By Lindsey Peacock
It’s been five years since BIV Media Group launched the colour series – an annual series of four panel breakfasts focusing on key areas of business – and the White Breakfast on philanthropy in December still stands out as the most popular. This year’s speakers were Elain Evans, director, UBC Annual Giving; Catherine Van Alstine, partner, Odgers Berndtson recruiting; and Yuri Fulmer, chair, FDC Capital Partners.
The panel touched on many issues in Vancouver’s philanthropic community, but a major point of discussion was how not-for-profits changed as a result of the recent recession.
One concern raised was the significant change in donors’ spending patterns and how to address the reduced funding.
“A recession hit and everybody contracted immediately,” Fulmer said, “and my concern and my fear is that the contraction is the natural place, that where we were a couple of years ago is artificial and where we are today, this is the new reality. We need to structurally adjust our sector to accommodate that new reality.”
According to the panel, one way to boost donation dollars is to cultivate a culture of social responsibility in the workplace. They emphasized the importance of leadership roles and partnering with a charity that sparks co-worker’s passions and interest.
“I think it’s really important for not-for-profits to make sure you’re giving people an opportunity to understand what needs to be done in the community,” said Van Alstine, “not only for yourselves but in general, because the more you can get businesses to understand and help give people reasons to be socially responsible, the better the whole community is going to be.”
Evans believes members of the corporate world have valuable skill sets and fresh ideas that could benefit non-profits’ bottom lines as much as monetary contributions.
“We in non-profits need corporations’ resources, but we also need their resourcefulness,” she said. “I think that innovation is key to this changing landscape.”
In addition to getting businesses more involved in philanthropy, Fulmer said non-profits must educate people on the needs of the community and be more aggressive in pursuing both monetary and time contributions.
“I think we need to become, as corporate and community leaders, way more courageous in saying to people, ‘It is not acceptable for you to do nothing,’” Fulmer said. “But I think we’ve got to get over this Canadian niceness where we’re not prepared to say that to people.”
All three panellists agreed that whatever solutions non-profits choose in the face of the changing landscape, passion is a key ingredient to soliciting more involvement.
“For me, the most rewarding things I do is my volunteerism in the community. I wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Fulmer said. “You know, in the work that you do, you get a paycheque and you get a sense of fulfilment. I would take the fulfilment I get in the not-for-profit sector over the fulfilment I get in the for-profit sector absolutely any day.”
The next colour series breakfast is the Black Breakfast on profitability in the spring. Visit www.biv.com for information.