Background
In order to explore the potential for community partnership in Vancouver between women's organizations and institutions, we conducted a survey of 29 women's organizations in the Lower Mainland area of British Columbia. Fourteen were members of the Vancouver Women's Fund and 15 non-members. Out of these 29 organizations, 13 responded to the survey. The majority of the respondents were women's organizations from Vancouver (8 out of 13).
Location of the respondents
Ten women's organizations have a person responsible for fund raising for their organizations. On average they devote 20 hours per week to fund raising. Out of nine women's organizations, five devote 10 hours per week to fund raising and four others, more than 20 hours per week.
Status of the person responsible for fund raising
Half of the fundraisers work full time but devote less than half of their time to fund raising.
| Full-time | 4 | Consultant |
2 |
| Part-time | 3 | Student |
1 |
Status of the respondent women's organizations
All the respondent women's organizations are registered as non-profit organizations in British Columbia. Ten are also registered as charities with Revenue Canada. Eight work as collectives and eleven define themselves as feminist organizations.
| Registered as a non-profit in BC |
13 |
| Registered Charity with Revenue Canada |
10 |
| Collective |
8 |
| Feminist |
11 |
Sources of funding
The majority of women's organizations indicated that more than half of their funding comes from the government in the forms of contracts and grants. On average, government funding represents 72.8% of women's organizations' financial resources.
Among those, the range is from 55.3% government funding (mainly in the form of grants or contracts) at the lowest, to 98.1% at the highest. The United Way, individual, corporate, and gaming are the second main sources of funding for the women's organizations surveyed.
The figures in the following table are the percentages for each source of funding for each women's organization. The name of the participating women's organizations have been replaced by numbers from 1 to 8 to ensure confidentiality.
| Sources of funding |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
| Government |
68.4 |
75.0 |
61.4 |
98.1 |
92.6 |
67.8 |
55.3 |
82.0 |
| United Way |
13.7 |
4.0 |
2.1 |
30.1 |
||||
| Individuals |
7.2 |
20.2 |
3.9 |
0.8 |
0.1 |
1.3 |
2.0 |
5.0 |
| Corporations |
2.1 |
1.3 |
1.1 |
7.0 | ||||
| Foundations |
5.9 |
5.4 |
4.1 |
7.9 |
||||
| Unions |
0.7 |
0.2 |
||||||
| Special Events |
0.6 |
0.3 |
2.6 |
0.5 |
||||
| Gaming |
23.6 |
6.6 |
20.3 |
2.0 | ||||
| Religious organizations |
0.3 |
0.9 |
||||||
| Service Clubs |
0.9 |
0.1 |
0.7 |
0.8 |
1.5 |
|||
| Associations | ||||||||
| Business Venture |
0.8 |
|||||||
| Planned Giving | ||||||||
| Memberships/
Newsletters |
0.8 |
0.1 |
1.5 |
|||||
| Publication Sales/
Training Services |
1.9 |
|||||||
| Grants |
0.2 |
|||||||
| Others |
1.0 |
Non-cash donations
Women's organizations receive a range of gifts in-kind which include food, paper products, stoves, prizes for special events, paint, paint supplies, computers, condoms and birth control pills, office equipment, office furniture, clothing, and personal care products. They also receive services in-kind which include landscaping, carpentry, plumbing, roofing, renovations consulting, printing, security, computing, accounting, advice, and consultation which includes legal advice.
The most common non-cash donations are gifts in-kind (9 out of 11 women's organizations), and services in-kind (7 out of 11 women's organizations), advice and consultation (4 out of 11 women's organizations), employee volunteer programs and discounts on purchases (4 out of 11 women's organizations).
| Gifts in-kind |
9 |
Bulk ordering |
0 |
| Services in-kind |
7 |
Use of the institutions' name |
0 |
| Advice & counsel |
4 |
Discount on purchases |
4 |
| Use of the institutions' facilities |
2 |
Secondment |
0 |
| Employee volunteer program |
3 |
Other |
0 |
I - Successful partnerships
Among the 13 respondents, 3 women's organizations indicated having been involved in at least one partnership.
Example 1
One of the participating women's organizations was approached by Fairweather Stores, through the United Way. The institution was involved from the beginning in developing the project which took three weeks to set up. The goal of this partnership was for the women's organization to benefit from 10% of the stores' gross sales for the Lower Mainland over two days, and for Fairweather Stores to increase their sales by a cause-related marketing strategy. Through this partnership, the non-profit received $6,500, and an on-going clothing donation system was set up between Fairweather Stores and the non-profit. The women's organization publicly recognized the donation in its newsletter and the United Way issued a charitable receipt to Fairweather Stores. Although this partnership was considered to be successful, the women's organization found it required a great deal of volunteer and staff time.
