ACT's Strategic Plan 1996 - 1998
Please Note: this Strategic Plan expired at the end of March 1998.
ACT's current Strategic Plan can be found here.
Mission
The AIDS Committee of Toronto (ACT), a community-based, non-profit organization, provides health promotion, support, education and advocacy for people living with HIV/AIDS and those affected by HIV/AIDS.
Through support, ACT serves the needs of men and women living with HIV/AIDS, in a manner that enhances independence and dignity. We recognize:
~ the diverse and changing needs of people living with HIV/AIDS
~ the diverse communities affected by HIV/AIDS
~ the importance of providing relevant and responsive services in partnership with other service providers.
Through education, building on a health promotion model for those both infected and affected by HIV/AIDS:
~ we promote the health, well-being and quality of life of all people living with HIV/AIDS
~ consistent with our historic role, we remain committed to addressing the unique health promotion needs of the lesbian and gay community.
Through advocacy, ACT helps individuals and communities meet their needs at the level of practical assistance, specific programmes and broader public policy and support.
Values
The AIDS Committee of Toronto strives to develop and deliver services which are:
~ client-centred and responsive
~ timely and relevant to the needs of clients
~ caring and non-judgemental.
We promote respect and independence for persons living with HIV and AIDS, and apply this principle to the design and delivery of all our programmes and services.
ACT values and affirms the right to informed individual choices about health care, sexuality and reproduction.
We are committed to fighting the spread of HIV/AIDS through innovative prevention and education programmes.
ACT values its origins in the gay and lesbian community and is committed to continuing to serve the needs of gay men and lesbians affected by HIV and AIDS.
We are committed to involving volunteers in all of ACT’s direction setting, decision making and service delivery. ACT recognizes that without the skill, generosity and commitment of our volunteers, it would be impossible to maintain either the range or quality of our services.
ACT plays a leadership role in the fight against AIDS in the Toronto region. We work cooperatively with other agencies, sharing experience and resources, to ensure that needs are addressed in appropriate, sensitive and efficient ways.
Strategic Planning Background - Process
Top of Page
The current strategic planning initiative got underway in the fall of 1994, when a consultant was hired to design and lead the process. After a large Board/staff meeting, internal and external consultations were held to discuss specific programme and service areas: HIV Health Promotion, Counselling, Support Groups, Buddy and Practical Assistance, Library/Resource Distribution Services, Hotline, Chronic/Palliative Care, Volunteer Services, Education, Fundraising. His report, delivered in June, 1995, articulated a new Mission and Values statement, but failed to provide a clear strategic direction.
In October, the Board of Directors asked Charles Roy, then Director of Services, to deliver a completed draft strategic plan by November 23. A strategic planning committee was formed, comprising Charles, Board Treasurer Rob Neil, Board Chair Ron Rosenes, assisted by a volunteer consultant, Roy Cain, with technical support from Director of Finance and Administration Pieter Huisman, and Communications and Training Officer John Russell, who wrote all drafts and this final document.
The recommendations in the resulting draft strategic plan were based on the notes from the first set of internal and community consultations, and another series undertaken between Oct. 27 and November 18, 1995. (A complete list of consultations follows.)
Information was also incorporated from a 1994-95 consultation process that focused on women and AIDS programming at ACT. The results of this process were documented in a very helpful report prepared by Deborah Leach and Linda Reid entitled: Final Report on Future Directions for ACT’s Women and AIDS Programme. A Board of Directors commitment to including women in ACT’s vision and programming was affirmed at its meeting May 18, 1995.
The draft strategic plan was circulated among management, Board and bargaining unit staff. The comments and suggestions resulting from their various meetings were discussed at two, half-day, strategic planning sessions attended by ACT’s management, Board, and bargaining unit representatives, from which this document is written.
Consultations
Internal Consultations
Management, Board, bargaining unit representatives (X4)
Board committee members
External Consultations
Health Canada, Care and Treatment
Metro Community Grants Programme
CIBC (our bank)
AIDS Bureau - Ontario Ministry of Health
Health Canada - Regional ACAP
City of Toronto
Toronto PWA Foundation
Major Events Steering Committee Chairs and Vice-chairs
Ernst and Young (our auditor)
United Way
Canadian Centre for Philanthropy
In addition, ACT staff, volunteers and Board members, and representatives of various AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) and service providers participated in facilitated consultation sessions which focused on each of the following service areas: HIV Health Promotion, Counselling, Support Groups, Buddy and Practical Assistance, Library/Resource Distribution Services, Hotline, Chronic/Palliative Care, Volunteer Services, Education, Fundraising.
