2011-2012

Annual Report

The HR Council takes action on nonprofit labour force issues.

As a catalyst, the HR Council sparks awareness and action on labour force issues. As a convenor, we bring together people, information and ideas in the spirit of collaborative action. As a research instigator we are building knowledge and improving our understanding of the nonprofit labour force. © 2012 HR Council for the Nonprofit Sector Copyright is waived for charitable and nonprofit organizations for non-commercial use, with attribution. All other rights reserved.

ISSN: 1929-6576

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The HR Council is funded by the Government of Canada’s Sector Council Program. The opinions and interpretations in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Government of Canada.

Contents

Key messages 1

Projects and initiatives 3

Understanding the nonprofit labour force 3

Building HR tools in support of the nonprofit sector 4

Communications and outreach activities 4

Leveraging collaboration to achieve results 5

Partners and volunteers 6

Our people 8

Our financials 10

2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT | 1

Key messagesMessage from the Chair...More than anything else, the past year has been marked by significant change for the HR Council. In June 2011, founding leader Lynne Toupin stepped down from the Executive Director post. Lynne had been at the helm of the HR Council (and its predecessor, HRVS, a joint venture between Community Foundations of Canada and United Way – Centraide Canada) for nearly nine years. Stepping up to lead the organization is Gay Hamilton, who brings to the table years of nonprofit leadership experience with a focus on change manage-ment. This skill set has been and continues to be vital as the organization finds itself facing a critical junction.

Change did not stop at the staff level. Last year’s report mentioned the departure of five of our founding board members whose statutory terms came to an end. Hilary Amit, Neil Cohen, Eldon Emerson, Keith Seel and Dick Stewart handed off their respective batons to a group of knowledgeable and committed HR Council supporters. Tim Crooks, Darrell Lang, Veronica McNeil, Sandra Watt and Paul Bubelis joined the board in June 2012.

The HR Council is currently undergoing a major strategic transition brought on by the elimination of core funding for the sector council program as of March 2013. Generating transitional funding and tak-ing steps to secure long-term revenue have become top priorities and are crucial for continuity. The board and staff have been working diligently to achieve these while continuing their work on current projects and provid-ing outstanding products and services to the sector. Our future is uncertain and will depend on whether transitional funding can be secured in a timely manner. The Board and staff are committed to doing everything possible to ensure the survival of the organization. If survival is not possible because of the short timeframe, our commitment is to develop a well thought out wind-down in order to make certain that all the assets of the HR Council remain available for sector organizations.

The HR Council can be justly proud of its achieve-ments and the great wealth of support it brings to the nonprofit sector. Thank you for your ongoing support and confidence in our organization and our work.

—Marlene Deboisbriand, Chair

...and from the Executive DirectorI arrived at the HR Council at a most inopportune moment…or did I? I no sooner accepted the post than the government announced an end to core funding for our program and changes to the way projects would be funded for Labour Market Information (LMI). Nevertheless, the HR Council is where I wanted to be and I am pleased and proud of the way board, staff, stakeholders and partners have collaborated around the HR Council’s situation to try to find solutions and support us through the transition. Meaningful conver-sations with key stakeholders and partners have perhaps never been so important.

A preliminary business plan has been developed. The plan favours continued engagement in labour market information (LMI) projects and making expert HR information and tools available to the sector. It also sets out guidelines for entrepreneurial activities to sup-port operations and work towards a sustainable model. All of these changes will necessitate a shift in the way we operate and source funds. Among other things, we must sharpen our skills and build our fundraising capability.

In parallel to securing stable funding is the HR Council’s continuing commitment to providing qual-ity information on good HR practices to the nonprofit sector. The projects described in this report are a testa-ment to the high quality of work that the sector has come to expect from the HR Council.

We move forward energized, focused and with a strong sense of motivation.

—Gay Hamilton, Executive Director

2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT | 2

Understanding the nonprofit labour forceBuilding on the 2008 Labour Force Study, this year included several significant achievements in the development and dissemination of various forms of labour market information, information that improves understanding of the nonprofit labour force through evidence-based research and intelligence gathering.

