We all benefit from decent work.. As employees, we excel in fair working conditions. As employers, we attract and retain high-calibre staff by offering good jobs. And as nonprofits, we achieve our mission to contribute to thriving communities while leading the way to a stronger, more resilient sector.
Through adopting decent work practices, your organization will be better able to meet your mission and contribute to thriving communities. And in doing so, you help build a stronger, more resilient nonprofit sector.
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What is decent work?
Decent work means more than fair wages and benefits. It reflects a cultural shift that builds on the values that drive your work in your community. Decent workplaces are fair, stable and productive workplaces. Decent work means building a culture of equity and inclusion at work, and ensuring everyone’s voices are valued and heard. Decent work means acknowledging the highly gendered nature of the nonprofit sector’s workforce – and developing solutions that address women’s particular interests and concerns.
Decent work movement
Harnessing the power of the nonprofit sector for the good of its workers
Early on at ONN, we asked a simple but powerful question: how do we make decent work a reality for the nonprofit sector?
Decent work isn’t only about pay. It’s about changing workplace cultures, addressing systemic inequities, and building a sector that values its people as much as its mission.
From those early conversations to a province-wide movement, for more than 10 years we’ve been working alongside you – nonprofits, leaders, and workers – to make that vision real. Together, we’ve spent more than a decade championing fairness, equity, and stability for the nearly 850,000 people who power Ontario’s nonprofits.
As we recognize the official 10 year anniversary of the launch of our decent work movement building, we are looking back at how far we’ve come – and where we’re going next.
*Hint: There’s more work to do.
Timeline of the decent work movement
We can’t do it without you.
Sign the Decent Work Charter. Share your decent work story on social media, tag ONN, and use the hashtag #DecentWork. Check out and share our resources focused on decent work and the nonprofit labour force.
- Pathways to Decent Work
- The Nonprofit HR Crisis
- Three ways to use Decent Work as a tool for advancing racial justice
- Labour force initiatives to adapt to the future of work
- Decent Work for Women
- Leading our future – Reimagining leadership in Ontario’s nonprofit sector
Keep the movement going – because when nonprofit workers thrive, our communities thrive.
Recognizing vital investment in decent work
In a world of competing priorities, The Atkinson Foundation believes people come first.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to the Atkinson Foundation for their generous, decade-long, support of the Ontario Nonprofit Network’s Decent Work campaign.
Their commitment helps ensure that nonprofit workers across Ontario have access to fair, equitable, and meaningful employment. Only with their support can we continue advocating for decent work for all and to make workplaces stronger, more inclusive, and more sustainable.
The Atkinson Foundation supports organizations and networks that amplify workers’ voices. They’re building movements strong enough to change the headlines – from stories about the problem of poverty and an unjust society to the solution of decent work and a fair economy.
Learn more about Atkinson’s pivotal work today.
ONN is also grateful to the Department of Women and Gender Equality Canada and the Government of Canada’s Community Services Recovery Fund for supporting decent work and labour force projects.