Example 2
The Richmond Ladies Golf Club approached another women's group. They raised $4,500 at their own annual fund-raising dinner and donated it to the women's organization. In return the women's organization issued a charitable receipt to the Richmond Ladies Golf Club.
Example 3
Another women's organization sent a proposal to a number of institutions. As a result, Soroptimist International of Downtown Vancouver (SIDV) accepted to partner with the non-profit, was involved in developing the project from the beginning, and provided volunteers. The project's goal was to jointly fund raise enough money to purchase a 15-seat van for the non-profit. The partnership was described by the women's organization as a sponsorship. The project lasted a year, at the end of which the women's group purchased the van with the money that had been raised. The non-profit recognized the partnership in its annual report.
II - An unsuccessful partnership
One of the participating women's organization had an unsuccessful partnership experience. The partnership involved Saje Stores. The goal was to raise funds for the women's organization and the company, Saje, wanted to make transition houses aware of aromatherapy. Saje Stores donated products and gift certificates to the transition houses totalling $2,400 as estimated by the corporation. However, despite promising to donate a percentage of the sales from the first month of operation, Saje Stores did not give the women's organization any funds. This broken promise, along with the great deal of work invested by the non-profit in recruiting women to attend training sessions on aromatherapy, interviews, and launches resulted in an unsuccessful partnership. The women's organization found that a written contract describing the terms of the partnership from the beginning of the project may have led to a more successful venture.
III - Partnerships for the future
Among 12 women's organizations, ten indicated they were interested in future partnerships and two did not answer the question.
Hoped gains from future partnerships
When asked what they hoped to gain from future partnerships, the surveyed women's organizations answered that their interest in future partnerships was motivated by financial considerations, hopes for recognition, and community support. In fact, the majority of women's organizations were looking for a "source of income", "financial stability", "secured funding", "diversification of funds", and "independence from government funding". Five out of eleven women's organizations hoped to gain "recognition", "a high profile", "increased visibility", and "raised exposure" from future partnerships. Two women's organizations mentioned that they were seeking community and political support. Two others saw future partnerships as opportunities to educate institutions and the public about "feminism, anti-oppression, ethics and principles" and "to build an understanding of mutual goals."
Ideas of institutions to seek out for future partnerships
Some of the surveyed women's organizations have already thought of and/or seek out institutions for future partnerships. These potential institutional partners include the United Way, VanCity, Richmond Credit Savings, Hospital Employees Unions, the British Columbia Federation of Labour, Aids Walk, Oak Tree Clinic, and Vancouver's Women's Hospital.
Needs for non-cash donations in future partnerships
Most women's organizations indicated that they need funds, computer equipment and expertise, and services as diverse as printing, painting, and data entry. They also indicated they need supplies such as paper and other office supplies, and several added the need for volunteer coordinators, and fund raisers.
| Fund Development |
8 |
Marketing Expertise |
6 |
| Legal Expertise |
4 |
Equipment |
7 |
| Accounting Expertise |
3 |
Supplies |
6 |
| Computer Expertise |
7 |
Services |
8 |
Ethical considerations for future partnerships
In order to gain a sense of how women's organizations determine the suitability of an institution for partnership, we asked them to point out, from a list of ethical considerations, which ones might apply when they are looking for partners. Part of this exercise was also to urge women's organizations to define their positions and set their boundaries with regard to future potential partnerships. However, the way the question about ethical considerations was asked was absolute when, in fact, women's organizations consider all the following attributes in determining the suitability of an institution for partnership. These include whether the institution:
Policy
Among 9 women's organizations, one has a written policy that defines from whom it will accept funding.
Needs for developing future partnerships
Among 9 women's organizations, eight need staff, information on how to develop partnerships, and computer equipment to develop future partnerships. Seven need information on how to research institutions, volunteers, and a written policy defining from whom they will accept funding. Three need an understanding of what institutions want in a partnership.
| Staff | 8 |
| Information on how to research institutions | 7 |
| Information on how to develop partnerships | 8 |
| An understanding of what institutions want in a partnership | 3 |
| Computer equipment | 8 |
| Volunteers | 7 |
| Policy | 7 |
Summary
In summary, the results of this survey show that women's organizations of the Lower
Mainland have little time and resources to devote to fundraising and partnership
development. At the moment, the majority of their funding comes from the government
in the form of contracts and grants (72.8%). They also receive a variety of gifts and
services in-kind. Three among 13 who participated in this survey have already been
involved in a partnership with an institution. Ten among 12 are interested in future
partnerships. Their interest is motivated by financial considerations, and their need for
services, supplies, equipment, and expertise in diverse fields. They also hope to reach
new audiences and build and strengthen links within their communities. However, they
have many ethical concerns about partnering with institutions.