Caught in the Middle: What Small, Non-profit Organizations Need to Survive and Flourish

Previous Page

Next Page

Table of Contents

Introduction

Very little literature on small, non-profit, community-based organizations is available, even though they constitute the vast majority of the non-profit sector. To learn more about who these organizations are, what they do, how they are faring, and what they need, the Voluntary Sector Initiative (VSI) commissioned a discussion paper¹ to be used as the basis for further research with small organizations, some of them rural, about their needs and hopes.

This paper summarizes the findings of that further research - the successes and struggles of small organizations and the supports they require to do their work effectively. The title of the paper, "Caught in the Middle," is one of the observations about small organizations from a participant in the focus group in Williams Lake, British Columbia.

The Voluntary Sector Initiative is a five-year project of the Government of Canada and the voluntary sector. The goals of the VSI are to support groups within the voluntary sector to work more effectively and to strengthen the relationship between the federal government and voluntary organizations. In 1999, government officials and representatives from some national, non-profit organizations started the process of looking at the relationship between government and the voluntary sector. This activity was the pilot project that led to the Voluntary Sector Initiative.

The VSI identified small, non-profit organizations as a key part of the voluntary sector, recognizing these groups not only provide local services but also build community spirit. Small organizations provide the foundation for our civil society by giving people an opportunity to volunteer in their own area, to address neighbourhood issues, to respond to local needs, and to work together as a community. The category of small, non-profit, community-based organizations includes non-profit agencies and voluntary groups. The primary distinction between them is that agencies have ongoing infrastructure costs related to sustaining services on a regular basis.

This paper is organized into six sections:

• The research method is described in Part 1.
• Part 2 reviews the current literature on the non-profit sector in Canada, giving an overview of what we know and don't know about this major civic force that touches all our lives. Part 2A [see p. 5] gives a brief historical overview of mutual aid in Canada.
• Background information on the VSI is provided in Part 3.
• The research findings are summarized in Part 4.
• Advice to the VSI from small organizations on how to support their work is itemized in Part 5.
• The final section is a summary of the research themes.

Previous Page

Next Page

Table of Contents