Opportunities of the Federation Structure

• Creates sense of ownership by members
• Creates the critical mass necessary for success
• The structure is easily understood by the donor
• It is perceived by the donor as more credible and accountable than a less formal structure
• The structure permits payroll deduction and workplace giving
• In addition to payroll deduction, it allows for all types of fundraising techniques including: major gifts, direct mail, special events, corporate, foundation giving, and profit-making ventures
• A federation often secures support (volunteer and financial) from people in the community
• Community leaders tend to see it as a more credible structure
• There are criteria and standards for membership which ensure credible groups become members and protect donors' interests
• A membership base and their constituents can expand the structure's immediate market and support base

Challenges of the Federation Structure

• Requires substantial time and effort for development and obtaining charitable status
• A large membership-based federation does not provide for a personal intimate relationship with a donor in the same way a single agency does
• A membership structure can cause conflict of interest issues and in-fighting
• A federation creates another organizational layer and bureaucracy
• The federation structure may not be able to take into account regional disparities
• Organizations that become members must be well-organized and able to meet their membership obligations both from a time and resource contribution perspective

National equality-seeking women's groups should develop a federation with the primary purpose of launching a workplace giving campaign.

• Women's groups should seek the advice of their Canadian and U.S. counterparts regarding the establishment of a federation structure and in developing workplace access strategies.
• Women's groups should actively seek the advice of their Canadian and U.S. counterparts in the development of structures, strategies, and policies and in reaching agreement with local and provincial groups

Among the key benefits of the federation structure is that:

A profit-making venture can be housed within a federation and can take the form of either a registered business, a co-operative or simply one of the activities of the federation.

The profit-making venture offers great flexibility in terms of structure. The main issues to consider in choosing a structure to support the business arm of a federation are: taxation policy, disbursement of revenues (are there profits to individuals involved), and decision-making. The organizations consulted for this Project operate profit-making businesses under a variety of structures, but none are directly analogous to the type of collaborative initiative foreseen for national women's groups.

Women's groups should conduct further research to develop a structure for the purposes of carrying-out sales of a product or service to produce revenue for member groups. This structure should be compatible with the umbrella structure of a federation.

• Women's groups should pay particular attention to the tax implications of registering or not registering as a business.
• The responsibility for developing a profit-making venture can be assigned to a working committee of the federation which has access to expertise in business development ventures

Case Studies for each of three structures discussed in this Executive Summary are included as Appendices N, O, and P to the full Report.

Chrow

Gibson

Omidvar