The Government of BC has asked for feedback on their discussion paper, BC’s Recovery from COVID-19. This is a great opportunity to influence BC's recovery. We are sharing some resources for not-for-profits who would like to provide input. Vantage Point sent the letter below to provide our input on the importance of investing in not-for-profits for the recovery. The deadline to for input is Tuesday, July 21, at 4pm.

Ways you can provide input:

• Here is a template letter based on our letter below that you can modify for your organization.
• There is also the option to complete a survey and/or attend townhall events.

The Honourable John Horgan, Premier of British Columbia

Office of the Premier
West Annex Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC V8V 1X4

The Honourable Minister Carole James
Minister of Finance and Deputy Premier
Room 153 Parliament Buildings
Victoria, BC V8V 1X4

July 10, 2020

RE: Now more than ever, is the time to invest in BC not-for-profits.

Dear Premier Horgan and Minister James:

Thank you for the opportunity to provide input on how best to invest the $1.5 billion Economic Recovery Fund. I am writing to you today on behalf of Vantage Point and our member organizations. We are a charity based in Vancouver, BC on the unceded territories of the Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), Səl̓ílwətaʔ (Tsleil-Waututh), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), and shíshálh (Sechelt) nations. Vantage Point supports not-for-profits and charities across the province with leadership development, board training, strategic planning, and more. We represent over 545 not-for-profit members from 48 communities across the province.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the not-for-profit sector has been devastating and requires your urgent attention and action. Vantage Point’s research on COVID-19’s impact on the sector clearly confirms troubling impacts on not-for-profit organizations and the communities we serve. The research documented an increased demand for community services as well as a massive loss of income. The most worrisome estimates suggest that one in five not-for-profits will not survive this crisis.¹ Closures of this scale will have irreparable impacts on BC’s economy and communities. The people who depend on these services, often some of the most vulnerable people in society, face increased risks of falling through the cracks. While our sector is innovative and resilient, our capacity to navigate COVID-19 is has reached a breaking point.

Not-for-profits are critical to the lives of people in British Columbia. As we adapt to different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, BC's not-for-profits and charities continue to provide a critical level of support to the Government of British Columbia, businesses, and the public. We provide everything from the provision of health and other essential frontline services, to supporting victims of domestic violence, to deploying volunteers safely, to providing arts and culture services. The not-for-profit sector has long been recognized as vital to ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our province. We are an essential safety net for the most vulnerable individuals in our communities. From all angles, an investment in the not-for-profit sector aligns with the key values outlined in the recovery consultation discussion paper.

We acknowledge the remarkable work the BC Government has done to support our communities during the extremely challenging environment of the COVID-19 crisis. We have been encouraged by your explicit acknowledgement that “supporting… not-for-profits throughout the pandemic is vital to BC’s response to and recovery from COVID-19.”² We have also been pleased to know that your Economic Recovery Task Force includes representation from the not-for-profit sector. We encourage you to continue deepening and expanding this engagement to ensure that the full breadth of not-for-profits expertise is adequately reflected in your consultations, advisory groups, and recovery planning efforts.

Recommendation One: Create a $500 million stabilization fund for the not-for-profit sector

Following our recommendations for the Budget 2021 consultation, we insist that a $500 million stabilization fund for the not-for-profit sector is required to ensure that organizations can survive, adapt to new circumstances, and position themselves to actively contribute to our recovery. A stabilization fund of this magnitude is critically important to sustain not-for-profits.

Current measures announced by the Federal and Provincial governments have failed to recognize:

• the unique situation facing charities and not-for-profits
• the efforts not-for-profits have continued to make to serve their communities in unprecedented circumstances, and
• the distinct role that not-for-profits must play in our recovery from COVID-19.

Make funding flexible: It is critically important that stabilization funding is truly flexible and allows not-for-profits to allocate funding where they need it most. Current funding and granting systems often limit spending in our organizations solely on direct program delivery without strengthening our operational capacity. These systems also burden organizations with rigorous reporting requirements. Funding restrictions often cause not-for-profits to drift from their mandate as they often are forced to adapt to evolving funding priorities. These restrictions create precarious working conditions and stifles investments in employee benefits, stable governance, and adequate resources for efficient operations.

Commit to gender equity: We know that gender equity is a priority for the BC government. A stabilization fund will ensure women, who make up 74% of the not-for-profit sector, stay employed. Further, this will allow organizations that serve women and other populations who experience discrimination, oppression, and violence, to continue safely providing services in-person and virtually. Not-for-profits are leaders in anti-racism and social justice work, they are also providers of community-based health and wellbeing programs.

Invest in not-for-profits to stimulate the economy: We encourage you to think of stabilization funding and stimulus spending beyond customary criteria narrowly focused on business, employment, and “shovel-ready” projects.