Mid-year the HR Council wrapped up a project that in early 2011 had pro-duced an assessment of the current state of labour market information (LMI) for the sector and identified priorities for improving it. These were communicated to the HR Council’s audience in the form of Trends & Issues pieces and focused on such topics as professional development and employment trends in the non-profit sector. A communiqué, Labour Market Information for the Nonprofit Sector: An Investment in the Future, explains for a broad audience what LMI is and why it is important. It sets the stage for ongoing LMI work focused on expanding the availability and use of compensation information for the sector and on creating a model of nonprofit labour supply and demand; two of the priorities identified.

From the HR Council’s comprehensive Skills and Leadership Development Initiative, significant contributions have been made in strengthening knowledge of the nonprofit labour force. The skills area saw development of a Current State of Skills Development report, supported by comprehensive survey results and face-to-face consultations with sector stakeholders. A Skills Development Framework report is currently being developed. Validation of this report is scheduled to occur over the summer months. The leadership component saw the development of a pre-liminary Headline Findings poster and a Driving Change report, both of which were backed by qualitative evidence. This evidence helped solidify interpretation of and implications to the future of the Executive Director position through further consultation with sector leaders and board members at a national workshop. A white paper is being produced that synthesizes workshop discussions and implica-tions of key findings.

Mid-year the HR Council wrapped up a project that in early 2011 had produced an assessment of the current state of labour market information (LMI) for the nonprofit sector.

Projects and initiatives

2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT | 3

Following two years of work, the focus on increasing ethnic diversity in the workforce wrapped up in March 2012. The goal of the project was to identify key bar-riers that may be keeping nonprofits from accessing the talents of new immigrants and members of visible min-ority groups. Over 500 individuals were involved in the project through a cross-country employer consultation, a survey and through employee interviews. Overall, the work completed through this project confirms that while there are particular concerns related to hiring and retaining immigrants and members of visible minor-ities, it also shows that many of the HR issues that are relevant to these groups are relevant to all employee groups.

The Building Cohesion in Labour Force Strategies project is close to being wrapped up, out of which five sub-sectoral case studies have been produced.

There is continued movement and development of workforce planning in three priority provinces —Ontario, Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan— and there is much support from nonprofit sector partners in these provinces to move work and discussions forward with funders and government.

Provinces continue to be very generous and open with each other in terms of connecting and sharing expertise.

Building HR tools in support of the nonprofit sectorA national occupational standard for Managers of Volunteer Resources is in its final stages of develop-ment. The standard went through scoping processes, background research, key informant interviews, a two and a half-day development workshop and five valida-tion workshops. The standard is a tool that nonprofits can use to help measure and validate the Manager of Volunteer Resources position. The Occupational Standard will be officially released at the Canadian Administrators of Volunteer Resources annual confer-ence in June 2012.

A Career Explorer tool was launched in May 2011. It provides sector employees, recent graduates and employ-ees looking to move into the sector with access to infor-mation available on workingincanada.gc.ca (Service Canada) about occupations that are prevalent in the

sector (e.g., social service worker, family counselor, etc.) as well as information linking sector occupations to fields of study and links to career planning sites.

HR training was pilot-tested through a six-month program (a half day session monthly) of which 30 nonprofit employers participated. Led by HR Council trained facilitators, the goal of the training was twofold: assisting nonprofit employers in developing a deeper understanding of the HR Management Standards and creating awareness of a range of supporting information found in the HR Toolkit

These pilot training opportunities were completed successfully in the spring of 2012. The intent is to now build a structure that will allow the HR Council to offer training to other nonprofit employers in commun-ities across Canada.

Communications and outreach activitiesThe HR Council continued to explore ways to effect-ively use a range of social media to connect with stake-holders in meaningful ways. LinkedIn membership has doubled over the past year to more than 400 key stake-holders who facilitate the exchange of information and ideas. The Twitter group has grown to more than 1,600 followers. While the growth in number of followers is an easy metric to report on, the true value of Twitter lies in meaningful interactions with key stakeholders and influencers in the nonprofit sector, which have been instrumental in helping to disseminate news and information to a wider audience. The HR Council’s main communications tool, the e-newletter, was dis-tributed 10 times throughout the year to nearly 12,000 individual subscribers.

