Building an Alberta Nonprofit Election Toolkit

By David Mitchell, CCVO President & CEO

Which issues affecting the nonprofit sector would your organization like Alberta’s major political parties to address in the provincial election, expected May 2019?

CCVO included this question in the most recent Alberta Nonprofit Survey (ANS) and we identified three major themes from the responses. We learned that nonprofit leaders want to see:

• better recognition of the sector and its contributions both socially and economically;

• better interactions and communication between government and the sector, particularly related to legislative changes that will impact nonprofits; and

• more sustainable, predictable, and flexible funding.

We probed the results of the 2018 ANS further through roundtable discussions and personal interviews. The summary of these findings will be included in the final report, to be released in October.

These rich discussions affirmed that the ANS provides important context for the Alberta Nonprofit Election Toolkit that CCVO is preparing for the sector. Our goal: to support the sector in proactively engaging in the democratic process with confidence. The Election Toolkit is intended to arm Alberta’s nonprofits with flexible tools to help ensure the candidates and parties address issues of importance to our sector.

As a resource for highlighting the importance of nonprofits, and why advocacy matters, the Election Toolkit will include guidelines and helpful tips for nonprofits on developing an engagement strategy, organizing and hosting an all-candidates meeting, and the rules of engagement (dos and don’ts) during an election campaign. It will also provide guidance on how to engage the media, approach meetings with candidates and campaign staff, and follow-up with them after the election.

The full Alberta Nonprofit Election Toolkit won’t be available until early 2019, however, we plan to release some elements early this fall. Please watch for these in our e-bulletin (sign up here) and social media – Find us on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

In the meantime, please email policy@calgarycvo.org to let us know if you’d be keen to see any specific issues addressed or tools included for the toolkit. We look forward to bringing Alberta’s nonprofit sector to the forefront in the 2019 provincial election.