Cambridge’s social planning council is closing

Mayor laments loss of valuable resource, says it will have huge impact on city

Cambridge Mayor Kathryn McGarry says there will be “a hole that won’t be filled by any other entity” after the Social Planning Council of Cambridge and North Dumfries ceases operations on April 30.

Seeing funding sources “dry up” in the last two to three years, the 30-year-old nonprofit organization decided it wasn’t sustainable to keep the organization running, said executive director Linda Terry.

McGarry said the planning council was a valuable resource not only for the city, but also for the region for information on trends in social issues. She said the organization had the respect of agencies looking for information on where to direct funds that would most help people.

“Last year, they were dangling on a shoestring and at some point you knew there was going to be a straw to break the camel’s back,” McGarry said.

The mayor said the city will feel the impact from the closure as the planning council “blew alarm whistles” on issues before they got out of control, so agencies could get out in front of them and try and contain them.

“This will be a bigger hole than most people realize.”

Terry, who has held her position since October 2003, said moving to shut down the agency “was not an overnight decision.”

Three years ago, the situation was different. At that time, if a funding grant fell through, there would be another option. But things have changed.

“A year-and-a-half ago, we realized that would not happen,” she said, referring to the possibility of finding alternate funding.

Already seeing grants from the United Way slowly whittle down to nothing and a regional grant pulled, the City of Cambridge was one of the few avenues the planning council had regularly counted on for some funding.

Terry said she believed the city was going to slash funding to the social council by $30,000. Knowing that and the fact the end for the agency was likely near, the organization didn’t apply for budget support this year. Last year, the city gave it $142,000, up from $109,100 in 2018.

Terry added that provincial funding has been hard to come by. With more agencies seeking grants from the Ontario government due to deep cuts among other social planning councils, there is only so much money to go around.

Another issue facing the organization is the perception its work is “intermediary” instead of “front line.” However, Terry said that the organization’s Community Trends report has become a main guideline for various agencies, as its community census tapped into where resources should be directed to help the disadvantaged in the city.

She said the council was the “backbone” behind several programs, citing Solutions to Poverty, focusing on seniors, as an example. At a grassroots level, the organization helped seniors file for disability and tax credits they didn’t know existed, helped them learn how to navigate public transportation and apply for housing supports.

“Eventually, when the funding is not there, it’s hard to maintain that work,” Terry said.

She also cited the council’s role with the supportive housing program, working on waiving development fees for affordable housing projects.

Terry said the organization was working weekly to find funding streams. Most, she said, would last just one year.

“Myself, and the board, figured it would be better to go out on a high note instead a low note,” she said.

“At the end of the day, this was the right thing to do.”

The council will hold a free celebration of 30 years of service on Feb. 27, from 5 to 7 p.m. at city hall.

Terry said the closing will result in a gap between agencies and the people the council is trying to help, but it isn’t closing until the spring.

“We still have a lot of work to accomplish,” she said.