SUMMARY: The newly elected Liberal Party’s platform declaring the end of political harassment and a modernization of the rules governing the nonprofit sector was a key topic at the Philanthropic Foundations of Canada (PFC) symposium in late October 2015. Among the questions discussed were: Should foundations and corporate funders participate in discussions about public policy? What are the rules? What are some of the creative tensions involved in working across sectors, given different expectations about timelines, risk, and accountability? Can smaller foundations work together to share their creative strategies in these areas? And, how do we measure the impact of our work, even if we are not looking specifically for policy change? The Philanthropist’s community engagement consultant Jillian Witt covered the conference and reports on these discussions as well as highlights from guest speakers.

RÉSUMÉ : La plateforme du Parti libéral nouvellement élu, qui annonce la fin du harcèlement politique ainsi qu’une modernisation des règles régissant le secteur sans but lucratif, a été un thème clé du colloque de Fondations philanthropiques Canada (FPC), à la fin octobre 2015, où l’on a notamment discuté des questions suivantes : Est-ce que les fondations et les entreprises donatrices doivent participer aux discussions concernant les politiques gouvernementales? Quelles sont les règles? Peut-on citer certaines tensions créatives qui surgissent lors du travail intersectoriel, compte tenu des attentes différentes en ce qui a trait aux échéanciers, aux risques et à la responsabilité? Est-ce que de plus petites fondations peuvent collaborer en partageant leurs stratégies créatives à ce chapitre? Et comment pouvons-nous mesurer l’impact de notre travail, même si nous n’attendons pas expressément un changement au niveau des politiques? La consultante en engagement communautaire de The Philanthropist, Jillian Witt, a présenté la conférence et les rapports portant sur ces discussions, et souligné les points saillants des interventions des conférenciers invités.

The newly elected Liberal Party’s platform declaring the end of political harassment and a modernization of the rules governing the nonprofit sector was a popular discussion topic at the Philanthropic Foundations of Canada (PFC) symposium this fall. More than 150 philanthropic leaders came together in Toronto a week after the October 19th federal election to tackle how the philanthropic sector can work with governments at all levels. Here are key questions posed at the symposium, with highlights from guest speakers.
There was resounding support among participants for the sector’s participation in public policy. In fact, several people insisted that foundations have a moral imperative to do so, for reasons including:

The philanthropic sector has important knowledge and insight.
Voices within the sector are independent; unlike the public and private sectors, the nonprofit sector represents public interests rather than commercial or political ones.
In a time of an “advocacy chill” when charities are cautious to participate, foundations must step up.
Most importantly, public policy is integral to creating the long-term social change the sector seeks.

Speakers agreed that the timing is right, too. The new government’s platform acknowledged the value of the nonprofit sector and its commitment to reform. Amidst general optimism about the election results, there was also a recognition that the sector must ensure these commitments are kept.

Roger Gibbins of Max Bell Foundation warned that we are at risk of being regulated out of public policy discussions. He suggested that we need to “create a parade” that is coordinated and clear about what we want our role to be in public policy. Otherwise, he said, advocacy restraints could have us bringing “butter knives to a gunfight.”

Alex Himelfarb of both World Wildlife Federation and Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness agreed that this is not the moment for complacency. If the role of civil society is building democracy, then we need to maintain the sector’s independence of voice, independence of action, and ability to innovate to ensure we enhance the quality of democracy.

Matthew Mendelson of Mowat Centre said the nonprofit sector can build capacity to represent itself and self-advocate so that government will instinctively include it when creating public policy.

Participants debated the best approach to engage a broad audience in the sector’s issues. Some suggested that we should emphasize how the sector improves society as a whole in order to appeal to the middle-class rhetoric commonly used to win public favour. Others suggested that the sector’s responsibility is to increase the public’s attention to those most marginalized. Participants also weighed the risks of professionalizing organizing tactics, including that it may detract from valuable community-based organizing and activist approaches to policy change.

Despite enthusiasm over the new political climate, Adam Parachin, Associate Professor in the University of Western Ontario’s Faculty of Law, and other speakers underscored how advocacy guidelines remain confusing and at times contradictory. For example, it is charitable to educate about a point of view, but it is political to promote that same point of view. Parachin advised participants to understand how the law distinguishes charity from politics in order to advocate legally and effectively.