Invest in not-for-profits to support public health: A stabilization fund of this magnitude would be equivalent to an investment in public health and prevention. These investments can help ensure British Columbians are supported to recover from the mental health effects of prolonged isolation, depression, and stress. It will also help address other healthcare crises, such as the recent increase in opioid overdoses, from worsening.

Partner with well-established and trusted funders: We recommend that a not-for-profit stabilization fund be administered through networks of funders with deeply established relationships with local not-for-profits and charities. Examples of such funders include provincial community foundations such as Victoria Foundation, Vancouver Foundation, United Way, and Vancity Community Foundation. It is particularly important to direct funding to organizations and funders that are led by and are working with Black, Indigenous, People of Colour (BIPOC), and others who face systemic discrimination.

Municipal and regional governments also have well established relationships and partnerships with charities and not-for-profits within their jurisdictions. Funds distributed through municipalities and explicitly earmarked for supporting their local ecosystem of not-for-profit organizations could help strengthen local economies and reduce the load on other municipal and provincial services.

Recommendation Two: Use an equity lens to invest in province-wide internet access, connectivity, and infrastructure

We echo the views in the Building BC’s Recovery Together report of the urgent need for province-wide internet access.

We urge the BC Government to immediately invest in affordable high-speed internet in rural communities, households across BC, and not-for-profit organizations and housing providers. We encourage you to work with network service providers to create equitable access to internet. We encourage you to remove network deployment barriers and use government assets effectively to reduce costs and accelerate the expansion of connectivity in rural BC. As you develop plans for these investments, we encourage you to uphold your commitments towards a Gender Based Analysis Plus (GBA+) framework as a way to ensure equitable access and connections for all, particularly for women, BIPOC, and other underrepresented communities.

We ask that you make funds available for not-for-profits to access reliable and adequate technology as this is one of the key impacts and barriers of COVID-19 on the sector. We encourage you to improve and update funding systems such as the rules for BC’s Community Gaming Grants to allow more flexibility for funds to be used for training and updating technology.

Work with the not-for-profit sector

Once again, we thank you for allowing us to join fellow British Columbians in sharing what is most important for our community’s wellbeing going forward. We urge you to work with the not-for-profit sector to strengthen public wellbeing and stabilize our economy. We look forward to continuing to contribute towards our province’s recovery through constructive investment and partnerships with the Government of British Columbia.

Sincerely,

Alison Brewin
Executive Director, Vantage Point
T: (604) 637-8207 E: abrewin@thevantagepoint.ca
www.thevantagepoint.ca

cc: Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Competitiveness, Hon. Michelle Mungall Minister of Labour, Hon. Harry Bains Mr. Spencer Chandra Herbert, Vancouver-West End Riding

[1] Vantage Point (2020). No Immunity Report. Retrieved from https://www.thevantagepoint.ca/blog/no-immunity-impacts-covid-19-our-sector

[2] Government of BC. (2020). Budget 2021 Consultation. Retrieved from https://www.leg.bc.ca/content/CommitteeDocuments/41st-parliament/5thsession/fgs/Budget2021Consultation/Budget_2021_Consultation_Paper.pdf

Dear reader,

We are asking not-for-profit and charitable organizations to endorse our letter asking Vancouver City Council to preserve its critical funding support for the sector. Please take a moment to add your first and last name, position title, and organization in the comment section of this page. Thank you.

Council members, City of Vancouver
Vancouver City Hall
453 West 12th Ave
Vancouver, BC
V5Y 1V4

April 24, 2020

Subject: Maintain Funding of Not-for-Profits in Vancouver - They are a vital part of sustaining our communities.

Dear Mayor Kennedy Stewart and Council Members,

We acknowledge the remarkable work the City is doing to support our communities during the unprecedented and rapidly changing environment of the COVID-19 crisis. We commend you for the thoughtful actions you have taken to protect individuals and families in the region and for advocating on their behalf with higher levels of government.

In BC, as in the rest of Canada, charitable and not-for-profit organizations are currently seeing an increased demand for their services, increased operating costs, and have lost major sources of revenue. We employ over 86,000 people across the province. We also contribute up to $6.69 billion in programs and services per year. Beyond the essential services and support we provide for our most vulnerable, our sector is also a critical engine of economic prosperity and jobs.

As we rebuild our communities, our sector's role cannot be overstated. Consider the work of:

• WISH - supporting women in the downtown eastside who are disproportionately affected by violence, extreme poverty, and ill health. WISH is the line between life and death for some of the most vulnerable women in our community.
• Potluck - acting as a manufacturer and distribution centre for healthy meals to residents in need in the downtown eastside.
• All the neighbourhood houses - connecting residents who are isolated with key supports to keep seniors, families, babies, and people with disabilities healthy - and doing it in multiple languages.
• Community-based choral societies like Highs and Lows, connecting people struggling with mental health challenges to the healing art of singing.

