There is a quiet tension running through the nonprofit sector right now.
Organizations are being asked to do more than ever before, respond to growing, increasingly complex needs, and achieve greater impact, often with the same or even fewer resources. The gap between what is needed and how that work is funded is becoming harder to ignore.
For many organizations, the question is shifting to How do we build organizations that can sustain this work over time?
Starting from a Different Question
This spring, four Bow Valley organizations are stepping into that question together through the Thriving Non-Profits program, delivered by Scale Collaborative and supported provincially across Alberta foundations by Calgary Foundation.
The program does not begin with fundraising tactics or grant strategies. Instead, it starts with something deeper.
It asks organizations to look at their values, their strengths, and the role they play in their communities, and from there, explore what a more sustainable, diversified revenue model could look like. Not as an add-on, but as part of how the organization is designed to work.
For some, that might mean introducing new revenue streams. For others, it could mean reshaping programs, identifying underutilized assets, or exploring social enterprise opportunities. The intention is not to move away from traditional funding, but to expand the range of options available to organizations trying to meet growing demand.
This kind of work asks a lot. It requires time, reflection, and a willingness to question assumptions about how things have always been done. That is why this pilot cohort was selected based on readiness. Each participating organization demonstrated not only a clear understanding of their current revenue situation but also the capacity and openness to engage in this kind of exploration in a meaningful way.
A Cohort Rooted in Readiness
The Bow Valley Pilot cohort includes:
- Banff Pride Society
- Bow Valley Food Alliance
- Frankie D’s Donuts
- Canmore & Area Mountain Bike Association CAMBA
Together, they reflect the region's diversity, spanning social services, food systems, social enterprise, and recreation, and each brings a different perspective on what sustainability and impact can look like in practice.
While it is early days for this province-wide initiative, it reflects a much broader shift taking shape across the sector. More organizations are moving beyond a singular reliance on grants or donations and exploring models that blend mission and revenue more intentionally. At Banff Canmore Foundation, we are responding to this shift by focusing more resources on supporting social enterprise, impact investing, and innovation. While we stretch beyond grantmaking to building sector capacity in other ways, we are grateful for the support of visionary partners, including the Calgary Foundation, the Margaret and Andrew Stephens Family Foundation, the Pauw Foundation, and others. The Thriving Non-Profits cohort is a sign that this approach is taking root locally.
Part of a Larger Shift
The program begins in April, with organizations joining a provincial cohort and engaging in a shared learning process with peers from across Alberta. What emerges from this work will not be a single model or a one-size-fits-all solution, but rather a set of ideas, experiments, and pathways shaped by each organization’s context and community.
The participation of Bow Valley organizations in this Thriving Non-Profits program cohort has been made possible by the Margaret and Andrew Stephens Family Foundation. This support enables BCF to build and deliver programs and support for social entrepreneurs and initiatives with the potential to generate a blend of community benefit and financial return.
Over time, those learnings have the potential to influence how we think about community-sector sustainability more broadly in the Bow Valley. Not as a question of doing more with less, but as an opportunity to build differently, in ways that better align impact, resources, and long-term resilience.
The Margaret and Andrew Stephens Family Foundation, is BCF’s lead partner in supporting Banff Canmore Foundation to expand capacity-building support for social enterprises across the Bow Valley.
