Peter R. Elson

High ideals and noble intentions : voluntary sector-government relations in Canada

High Ideals and Noble Intentions is a unique phrase borrowed from a speech made to the International Association for Volunteer Effort by Jean Chrétien in 1998 that Peter Elson uses as his book’s title. Like the title, this is a unique and refreshing book that serves as a wake-up call for those busily engrossed within the voluntary sector, including volunteers, board members, and funders et cetera. At its core, Elson’s work presents in multitudinous detail the government’s historically feeble attempts at procuring a stable and lasting relationship with the voluntary sector.

Canadian social enterprises: taking stock

Purpose – The purpose of this research is to measure the economic and social/environmental/cultural activity of the social enterprise sector at a provincial level in Canada.Design/methodology/approach – The research was implemented in three phases. In phase one, the structure and content of the mapping instrument was developed and tested. In phase two, the survey was circulated to all verified social enterprises in the sample frame to achieve a large and fully representative probability sample of social enterprises in both provinces. Data were subsequently collected for cleaning, entry, and analysis. Phase three involved the circulation of the survey results to social enterprise‐related networks in both provinces through both participant feedback and de‐briefing workshops.Findings – Social enterprises surveyed had a number of non‐exclusive purposes. Eight (22 percent) Alberta (AB) social enterprises focused on employment and related activities while 51 (51 percent) of social enterprises in British Columbi...

Foundations in Canada: A Comparative Perspective

From a Canadian perspective, this article provides a comparative historical and contemporary overview of foundations in Canada, in relation to the United States and Germany. For the purposes of this analysis, the study was limited to public or private foundations in Canada, as defined by the Income Tax Act. As the Canadian foundation milieu straddles the welfare partnership model that characterizes German civil society and the Anglo-Saxon model of the United States, Canadian foundations as a whole have much in common with the foundation sector in both countries. Similarities include the number of foundations per capita, a similar range in size and influence, a comparable diversity of foundation types, and an explosion in the number of foundations in recent decades (although the United States has a much longer history of large foundations making high-impact interventions). This analysis also highlights some key differences among larger foundations in the three jurisdictions: German foundations are generally more apt to have a change-orientation and are more vigorous in their disbursement of income and assets. U.S. foundations are more likely to play a welfare-replacement role in lieu of inaction by the state. Canadian foundations play a complementary role, particularly in the areas of education and research, health, and social services. At the same time, there is a segment of Canadian foundations that are fostering innovation, social and policy change, and are embarking on meaningful partnerships and acts of reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

History of Associations and Volunteering

This chapter examines the history of the topics in its title, with major emphasis on the history of associations. This Handbook is very clearly about associationalism writ large, not about associations and social welfare only (Smith 2015c). The latter issue is one key piece of the total puzzle, but we aim to cover the whole range of association types and time periods. Volunteering seems to be a characteristic of our species, with informal (unorganized) volunteering probably going back to our origins 150,000–200,000 years ago. Formal volunteering in associations can only be traced back about 10,000 years to the origins of associations in which to do such volunteering (Anderson 1971; Bradfield 1973). Volunteering in formal volunteer service programs (VSPs) as departments of other organizations is very recent historically, only going back to the mid-1800s (Smith 2015b; see Handbook Chapter 15). We know very little about the long history even of formal volunteering, since volunteering leaves few physical or written traces and was seldom mentioned by historians as a phenomenon until the past few hundred years.

Les fondations philanthropiques:de nouveaux acteurs politiques?

Plusieurs thèmes centraux sont abordés : survol historique et comparatif du rôle des fondations, au Québec, au Canada et ailleurs ; proposition de classification théorique et empirique des fondations ; caractérisation des relations entre les différents acteurs de l’écosystème philanthropique ; identification des stratégies mobilisées par ces différents acteurs ; réflexions sur le rôle des fondations dans la création de politiques publiques... Ce livre propose une vue d’ensemble éclairante du secteur de la philanthropie subventionnaire qui, malgré son champ d’action restreint, demeure fondamental dans les reconfigurations sociales en cours. Sous la direction de Jean-Marc Fontan, Peter R. Elson et Sylvain Lefèvre