Visits to hrcouncil.ca: 458,757 (60% increase over 2010-2011).

Total number of downloads: 287,091 (65% increase over 2010-2011).

Top five hrcouncil.ca downloads:

• Careers in the Nonprofit Sector (Mount Royal College) – 13,529 downloads

• Current State Report – 8,315 downloads (since January 2012)

2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT | 4

• HR Toolkit: Employment Contract Template (French) – 7,205 downloads

• HR Toolkit: Sample Interview Questions (English) – 6,186 downloads

• HR Toolkit Diversity Workbook (Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations) – 4,834 downloads

Top five search engine search terms:

• Recruitment (French)

• Executive director job description

• Performance management

• HR Council

• Compensation system

Leveraging collaboration to achieve resultsAs a result of the transition the HR Council is going through, collaboration efforts have largely focused on building a supportive base with which to use as a guide in becoming more self-sustaining.

In December 2011, over 500 delegates attended the National Summit for the Nonprofit and Charitable Sector in Ottawa that was organized by Imagine Canada. Human resources was one of the four prior-ity areas that National Engagement Strategy consulta-tions identified over the previous two years. About one hundred participants joined in the HR discussions and suggested five top-of-mind HR issues: LMI, suc-cession planning, salaries and benefits, HR attraction and retention and core competency development. The summit attendees in that stream and in others voiced dismay that the HR Council’s survival might be at risk and were clear that the HR Council is essential, that ensuring its continuity must be a high priority and that the organization should reach out for support. This large group specifically requested that ongoing develop-ments be communicated to them.

The HR Council’s provincial partners clearly see a role for the organization going forward. They believe the HR Council should continue to develop and sup-port labour market information (LMI) and persist in making expert information about HR accessible to the sector. They certainly recognize the value of a pan-Can-adian approach as a key connecting point.

Other notable collaborations undertaken this year include:

• Working in partnership with the Canadian Administrators of Volunteer Resources (CAVR) in the development of the national occupation standard for the Manager of Volunteer Resources position

• Pilot testing HR training in partnership with United Way Saskatoon, the government of Nova Scotia and the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development (CEED)

• Pilot testing HR content for training purposes in part-nership with Vantage Point and Ottawa Chamber of Voluntary organizations (OCVO)

• Workforce planning for the sector with Ontario Nonprofit Network

• Workforce planning with the Department of Advanced Labour and Education in Nova Scotia and Phoenix Youth Programs

• Sub-sectoral case studies written in collaboration with five provincial organizations and authors

• Workforce planning meetings with sector and govern-ment in Saskatchewan in partnership with Community Initiatives Fund, Catholic Family Services Saskatoon, Family Services Regina

• Resulted in HR Council’s Human Resources Management Pilot being facilitated in Saskatchewan with participation from Regina and Saskatoon

2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT | 5

Partners and volunteersPartnersWe would like to recognize and thank the follow-ing agencies, institutions, and organizations for their ongoing collaboration and support:

• Canadian Administrators of Volunteer Resources

• Catholic Family Services Saskatoon

• Community Initiatives Fund

• Department of Advanced Labour and Education in Nova Scotia

• Family Service Regina

• Imagine Canada

• Nova Scotia Government in partnership with the Centre for Entrepreneurship Education and Development

• Ontario Nonprofit Network

• Ottawa Chamber of Voluntary Organizations

• Phoenix Youth Programs

• United Way of Saskatoon & Area

• Vantage Point

VolunteersWe would like to express our sincerest gratitude to the following individuals who volunteered their time, effort and expertise to support our work by participating in HR Council project advisory committees in 2011-2012:

Building Cohesion in Labour Force Strategies advisory committee

• Mandie Abrams – Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations

• Catherine Crucil – Vancouver Foundation

• Sid Frankle – Manitoba Federation of Non-Profit Organizations

• Barbara Grantham – Governemnt Non Profit Initiative

• Mike Grogan – Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations

• Heather Laird – Ontario Nonprofit Network

• Veronica McNeil – Federation of Community Organizations

• Bruce Pearce – Newfoundland Housing & Homelessness Network

• Shellie Pociuk – Family Service Regina

• David Sax – Catholic Family Services Regina

• Trish St. Onge – Catholic Family Services Saskatoon

• Annette Vautour-MacKay – Volunteer Centre of Southeastern New Brunswick

• Sue Wilkinson – Ontario Nonprofit Network

• Kimberley Yetman-Dawson – Newfoundland Housing & Homelessness Network

Developing Labour Market Information for the Nonprofit Sector advisory committee

• Catherine Crucil – Vancouver Foundation

• Gerard Dominic – Department of Human Resources, Labour & Employment, Government of Newfoundland & Labrador

