiative - "Better Outcomes"
The Government/Non-Profit Initiative (GNPI) began in May 2007 with a Round Table discussion about improving the relationship between the sector and government. Over an 18 month period, many individuals and organizations laboured diligently to support the work of the initiative. On November 19, 2008 GNPI held a Summit where decisions were made on the most important objectives for the initiative to move forward. Proceedings from the Summit are available on the GNPI website www.nonprofitinitiative.gov.bc.ca . At the Summit both sectors committed to continue with this important work over the next two years. The Steering Committee has developed a prioritized action plan for implementation. You are invited to review and share the plan with your colleagues, networks and associations.
Please direct any questions or comments to the GNPI Team Leads, Mark Medgyesi (Mark.Medgyesi@gov.bc.ca) and Barbara Grantham (BarbaraG@vancouverfoundation.ca).

Imagine Canada Release
Growth in Charitable Giving outpaced Volunteering prior to Economic Downturn.Latest Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating Data Released.

New data released today from the largest Canadian study on giving and volunteering reveals how key segments of the population support one another and their communities. Findings from the 2007 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating provide a portrait of activities that are integral to the Canadian social fabric and allow us to understand how and why Canadians contribute to their communities either through donations, volunteering or helping fellow Canadians directly.

While the rates of donating, volunteering and helping are largely unchanged since the 2004 survey, there has been modest growth in the total value of donations, the average size of donations and total volunteer hours. There are also changes at the provincial and territorial level.

In 2007, Canadians donated a total of $10 billion, an increase of 12% or $1.1 billion since 2004, and volunteered 2.1 billion hours, a 4.2% increase. The average donation increased to $437 from $400 in 2004 while the average number of volunteer hours remained about the same at 166 hours. The bulk of support continues to come from a narrow segment of the population: 21% of Canadians account for 82% of the total value of donations, and 12% of Canadians account for 78% of all volunteer hours.

"On the whole, almost all Canadians give time and money, but the fact remains, we still rely on a small number of individuals to provide the majority of support," says Dr. Michael Hall, Vice-President, Research at Imagine Canada and lead author of the report. "We’re encouraged that donations grew between 2004 and 2007 but we need Canadians to continue their support for charities and nonprofits during these challenging economic times."

Giving varies by province and territory with Newfoundland and Labrador having the highest donor rate (91%), followed by Prince Edward Island (89%) and New Brunswick (88%). The largest increase in donor rates from 2004 to 2007 was in Alberta (79% to 85%). In regards to average donation size, Albertans made the largest average annual donation followed by donors from the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and Manitoba.

Volunteer activity in the provinces and territories varies substantially. In 2007, the volunteer rate was highest in Saskatchewan (59%) followed by the Yukon (58%), Prince Edward Island (56%), and Nova Scotia (55%). The volunteer rate increased in most provinces and territories with the largest increase occurring in Prince Edward Island (47% to 56%) followed by Nova Scotia (48% to 55%), and Saskatchewan (54% to 59%). Between 2004 and 2007, the largest decreases in average hours volunteered were in Saskatchewan (188 to 147 hours) and British Columbia (199 to 172 hours).
The Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating is conducted by Statistics Canada every three years and was developed through a unique partnership of federal government departments and voluntary organizations. The CSGVP provides the most comprehensive assessment of giving, volunteering and participating ever undertaken in Canada and, to our knowledge, in the world.

For more information about the Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating, download the full report at http://givingandvolunteering.ca .