Rural Communities Foundation of Nova Scotia
Post Office Box 1516
Truro, Nova Scotia B2N 5V2
Canada
Mission
To build on the strengths and assets of Nova Scotia’s coastal and rural communities by encouraging philanthropic giving, developing a permanent endowment and managing the granting of funds
Most Meaningful Change
Rural Nova Scotia is part of a global trend where a declining population results in declining services. Rural communities differ from each other in so many ways that there is no single, sure-fire way to reverse this trend. It has to be addressed from the perspective of residents who know their community and who can determine how to deal with the issues they face. That is why our foundation identified “Leadership Development” and “Innovation” as the two points of emphasis for its granting strategy. Projects funded by the foundation respect the variety of development outcomes proposed by applicant communities. Our emphasis is simply to require that each project attend to leadership development and innovation as it is being carried out. See our Community Stories page: http://www.ruralcommunitiesfdn.ca/?page_id=251.
1999 Year Founded
1 Paid Staff (Full-Time Equivalent)
$475,000 Total Annual Grantmaking
Organization | Rural Communities Foundation of Nova Scotia |
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Address 1 | Post Office Box 1516 |
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Address 2 | Did not answer |
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City / Town | Truro |
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State / Region | Nova Scotia |
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ZIP / Postal Code | B2N 5V2 |
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Country | Canada |
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Continent | North America |
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Map Address (If Different) | Did not answer |
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Map City / Town (If Different) | Did not answer |
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Map State / Region (If Different) | Did not answer |
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Map Zip / Postal Code (If Different) | Did not answer |
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Map Country (If Different) | Did not answer |
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Phone | 902.897.2444 |
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Email | info@ruralcommunitiesfdn.ca |
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Website | www.ruralcommunitiesfdn.ca |
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Organization Leader (Name, Title) | Teresa MacNeil |
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Primary Contact’s Name | Did not answer |
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Primary Contact’s Position | Communications |
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Year Founded | 1999 |
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Mission Statement | To build on the strengths and assets of Nova Scotia’s coastal and rural communities by encouraging philanthropic giving, developing a permanent endowment and managing the granting of funds |
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Organization Description | Community philanthropy organisation |
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Other Description | Did not answer |
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Approximate Size of the Population Serviced | 400,000 |
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Total Paid Staff (Full-Time Equivalents) | 1 |
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Total Unpaid Staff (Full-Time Equivalents) | Did not answer |
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Total Board Members | 10 |
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Organization’s Total Income in Last Fiscal Year | Did not answer |
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Organization’s Gifts Income in Last Fiscal Year | Did not answer |
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Organization’s Total Expenditures in Last Fiscal Year | Did not answer |
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Organization’s Grantmaking Budget in Last Fiscal Year | $475,000 |
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Does Organization Have an Endowment | Yes |
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Value of Endowment (or Financial Reserves) as of the End of Last Fiscal Year | Did not answer |
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Change in Financial Status Over Last Three Years | Significant improvement |
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Factors that Played a Role in the Origins of Your Organization |
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Community leadership | Played a centrally important role |
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Philanthropic gifts | Played a centrally important role |
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Grassroots activism | Did not answer |
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Inadequate government services | Did not answer |
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Changes in the political environment | Did not answer |
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Changes in the economic environment | Played a centrally important role |
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Government initiative funding | Played a centrally important role |
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Foundation initiative funding | Did not answer |
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Bilateral or multilateral initiative funding | Did not answer |
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Favorable legal or fiscal policies | Did not answer |
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Time Spent Working in Following Areas |
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Neighborhood | Fair amount of time |
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Locally | Fair amount of time |
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Regionally | Did not answer |
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Nationally | Did not answer |
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Internationally | Did not answer |
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Rate Importance of the Following Functions |
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Grantmaking | Centrally important |
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Having local people as leaders in the organization | Centrally important |
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Seeking local donations | Centrally important |
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Having a gender balance in the organization | Centrally important |
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Board reflective of community diversity | Centrally important |
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Building an endowment | Centrally important |
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Serving donor needs | Centrally important |
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Acting as a fiscal intermediary for the community | Centrally important |
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Building inclusion and trust in the community | Centrally important |
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Pursuing equity | Centrally important |
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Accountability to local people | Centrally important |
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Raising money for grantmaking annually | Centrally important |
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Community development | Centrally important |
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In the Last Year, Extent to Which Programming and/or Grantmaking Involved Work in the Following Areas |
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Arts and culture | Fair amount |
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Education | Lot |
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Environment | Fair amount |
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Health | Fair amount |
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Human and social services | Lot |
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Human rights | Fair amount |
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International relations | Not at all |
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Religion | Not at all |
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Economic development | Lot |
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Conflict resolution/bridging different parts of the community | Fair amount |
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Information technology | Fair amount |
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Strengthening local or regional government | Fair amount |
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Housing | Lot |
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Children | Fair amount |
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Water | Fair amount |
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Alternative energy | Little |
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Disaster relief | Little |
