The capacity challenges of nonprofit, community-based organizations

This mixed method case study explored the capacity challenges of neighbourhood based community centres related to the areas of governance and leadership, program delivery, financial management and human resources. The study involved the examination of three community centres with multi-mandates (i.e., provide programs and services to individuals from pre-school to seniors in the areas of social, educational, recreational and health) and utilized three phases of data collection: 1) surveys with board members; 2) focus groups with all boards and staff; and 3) document review which examined pertinent organizational policies and procedures. Questions were aimed at gaining an understanding of some of the challenges faced by staff and administrators of neighbourhood based community centres, as there a gap in the research in this particular area. Research findings identified a number of related challenges facing non-profit organizations specifically in the areas of funding and staffing and how these challenges impact both day to day operations and longer term sustainability. More research is needed with nonprofit organizations that have these broader mandates and diverse operational challenges, hence greater capacity building challenges.

When petro-capitalism comes knocking: community interpretations and responses to the Gros Morne fracking controversy

With the depletion of conventional oil and gas sources, the world is turning to what Urry terms “tough oil,” such as oil from the Alberta oil sands and Arctic. Fracking is a prominent example of this. Situated within an environmental justice framework, I analyze community interpretations and responses to proposed fracking development near Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland, Canada. Based on data generated from interviews, field observations and content analysis of texts, my findings suggest that how residents view rural place is highly significant in influencing supportive or oppositional positions on fracking. Proponents picture place as a resource extraction landscape, whereas opponents understand place as a restorative landscape for leisure/tourism activities. Through debates about fracking, place is contested and re-imagined. In many ways, fracking is a struggle over who has the power to define the meanings and characteristics of rural community in an era of tough oil and significant rural change.