MANITOBA FEDERATION OF NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS INC. BRIEF PRESENTATION TO THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF FINANCE PRE-BUDGET CONSULTATIONS

August 12, 2011

Executive Summary:

The Manitoba Federation of Non-profit Organizations is a network umbrella organization for the Manitoba non-profit sector reflecting the need to address its short-term and long- term challenges facing the diversity of community-based non-profits.  In recent years, our focus has been on our diverse work force and its provision of quality services and products to citizens on behalf of governments. We have been in direct contact with other provincial labour market organizations focused on the non-profit sector in their jurisdictions.

In the past three years, the overarching and significant challenge is the current and future requirements for community-based organizations to attract recruit and retain qualified staff.1 These staff must possess specialized skills and capacities in the broad market place. Often we are competing with the broad labour market for these skilled employees. This is exacerbated by the sector’s lack of effective compensation and benefits to attract staff2. On the other hand, our values and “making a difference in community” continues to attract staff to the sector, but unfortunately not in the numbers we require to meet the demands of community-based non-profits to fill their increasing vacancies.

Also we have identified other labour market challenges that we are facing, including the following:

  • How to match our labour market demand with the growing Aboriginal, First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities and their skill sets;
  • How to match our labour market demand with the diverse new Canadian communities and their skill sets;
  • Our ever constant financial challenges to better compensate our staff with market rates for wages and salaries, sustainable benefit plans, and most importantly pensions that prepare people for acceptable retirement income; and
  • Our ability to compete with the other industrial sectors in Canada and their skills, staff development, their recruitment and retention advantages.

In this context, we are concerned about how we are going to advance sustainable job creation in our sector to meet our diverse labour market needs.

As the MFNPO is the 18th recognized industrial sector in Manitoba (at a minimum health and social services comprised of 33,000 employees) and being a member of the Alliance of Manitoba Sector Councils, we believe that at present that this is the most important challenge our sector is facing.

In considering these daunting work force challenges, we believe that these three recommendations will begin a process to address these challenges to our current and future workforce:

1. A tax credit for individual and corporate donations to the non-profit sector focused on small to medium size community-based non-profits to create jobs, matched by government.  This will only be available to individuals and corporations also making non-targeted donations.

2. Government multi-year financial support of non-profit human resource consultation and training organizations for non-profits of up to 25 employees.  This would aid in planning and implementing recruitment, retention, training and human resource supports.  This should be accessible throughout country.

3. The creation of a multi-year program for placements, internships and formal mentorships of new post-secondary graduates into small provincially and federally registered non-profits to encourage permanent employment in the non-profit sector.

Context

Over the past three years, and working in concert with other provincial human resources councils and groups across Canada, as well as with the national Voluntary and NonProfit Human Resources Council, we have started:

  • To deploy labour market surveys 3;
  • To implement a range of targeted training and development to current staff; and
  • To focus on numerous approaches to maximize organizational efficiencies and effectiveness by developing collective impact through shared services, products and space.

However, as we have advanced in these areas of current staff and organizational improvements, we have identified our limitations. The area that we wish to develop and increase our understanding and capacities is in the area of “new hires”.

This is an area of further research, engagement with other human resource councils for other industrial sectors, and development of strategies with our sector.

Closure

This brief is a summary of the proposed presentation concepts and arguments we will make when we met face to face with the standing committee. Our intent is to bring forward the context, content and arguments for a government-sector partnership at supporting a sustainable human resource strategy for the non-profit sector’s current and future work force in Canada.

[1] In our survey we found that “Obtaining the type of employees needed by organizations is a very prevalent issue for these organizations. Seventy-five (75) per cent identified this as a difficulty.”

[2] In our survey we found “The overall annual salary for full-time employees is just under $30,000, with 21 per cent of the organizations paying less than $20,000, another 32 per cent paying between $20,000 and $30,000, 25 per cent paying between $30,000 and $40,000 and the remaining 22 per cent paying between $40,000 and $63,000, on average. “

[3] Our first work force survey was released in 2010 and is titled: The Voluntary and Non-Profit Health and Social Services Sector in Manitoba: a Profile of its Composition and Workplace Challenges and Resources for Meeting those Challenges