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Advocacy with authorities | Fair amount |
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Job training | Did not answer |
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Nongrantmaking Services Offered to Community in Recent Years |
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Convening for issues of local concern | Occasionally |
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Promote collaboration between grantees | Occasionally |
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Promote understanding of public policy | Occasionally |
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Training/capacity-building for local organizations | Occasionally |
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Advocacy | Occasionally |
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Loaned staff | Never |
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Research | Occasionally |
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Community needs assessment | Occasionally |
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Leadership development | Occasionally |
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Internships | Never |
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Providing space for local organizations | Never |
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Access to information technology | Never |
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Publishing/knowledge sharing | Occasionally |
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Main Trends Over the Past Year in Geographic Area Served |
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Poverty | Getting worse |
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Crime | No change |
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Trust among different sections of the community | No change |
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Equitable distribution of resources and services | Getting worse |
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Social position of marginalized groups | No change |
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Responsiveness of authorities | No change |
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Appropriateness of public policies | Getting better |
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Value of community assets | Getting better |
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Quality of the environment | Getting better |
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Number of people and organizations working to change and improve their community | Getting better |
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Levels of innovation and risk taking in addressing community problems | Getting much better |
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Networks and links between different parts of the community | Getting much better |
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Gender equity | Getting much better |
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Charitable giving through the community foundation | No change |
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Number of people and organizations involved in philanthropic giving | No change |
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Extent to Which Organization Can Claim Tangible and Measurable Achievements in the Past Three Years |
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Poverty | A few small achievements |
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Crime | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Trust among different sections of the community | Did not answer |
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Equitable distribution of resources and services | Some important achievements |
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Social position of marginalized groups | Some important achievements |
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Responsiveness of authorities | Work in the sphere but no measurable achievement |
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Appropriateness of public policies | A few small achievements |
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Value of community assets | Some important achievements |
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Quality of the environment | A few small achievements |
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Number of people and organizations working to change and improve their community | Some important achievements |
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Levels of innovation and risk taking in addressing community problems | Some important achievements |
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Networks and links between different parts of the community | Some important achievements |
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Gender equity | A few small achievements |
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Charitable giving through the community foundation | A few small achievements |
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Number of people and organizations involved in philanthropic giving | A few small achievements |
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Active Partnerships |
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Formal community associations and groups | Little |
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Informal associations of citizens | Little |
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Non-governmental organizations | Little |
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Local government | Lot |
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National government | Little |
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Universities | Little |
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Schools | Little |
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Businesses | Little |
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Other Institutions Helpful to Our Work |
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National association of grantmakers | N/A |
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Regional association of grantmakers | N/A |
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Global Fund for Community Foundations | N/A |
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Particular foundation | N/A |
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Other organization | Helpful |
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Involvement of Local People |
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Regularly survey local people about our programs | Yes |
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Local people are engaged in the delivery of our work | Yes |
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Local people control what our organization does | Yes |
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Have local people represented on our board | Yes |
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Have regular sessions where local people advise us what our programs should do | Yes |
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Actively engage local people as volunteers | Yes |
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All of our board is composed of local people | Yes |
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Account to local people about our successes and failures each year | Yes |
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Assistance in Overcoming Main Difficulties Faced in Developing Organization Further |
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Increased funding | Very important |
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Better legal or fiscal environment | Neither important nor unimportant |
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More volunteers | Important |
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Access to advice or technical assistance | Important |
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Better local culture of giving | Important |
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Stronger civil society | Important |
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More responsive authorities | Important |
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Other | Did not answer |
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Most Meaningful Change that Organization Has Helped to Bring About in the Last Three Years | Rural Nova Scotia is part of a global trend where a declining population results in declining services. Rural communities differ from each other in so many ways that there is no single, sure-fire way to reverse this trend. It has to be addressed from the perspective of residents who know their community and who can determine how to deal with the issues they face. That is why our foundation identified “Leadership Development” and “Innovation” as the two points of emphasis for its granting strategy. Projects funded by the foundation respect the variety of development outcomes proposed by applicant communities. Our emphasis is simply to require that each project attend to leadership development and innovation as it is being carried out. See our Community Stories page: http://www.ruralcommunitiesfdn.ca/?page_id=251. |
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