December 2001
Editor's Notes
As the year closes, many of us are preparing to indulge in our year-end frenzy of spending—and giving. Naturally, most of our spending goes to buy gifts for family and friends.
Often, though, we augment our gift-buying spree with donations to our favourite charities. When I give to a charity, I like to think of my donation "in action." Usually what comes to mind is the money directly supporting the specific programs that my chosen charities run. The programs feed the hungry here and abroad, conduct medical research and offer support to those with serious illnesses, save animals or the environment, or offer hope for the future through education. In each case, I picture a kindly person doling out food or education, conducting research or chairing a support group meeting, or treating injured pets or wildlife. When I think of charitable activity, I think of people (usually volunteers) in action, trying their best to care for the unfortunate, and as a result making all of our lives better in one way or another. The money I send, I like to think, helps these people aid a few more unfortunate souls.
In a sense, as this issue of Fraser Forum will explain, this view of charity is flawed. Or at least, it is incomplete. Indeed, there are thousands of small, private charities in Canada that do offer a lot of service on very limited budgets. (The Donner Canadian Foundation Awards for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services honours them at an awards luncheon once a year. The winners for 2001 are announced in this issue of Forum.) Charitable ideals do exist.
However, not all charities in Canada conform to this ideal model. As Sylvia LeRoy and Barry Cooper point out in this issue, the federal government's Voluntary Sector Initiative is redefining the relationship between the state and the charitable sector. The redefinition involves, in some cases, funding NGOs and other advocacy groups to "improve their lobbying effectiveness." This ominous intrusion by government into civil society is a long way from the selfless volunteer I picture when I think of charity.
Like many Canadians, my understanding of the charitable sector and what constitutes charity is limited. In fact, a vast range of activites are considered "charitable." This issue of Forum should give you some tools to understand a lot more about all forms of charity in this country.
—Kristin McCahon
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