• Peter Elson – Institute for Nonprofit Studies, Mount Royal University

• Mike Grogan – Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations

• Angélique Ingabire-Cyr – Human Resources Skills Development Canada

• David Lasby – Imagine Canada

• Mark Medgyesi – BC Ministry of Housing and Social Development

• Bruce Pearce – St. John’s Community Advisory Committee on Homelessness

Increasing Ethnic Diversity in the Nonprofit Sector’s Workforce advisory committee

• Mandie Abrams – Edmonton Chamber of Voluntary Organizations

• Marlo Bonnar – Metro Community Housing Association

• Cathy Crouse – Metro Community Housing Association

• Paula DeCoito – Social Planning Council of Peel

• Rita Field – Saskatoon Crisis Intervention Service

• Melanie Laflamme – YMCA of Greater Toronto

• Shawn Mahoney – Opportunities for Employment Inc.

• Avnish Mehta – Calgary Catholic Immigration Society

• Peter Paul – The Maytree Foundation

• Kelly Pollack – Immigrant Employment Council of BC

• Amélie Richard – Comité sectoriel de main-d’œuvre

Skills and Leadership Development in Canada’s Nonprofit Sector advisory committee

• Nancy Anningson – Prior Learning Centre

• Sheri Benson – United Way of Saskatoon & Area

• Rick Blickstead – Wellesley Institute (Adj. Professor University of Toronto)

• Tamara Cardinal – Centre for Aboriginal Human Resource Development

• Donna Carter – Canadian Administrators of Volunteer Resources

• Susan Climie – Big Brothers Big Sisters Canada

• Neil Cohen – Community Unemployed Help Centre

• Linda Doucette-Hébert – Vitalité Health Network, Beausejour zone

• Tina Edan – The Maytree Foundation

• Barbara Grantham – Barbara Grantham Consulting Services, Inc.

• Gerda Kaegi – Ryerson University

• Sonia Kowalewich – MFL Occupational Health Centre

• Donna Lockhart – The RETHINK Group/PAVR-O

• Grant MacDonald – College of Continuing Education, Dalhousie University

• Wendy MacDonald – W.L. MacDonald and Associates

• Amanuel Melles – United Way Toronto

• Kathryn Ohashi – Child Care Human Resources Sector Council

• Chris Peacock – Canadian Administrators of Volunteer Resources

• Karen Preston – Capital Regional District, Regional Parks

• Diana Smith – EcoSol Consulting Inc./Ginger Group Collaborative/University of Victoria (Adj. Faculty)

• Doug Soo – Langara College

• Rachel Stoparczyk – Canadian Journal of Volunteer Resources Management

• Sandra Watt – Lutherwood

Training Resources for Effective HR Management in Nonprofits advisory committee

• Linda Brazier Lamoureux – United Way of Winnipeg

• Maggy Burns – Ecology Action Centre

• Blake Cryderman – College of the North Atlantic

• Dennis Garreck – SaskCulture Inc.

• Anita Hayes – Foundation for Rural Living Ontario

• Yvonne Martodam – Alberta Council of Disability Services

• Barbara Old – College of New Caledonia

• Tracey Robertson – Ontario Trillium Foundation

• Lisa Smecca – Kids Help Phone

• Angie Vickaryous – Tides Canada

2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT | 6

2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT | 7

Paul BubelisExecutive DirectorSustainability NetworkToronto, ON

Darrell LangVice President, Human ResourcesBethany Care SocietyCalgary, AB

Maggy BurnsInternal Director Ecology Action CentreHalifax, NS

Veronica McNeilExecutive Director/Directeur généralFederation of Community Organizations Dartmouth, NS

