GORE BAY—Every five years LAMBAC, a community futures development corporation serving the Manitoulin and LaCloche regions, invites the communities it serves to assist in the formation of LAMBAC’s strategic plan. The organization is just over half way through the current plan and The Expositor recently checked in with executive director Michael Addison to see how things are going.
“It’s been a very busy year, so far,” noted Mr. Addison. “We have just finished another successful Manitoulin Trade Fair and we are heading into the Manitoulin Art Tour.”
The LAMBAC strategic plan was compiled after eight strategic planning sessions, explained Mr. Addison. “We did four in Espanola and four on the Island.”
There are two main streams that comprise the mandate of LAMBAC, a dichotomy that stems from its history. “LAMBAC was formed by the merger of two organizations,” he noted. One of those progenitors dealt with providing business loans to enterprises that cannot secure traditional bank financing, the other was supportive of the not-for-profit sector.
Not everything that comes out of strategic planning sessions can be spun as good news and so it was with the LAMBAC sessions. “One of the things that came out of every session dealt with government and community service clubs was the declining number of active volunteers in our communities,” he noted. “Younger people don’t seem to be volunteering at the same rates as the previous generations.”
Not the best of news, but that finding helped aim the efforts of LAMBAC at supporting and nurturing new involvement, but one of the key factors underlying recruitment of new volunteers is the general economic wellbeing of the community.
“We took a look at what we could do and came up with, number one, getting young people interested in volunteerism; and number two, getting older people to communicate better with young people,” he noted. “It is a bit of a problem, and they (older volunteers) admit it, they don’t know how to deal with younger people.”
In response, LAMBAC intends to set up workshops in both areas they serve (both LaCloche and Manitoulin regions) where they will bring in speakers who will help chart an approach to increase volunteerism and bridge those gaps in communication between the generations. The organization envisions a conference where organizations, service clubs like the Lions Club, for example, can come together as a group where they put up a table to explain what their organization is all about.
Asked personally what his own motivations are for volunteering (Mr. Addison is a volunteer fire fighter and can regularly be found flipping burgers or pancakes at local fundraising dinners and other events), Mr. Addison paused and gave an answer he said he believed would be the most common response from older volunteers: “Because if I don’t do it, who will?” It is a recognition of an obligation to the community.
On the economic side, Mr. Addison noted that “we are losing young families.” Without economic opportunities to keep young families in the region, the pool of potential volunteers will inevitably decline.
“That is one of the main reasons we are working with a Western Manitoulin group of municipalities to encourage local economic development,” he said.
Not-for-profit entities can play a significant role in building up a local economy, and LAMBAC has an important role to play in supporting that field. “One of the things we do is assist with strategic planning for municipalities and not-for-profits,” he noted.
A strategic plan, looking forward and laying out a map toward attaining a sustainable goal, is one of the key check boxes that need to be checked off when approaching funding agencies and government for funding. LAMBAC currently has two municipal strategic plans under its belt and is currently looking at a third. It may not sound like all that much, but considering the amount of detailed work and research that is involved in the creation of a credible plan, in light of the resources that LAMBAC has at its disposal, it is a significant accomplishment.
The LAMBAC to-do list consists of the aforementioned volunteerism, seniors, collaborations, tourism and natural resources, economics and arts heritage, youth and families as well as the promotion of community spirit.
In chatting about some of the projects that LAMBAC is currently involved in Mr. Addison is somewhat hampered by the need for confidentiality with the proponents. “We are working on a number of projects, looking for ways to promote seniors’ housing,” said Mr. Addison. The two LAMBAC streams can actually come together in that vein.
LAMBAC looks to promote economic development and it can utilize its role as a provider of small business loans to those seeking to build seniors housing.
On the collaboration front, LAMBAC can leverage its long history of economic involvement as an honest broker to bring various organizations together to attain a common goal. “We are a neutral third party,” said Mr. Addison. “We can work with everybody. We don’t get drawn into the political side of things.” Where there is a need, LAMBAC can help find the path to a way.
On the tourism and natural resources front, Mr. Addison cited the recent culinary tourism event hosted by LAMBAC at the new Manitoulin Hotel and Conference Centre in Little Current. Over the course of the two to three day event producers had an opportunity to showcase their operations.
When it comes to the economy, arts and heritage, Mr. Addison noted that over the last couple of years, LAMBAC helped organize the Manitoulin Art Tour, which draws people to communities and artists located all across the Island.
In youth and families the challenge comes with the unfortunate fact that the skilled population is steadily dropping. “We need to promote jobs that will attract young families to the region,” he said.
The Manitoulin Trade Fair plays an important role in helping to promote businesses on Manitoulin. “We have noted a long trend where people tend to go east, but rarely west, when shopping or looking for services,” he said. The trade fair offers a good opportunity for Islanders to learn about what is available right in their back yards and that they don’t have to go off-Island to find many of the businesses and services that they need. “For a lot of people it is a real eye-opener.” When dollars circulate around the Island, from community to community, rather than travelling off-Island, it provides a major boost to the local economy.
While the full results are not yet in on the trade fair numbers, Mr. Addison noted that anecdotal evidence from the vendors attending this year’s fair indicates that sales at the fair are way up over the last fair.
One vendor indicated that by Saturday evening, sales at this year’s fair had already exceeded those of the last one.
On the business loan end of the LAMBAC equation the organization is a true Northern powerhouse. “We have over $1 million in commercial loans to small businesses this year, last year we did $1.4 million,” he said. The organization easily holds the largest portfolio in commercial loans, and that with a loss ratio that would be the envy of any financial institution and despite being a “lender of last resort” that can only be accessed by those turned down by the banks.
While there are plenty of challenges ahead for the region, there is also a constellation of success stories out there that are just waiting to be built upon and LAMBAC is moving forward to help build those successes.
With the challenges of organizing the Manitoulin Trade Fair and the Manitoulin Art Tour over for this year, LAMBAC staff are looking forward to rolling up their sleeves and tackling some of the other projects identified in the strategic plan in its final year.
