A pressing issue for many community sport organizations is the ongoing challenge of securing sustainable funding. Funding is crucial for maintaining and expanding programs, purchasing necessary equipment, maintaining facilities, and supporting staff and volunteers.
Beginning in 2023, the Ottawa Sport Council is changing the way we deliver grants from the Ottawa Sport Council Foundation. We believe that it is important to create dedicated spaces for equity deserving groups. To that end, each year the Ottawa Sport Council Foundation will focus on serving a different equity-deserving group.
In your sport organization, the Board of Directors holds fiduciary responsibilities, ensures good governance, and guides the organization’s strategic direction. These volunteers maintain a critical role in the overall success of your organization. There are many types of Boards of Directors. Two of the most common found in community sport are working boards and policy boards.
The Ottawa Sport Council (OSC) is seeking skilled and enthusiastic individuals with a passion for community sport to join our volunteer Board of Directors. Recognized by the City of Ottawa as the leading voice for amateur sport across the city, the Ottawa Sport Council serves 300,000+ sport participants from more than 750 community sport organizations.
Do you know the impacts that children and adolescents with disabilities face because of lack of access to quality sport programming? These impacts can include basic physical literacy, sedentary behaviours, sleep, social engagement, and more. Without access to quality sport experiences, individuals with a disability experience lifelong negative impacts.
Did you know that hosting a major sport event has multiple benefits for community sport organizations? Community sport organizations can work with key partners throughout the city as the host organizing committee to bring a major event in their sport to Ottawa. By working with key partners throughout the city, such organizations can raise their profile, improve local infrastructure, and more.
n 2023, the Ottawa Sport Council is celebrating its 10th anniversary! First and foremost, we’d like to thank community sport participants and our partners for collaborating with us to create positive experiences in sport and reduce barriers to participation. The Ottawa Sport Council is recognized by the City of Ottawa as the leading voice for amateur sport across the city. OSC serves 300,000+ sport participants from more than 750 community sport organizations.
As we begin a new year, community sport organizations may choose to launch a new strategic plan, or perhaps to revisit last year’s plan. According to BDC, strategic planning defines who you are as an organization and lists concrete actions to achieve your goals (see more here). This kind of planning activity can help to unify your team and provide a shared vision for decision makers.
We began 2022 with the looming uncertainty of what was to come as we approached the 2-year mark of the COVID-19 pandemic, but as the year has gone on, we’re happy to have reclaimed some sense of normalcy in community sport.
As the 2022 True Sport Report articulates, community sport is heavily reliant on volunteers from several perspectives. Volunteers in community sport include the Board of Directors, administrators, committee members, coaches, officials, and more. The Ottawa Sport Council relies on volunteerism for its Board of Directors, working committees and events on an ongoing basis. Without the support of dedicated volunteers, the Ottawa Sport Council is unable to deliver on our mandate and programming. This is the same for many community sport organizations.