Documents
Community-based AIDS Services in the Canadian Context, Roy Cain PhD. 1995
A Review of the AIDSupport Services of the AIDS Committee of Toronto, ARA Consulting Group 1994
AIDSupport Review: Results, Recommendations and Action Plan 1994
Hooking Up to Social Services: A Report on the Barriers People Living with HIV/AIDS Face Accessing Social Services, Eric MyKhalovsky and George Smith 1993
Health Promotion Perspectives and Directives from AIDS Service Organizations, Darien Taylor and Julia Martin 1995
Final Report on Future Directions for ACT’s Women and AIDS Programme, Deborah Leach and Linda Reid 1995
AIDSIDA Consensus: Forum on HIV/AIDS Prevention Education
A Call for Change: Rethinking HIV Prevention Education Approaches in Toronto’s Gay Community, John Maxwell 1994
Towards Building Private Sector Partnerships: A Discussion Paper
Concept Paper: Round-table on the Involvement of the Private Sector in HIV/AIDS
ACT Restructuring - Notes, Rick Bebout
various strategic plans from other ASOs and service providers, health care organizations
Any useful strategic plan is based on a thorough and realistic evaluation of the external and internal environments in which the agency operates. The consultation process detailed above is summarized in the following...
External Threats
The most palpable threat to ACT and other ASOs is diminished funding.
There is cause for optimism, in the short term at least, that ACT's current levels of funding from Metro, the Province and the federal government will be maintained. However, the National AIDS Strategy is drawing to a close, with no plans as yet to replace it with a mechanism that guarantees continued federal funding; we don't know the effect of cuts to Federal transfer payments; the Province continues to pursue devastating cutbacks to social programmes; a reorganization of government structures in the Greater Toronto Area may eliminate our current funding from Metro Toronto; the City of Toronto has indicated that it is very vulnerable to provincial cuts. Decreased government funding seems inevitable.
It is clear that some agencies without ACT's fund raising capabilities will not survive the loss of all or some of their government funding. (Those funded by the Ministry of Community and Social Services are particularly vulnerable.)
And yet, private funding sources are also beginning to show signs of strain. We are seeing the phenomenon of "donor fatigue", as donors get more and more requests, not just from us, but from the many other AIDS organizations and other charities that face similarly threatened government funding and increasing demand on services.
The proliferation of ASOs in recent years also means we face more competition for volunteer time and energy.
It's also becoming increasingly difficult to attract new donors, (and volunteers). First, AIDS is getting less and less attention in the media -- "issue fatigue". Second, these are difficult economic times for all Canadians; there is less disposable income available for charitable donations. And finally, there is a new, disturbing "mean-spiritedness" abroad, fuelled in part by the rise of religious fundamentalists of all stripes, and conservative politics generally. This climate encourages the perception of a person's HIV (or economic or social) status as his or her own fault or responsibility, and not deserving of government or private aid.
Closer to home, ACT is still battling our community's perceptions of ACT's problems, and concerns about how we spend its money.
External Opportunities
ACT has worked very hard to address other agencies' concerns about our services, and what has been spoken of as our "attitude" as the largest ASO in Canada. These efforts have fostered a new climate of collaboration and co-operation that we can build on. This greater willingness to work in partnership will be intensified as that approach is recognized by more and more threatened agencies, (including us), as the key, not just to survival, but to better and more effective service delivery.
Moreover, the Province has said that it will not be funding new groups. New needs can only be met by sharing and strengthening existing resources.
This desirable necessity of partnership, combined with the bleak funding picture (and our current financial difficulty) has also forced the issue for us: ACT must finally articulate a clearer focus and sense of identity if it is to be a viable player in what may be a very different AIDS service environment.
The current cloudy political climate may have a silver lining: it may draw formerly disparate groups and communities together in the desire to mobilize for change.
Internal Strengths
ACT's chief strength is our team of committed and expert staff and volunteers, whose experience, born of our history as the largest and one of the oldest ASOs in Canada, is known and respected in Toronto and across the country.
We are also one of the few ASOs with a mandate to provide a broad spectrum of services to both the infected and affected. We are able to draw on many resources to help us in that work -- from the wealth of information in our Library and Access Centre, to our large pool of trained volunteers, to our valuable connections to other ASOs and to our communities. Our work is supported by a fund raising department that has built very positive relationships with funders and the largest base of individual support of any ASO in Canada.