Céline Charpentier Executive Director Comité sectoriel de maind’oeuvre de l’économie sociale et de l’action communautaireMontréal, QC

Avnish MehtaCreative DirectorBaxterBeanCalgary, AB

Owen Charters – Vice ChairPresident & CEOCanadaHelpsToronto, ON

Carl Nicholson - TreasurerExecutive Director Catholic Immigration Centre of OttawaOttawa, ON

Tim CrooksExecutive DirectorPhoenix Halifax, NS

Karen Stone - Secretary Executive Director BC Non-Profit Housing Association and the Society for Affordable Housing Education, Awareness and DevelopmentVancouver, BC

Marlene Deboisbriand - ChairVice-President, Member Services Boys & Girls Clubs of CanadaGatineau, QC

Veronica Utton Managing Director V. Utton & AssociatesToronto, ON

Gay Hamilton (ex officio, non-voting)Executive DirectorHR Council for the Nonprofit Sector Ottawa, ON

Sandra WattDirector of Human Resources & AdministrationLutherwoodWaterloo, ON

Kathy Johnson National Representative Canadian Union of Public EmployeesScarborough, ON

Our peopleOur board

2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT | 8

Our staff

Alison AyoubProject Assistant

Conrad PrinceProject Manager

Gay HamiltonExecutive Director (as of August 2011)

Lee RoseCommunications Manager

Michelle JondreauCommunications Coordinator

Bonnie ShiellResearch Manager

Erica ParadisProject Assistant

Lynne ToupinExecutive Director (stepped down in June 2011)

Tanara PickardProject Manager

Leona WallFinance & Administration Manager

About usThe HR Council for the Nonprofit Sector (HR Council) takes action on nonprofit labour force issues. As a catalyst, the HR Council sparks awareness and action on labour force issues. As a convenor, we bring together people, information and ideas in the spirit of collaborative action. As a research instigator we are building knowledge and improving our understanding of the nonprofit labour force. Our website, hrcouncil.ca, also includes a comprehensive suite of free practical HR tools, information and resources for nonprofits.

Strategic Priorities

• Strengthen HR management practices

• Support skills development and work-related learning

• Build and share knowledge about the nonprofit labour force

• Promote leadership development and succession planning

• Foster a culture of inclusivity

The HR Council sees a future where the nonprofit sector will:

• Have a rich pool of leadership talent to draw upon

• Employ an inclusive labour force that reflects the changing composition of Canadian society

• Use labour market information to inform HR planning and practice

• Foster a culture of learning and professional development

• Be seen as an attractive, viable place to work

• Be acknowledged as an integral part of Canada’s labour market

• Have sufficient financial resources to support high-quality jobs and sound HR management practices

• Have good alignment between training, employee skills and jobs

2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT | 9

Revenue 2012 2011Contributions from HRSDC $1,487,401 $1,372,967

Grant from Social Development Partnerships Program (SDPP) - $22,977

Other (Note 3) $24,834 $72,278

Total $1,512,235 $1,468,222

Expenses 2012 2011Salaries and benefits $595,912 $658,863

Capital costs (Schedule A) - $5,361

Professional fees (Schedule B) $475,085 $323,715

Travel expenses (Schedule C) $177,904 $172,896

General project costs (Schedule D) $254,600 $270,090

Total $1,503,501 $1,430,925

Excess of revenue over expenses $8,734 $37,297

Our financialsStatement of operations for the year ended March 31, 2012*

*The HR Council for the Nonprofit Sector’s financial statements for the 2011-2012 fiscal period were audited by Marcil Lavallée in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards.

2011-2012 ANNUAL REPORT | 10

AssetsCurrent assets 2012 2011Cash $212,694 $86,781

Accounts and harmonized sales tax receivable $70,191 $54,366

Contributions receivable - $24,889

Total $282,885 $166,036

LiabilitiesCurrent liabilities 2012 2011Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $152,303 $50,643

Deferred contributions and grants $80,176 $73,721

Total $232,479 $124,364

Net AssetsUnrestricted $15,406 $6,672

Internally restricted - Opportunity Reserve Fund (Note 10) $35,000 $35,000

Total $50,406 $41,672

$282,885 $166,036

Statement of financial position for year ended March 31, 2012