As a sector, our work is crucial to mitigate the evolving hardship and loss of life associated with COVID-19.

Vantage Point's commitment is to continue working with government, businesses, and our community partners to ensure the vital services we provide are available during this emergency. We want you to know this sector is currently disproportionately impacted by overlapping risks which threaten our ability to continue working to support public wellbeing and resilience.

Results of our recent province-wide survey of the sector estimates that, without a targeted investment strategy to bolster the sector, up to 22,000, and likely more, of not-for-profit employees are likely to lose their job by the end of June. Many of those in the Vancouver area. As a response, Vantage Point and our community partners have launched several initiatives to help not-for-profit organizations access federal and provincial government supports to make sure they keep their doors open and their services available.

We understand the pressures on the City to manage the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on our communities. However, ending the supports you offer to your not-for-profit partners will only exacerbate the crisis we are currently experiencing. City of Vancouver grants in Social Planning and the Arts are an essential core support to keep key organizations open and functioning. Without our organizations, and without the funding support of the City, Vancouver would not be the resilient community it is. To this end, we urge your government to consider the following recommendations to address these crucial needs of the sector:

1. Maintain funding of not-for-profits in Vancouver and ensure emergency relief programs and funds made available to businesses also include clearly defined mechanisms to support the not-for-profit and charitable sector.
Not-for-profits and charities are seeing the same or greater revenue losses and challenges as private businesses - even their non-governmental funders are losing money and staff, creating a ripple effect. After years of dwindling funding sources and limited alternatives for undesignated funding, few organizations have cash reserves on which they can draw during a crisis.

The programming our sector provides is an essential factor to public wellbeing and there are strong financial arguments for maintaining, even increasing, your funding and other supports to the sector. The City supports not-for-profits which attract financial and human resources far beyond the dollars the City investment spends on grants.

2. Leverage mechanisms the Province recently announced to address cash flow and revenue loss challenges faced by municipal governments.
We were pleased to see the Provincial Government has offered local governments greater flexibility to borrow and carry deficits to help pay for operating expenses, such as employee salaries and other civic services. Sound financial thinking also supports investing directly in the not-for-profit sector in challenging times. Every contributed dollar supports the attraction of more dollars. The number of employees hired in Vancouver by the sector - employees paying rent, mortgages, city fees, etc. - are estimated to be in the tens of thousands. This crisis is not a time for austerity. Our sector looks forward to our continued partnership with you to maximize public wellbeing benefits through the thoughtful allocation of your investments.

3. Relax funding restrictions and provide greater flexibility to the allocation of funds.
Not-for-profit organizations experience additional pressures due to the ways they are funded. Funding agreements may stipulate outcomes for the number of participants, and these might not be met during a health crisis. There are serious implications for not-for-profits if governmental and non-governmental funders and donors reinforce expectations for outcomes or outputs, which may not be manageable, or even possible. We urge your government and municipal departments to continue to flow funds through grant and contribution programs and to emphasize flexibility in program delivery timelines and the use of these funds. We also request administrative burdens related to reporting and renewal to be minimized. Clear communication around flexibility measures would provide essential assistance for not-for-profits.

4. Ensure further measures - which provide employee assistance and help to retain employment - address the unique needs of charities and not-for-profits.
We have been pleased to see various levels of government implement mechanisms to mitigate job losses and support those who have been laid-off. However, employees in the not-for-profit sector have unique needs. Therefore, while mortgage deferrals have been a welcome respite for households affected by job losses, most not-for-profit employees are renters with average salaries 13.8% less than the provincial average. We urge you to consider how you can leverage municipal facilities and redeploy resources in ways which allow charities and not-for-profits to maintain operations, sustain facilities and infrastructure temporarily closed, and ensure capacity to reopen during the recovery period.

5. Ensure communications about emergency funds and programming refer to employers rather than businesses.
Charities and not-for-profits employ over 86,000 British Columbians. Governments' language should recognize this fact so it is clear to your staff, the public, and not-for-profits. Not-for-profit voices will ensure the needs of the not-for-profit sector, including their volunteers, workers, and constituents, are explicitly addressed in emergency preparedness response and recovery.

Your investment in not-for-profits is an investment which will save lives and aid our city in the recovery efforts. As your partner is public wellbeing, the not-for-profit sector has an unwavering pledge to work together to support your local government and our communities through this crisis and beyond.

Sincerely,

Alison Brewin
Executive Director
Vantage Point

Please submit your first and last name, position title, and organization in the comments section if you would like to endorse this letter to Vancouver City Council. Thank you!