These strengths, along with a renewed openness to change and collaboration, leave us well-placed to achieve excellence in the areas that comprise our mission: education, support and advocacy.
Internal Weaknesses
ACT's difficulty in carrying out informed strategic and tactical planning, coupled with a lack of adequate financial policies and procedures, has resulted in our most pressing current problem -- a deficit that threatens our existence. Our financial difficulties are worsened by funding cuts and high overhead costs. This diminished ability to support our work is all the more worrying given that most of our broad range of services are unique -- if we can't provide them, there is no where else to turn. Not to mention anticipated increased demand, should other ASOs cut back or disappear, and as the number of people living with HIV or AIDS increases.
This uncertainty about ACT's future has exacerbated long-standing staff and volunteer morale problems, resulting in part from a sense of not being valued or recognized, from working in isolation and from unresolved personnel policy concerns.
Development of internal policies in general has not kept pace with the agency's growth and complexity, especially with regard to controls, project management and communications.
Relationships of all kinds need to be fostered with more care -- internally, between staff and Board, volunteers, management, between departments and among staff members; externally, between ACT and funders, other ASOs and the communities we serve. Some of these relationships have soured, in part, due to our failure effectively to manage public perception of the agency's struggles and its work.
Part of the latter problem is the very nature of our work. It is far easier to market -- whether to funders, donors or potential service users -- "direct, practical support to people living with HIV and AIDS", as one of our sister agencies puts it. Our services are just as important, but most are less tangible, and broader-based.
Structural weaknesses hamper the Board's effectiveness: it is too small to sustain the amount of work required of it, and there is no process in place to recruit, (from our under-used membership), to address deficits in skill and diversity.
It is clear from this analysis that money is our biggest problem, in both the short and long term. We are working very hard to take advantage of our opportunities and build on our strengths, in order to address the circumstances that threaten us from the outside, and the problems we face internally.
Yet there is no question that we stand at a crossroads. Change is inevitable; progress is the option. We must find new ways to make sure that the changing needs of people affected by or living with HIV or AIDS are met. This imperative, coupled with our current situation -- a tough economic climate, our deficit, threats to the existence of other organizations, increased demands on services, an openness to collaboration and partnership within the AIDS movement -- point to three major strategic priorities:
1. ACT is committed to building and strengthening partnerships with other AIDS Service Organizations and service providers. We are open to exploring and implementing innovative, service-enhancing and cost-effective relationships, of various kinds and degrees, that will allow us to continue to deliver services in accordance with our Mission and Values -- for example: service delivery partnerships, sharing core services, mergers, or the creation of new organizational models.
To this end, one of our first tasks will be to enter into discussion with the Toronto PWA Foundation to explore closer working partnerships.
We make this commitment as a result of a thoughtful and realistic assessment of our responsibilities -- and of our capabilities.
In our Mission Statement, we acknowledge our responsibility to provide service to all people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.
But that group, the infected and affected, has changed. In ACT’s early days, it meant almost exclusively white, gay men; our services grew from their needs, and were designed to be sensitive to their particular culture and concerns. Now, we recognize AIDS affects a much broader spectrum of the population, comprising a number of different ethnic, racial, sexual, gender, religious and cultural communities.
It is obvious that we cannot provide the same quantity or quality of service to all those people. Nor do we need to; as the face of AIDS has changed, so has the response. Toronto now has many agencies providing targeted services to specific communities.
At the same time, we mustn’t forget that the era that saw this proliferation of service organizations is over. The provincial government has said that it will not be funding any more groups. New needs must be met in new ways.
So where does ACT fit? In this environment, how do we continue to live up to our responsibility to provide service to all people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS?
The answer is clear: through more and stronger partnerships with other AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) and service providers. Recognizing that if we can’t always provide direct service, we must work with others to ensure that someone can.
The first step in that process is to clarify who it is we are able to serve, and to what level, to guide us in setting priorities in building and strengthening our partnerships.
To that end, we have identified four kinds and degrees of service delivery at ACT, and the communities we are committed to serving through each. All of them involve addressing the needs of both the affected and PHAs.
These categories are not listed in order of priority, nor are they meant to be exclusive -- people do not fall neatly into a single category, and we remain committed to trying to meet the needs of every person who chooses to come to ACT for service.
Information provision, and assessment and referral for all people infected with or affected by HIV and AIDS.
We are committed to connecting all people and organizations who come to ACT with the resources they need, either here, or at other organizations, and to making this service better known and more accessible.
Direct service to individuals within specific communities. These are people to whom ACT can offer a broad range of culturally sensitive services, and who will remain our top priority.
We are committed to providing PHAs, gay men, lesbians and men who have sex with men with comprehensive and varied services that are prompt, responsive, client-focused, consistently good and easy to access.
Direct service to specific communities. ACT has a role to play in providing service to these communities, but to varying degrees and in different ways. For example, we are committed to integrating the needs of women-at-risk as a priority; programming works to integrate needs of HIV+ women without duplicating the services of Voices of Positive Women. We provide support to a different degree to members of the S/M community through the Safer S/M Education Project. In this project, they are the decision makers regarding the project's content and direction, and deliver most of the programming themselves.
We are committed to providing appropriate support to the Deaf community, S/M community, sexual minorities, vulnerable youth and women-at-risk.
Collaboration with other ASOs and service providers. Here, other agencies clearly take the lead in offering services to specific communities, with ACT working with the staff of those agencies, rather than providing direct service to individuals in those communities.
We are committed to providing appropriate support to ASOs and other service providers.
Our goal is to improve each of these levels of service by sharing and strengthening existing resources, both here and at other agencies, through innovative, service-enhancing and cost- effective partnerships.
2. ACT is committed to broadening existing, and creating new, services to address the needs of HIV-negative individuals and those who do not know their HIV status.
ACT’s response to AIDS, like that of most AIDS Service Organizations, has gone through two distinct eras, and is entering a third.
During the early to mid-1980's, our work focussed on people who were dying of AIDS-related illnesses, (since there was no test for HIV, there were no individuals who knew they were infected, but in good health), and safer sex messages to the gay community.
As soon as the virus was discovered, a test for it developed, and treatment strategies began to emerge, that initial response became inadequate. A whole new, and much larger, group of people discovered that they had this life-threatening illness, but at the moment were healthy; people who had AIDS were beginning to be able to manage their condition, and lead longer, better quality lives. In response to this increasingly well organized and empowered PHA (People living with HIV or AIDS) community, ACT expanded its programming to make services available that better addressed their needs.
It was that moment, when it became possible to see the world as divided into HIV+ and HIV-, that set the stage for the third era ACT is entering now. Fifteen years of the epidemic have taken their toll -- literally, on the legions of men and women we have lost, and those who are currently living with HIV/AIDS, but also on those who are HIV- and those whose status is unknown -- especially those living in the midst of devastated communities, such as the gay and lesbian community. There is an emerging consciousness of the emotional and psychological impact AIDS has had on their ability to stay uninfected, and to maintain their emotional, spiritual and mental health, as they struggle with still dimly understood issues of grief, guilt, anger, anxiety and sexuality, among others.
As our understanding of these issues develops, so must an effective response, if we are to live up to the commitment in our mission statement to provide real, meaningful support -- not just to the infected, but also to those affected by HIV and AIDS.
At present, there are only three ACT staff whose jobs primarily address the needs of the uninfected/status unknown. Given our limited resources, it is unlikely that we will be able to add to their numbers soon. (Our counsellors do see some people about these issues, though few, as we do not advertise this service.)
So the best option available to us, along with the new and innovative partnerships mentioned above, is to open up our existing services to address the concerns of HIV- and status unknown individuals from profoundly affected communities -- specifically, counselling, support groups, the library, and health promotion activities. Doing this will substantially increase our capacity to serve this population, and make the best use of our current resources, while not directing our attention away from those living with HIV or AIDS; there will certainly be no diminution of services to that group.
Any initiative of this kind, however, inevitably raises the fear of competing interests within AIDS Service Organizations: HIV-positive vs. HIV-negative. But the goal of raising awareness of the fact that we are all living with HIV/AIDS is not to divide, but to unite. A clear understanding of our common ground -- that, infected or not, this virus is profoundly affecting our ability to maintain our health -- can only help to build our sense of community, and foster mutual support, understanding and solidarity.
It took ACT too long to respond to the needs of people living with HIV; we cannot afford to make that mistake again. This strategic priority ensures that we will be positioned to anticipate this new set of needs, rather than scramble to react to them, so that we can be ready with accessible, appropriate programmes and services.
3. To help secure fiscally viable partnerships, ACT will ensure that development, financial management and other systems, policies and strategies are in place that secure our ongoing ability to deliver quality services.
Before we can enter into partnerships to ensure and enhance our ability to provide quality services, we must make sure we are building on a solid foundation.
For a variety of reasons -- among them, ACT's rapid growth, and the urgency that has made service provision our top priority -- we have fallen behind in developing policies and procedures adequate to the task of sustaining an agency of our present size and complexity.
But now, the current economic and political climate has slowed our growth; we have programmes, volunteers (whose 31,000 unpaid hours of work represent the equivalent of 16 full- time staff members, and $672,000 in salary) and staff in place that allow us to respond to service demand better than ever before. So we have a breathing space in which to make sure the quality of our operating systems matches the quality of our services, and that we have the financial resources to continue our work.
The first step will be a thorough review of policies and procedures in every aspect of the organization, from personnel and finances to our relationships with clients and volunteers. The Executive Director will ensure that these are written, revised and collected in a comprehensive policy/procedure manual by March 31, 1998.
Of course, the best systems are useless without the money needed to sustain the organization. Given the current economic outlook, it is clear that we must be prepared to raise more of those funds in the future.
Funding from the federal, provincial, metropolitan and city governments looks relatively stable for 1996-97. But in 1997, we will need to re-apply for the grants we receive from Ottawa; the province is expected to cut funding to the AIDS community grant programme, and Metro and the City of Toronto will need to pass on more of the provincial cuts they are taking this year and next. The National AIDS Strategy ends on March 31, 1998, with no renewal in sight.
At the same time government support is likely to diminish, we may have to incur additional expenses. For example, our partnership with the Red Cross, which has provided us with a leased vehicle for our Drives programme, will be over in 1997. The need for this service is such that if the partnership is not renewed, we would have to take over the lease ourselves.
Obviously, we must prepare for these contingencies. So we'll continue to strengthen our Development department, with the goal of increasing our fundraising in the private sector by 20 per cent in both 1997-98, and 1998-99. By December, 1996, the Director of Development, working with the Board's Marketing and Development Committee, will prepare a plan to achieve that goal by making the most of our current strengths and pursuing new initiatives.
But raising more money is only part of the strategy to ensure a solid financial base; we must also work to reduce our costs.
Our top priority will be to decrease our fixed overhead. Here again, partnership, which is the theme running through this entire document, may be our best option. The Executive Director will consult within ACT and with other agencies, and, if appropriate, present a plan to share infrastructure by April 1, 1997.
To ensure that these, and the rest of the priorities and goals in this document, remain relevant and focussed, this strategic planning process will be supported by "Scan and Plan" Board and management systems that integrate regular, on-going planning. The Board will continue to provide clear strategic direction by annually revisiting the strategic plan, so that we will always be looking three years down the road. At the staff level, a renewed commitment to a consistent, collaborative, annual work-planning process that also looks three years ahead, coupled with ACT's new inter-departmental team structure, will translate those strategic directions into effective, responsive and forward-looking service delivery.
Year 1 - to March 31, 1996
- a budget that effectively manages expenses and revenues
- deficit reduced to $148,000 (actual reduction -- to $89,000)
- structural reorganization underway
- 3-year strategic plan in process
- consultations completed
- draft of final document to be written, circulated by end of April, 1996
- new Executive Director hired
- management systems in place that integrate regular, on-going planning (Scan and Plan)
- develop a contingency plan in preparation for unforseen financial situations
- Board reorganization begun: recruitment process; structure; size; PHA representation
Year 2 - to March 31, 1997
- deficit eliminated
- Director of Development hired
- strategic planning, work plans and budgeting fully integrated
- work plans for 1996-97 completed and approved by June 1
- structural reorganization completed
- comprehensive review of all ACT policies and procedures underway
- Development plan to achieve 20 per cent private sector fundraising increases in each of next two fiscal years completed by December 31
- internal and external consultations on infrastructure sharing underway
- our strategic directions clearly communicated to our stakeholders (staff, Board, members, clients, volunteers, target communities, other ASOs service providers, funders etc.)
- on-going partnerships discussions/negotiations
- plan for Board reorganization completed by 1996 Annual General Meeting (Sept.)
- revisit strategic plan (Scan and Plan - annual renewal)
Year 3 - to March 31, 1998
- min. $100,000 surplus established
- infrastructure-sharing plan completed by April 1, 1997
- policy/procedure manual completed by March 31, 1998
- revisit strategic plan (annual renewal)
