Advancing Governance, Growth, and Operational Excellence – united hands canada

Advancing Governance, Growth, and Operational Excellence

April 12 , 2026 Name of Organization: United Hands Organization (UHO) Project Title: United Hands, Stronger Futures: Advancing Governance, Growth, and Operational Excellence

Objective of Project:

• The “United Hands, Stronger Futures” project aims to strengthen United Hands Organization’s capacity to serve Black communities in Edmonton with professionalism, accountability, and long-term sustainability. The project will focus on three core capacity-building areas outlined in the SBCCI guidelines

-Improving Governance: Establishing clear, transparent, and accountable governance structures through updated bylaws, a competency-based board recruitment process, board performance evaluations, succession planning, and a code of ethics.

Increasing and Diversifying Revenue: Developing a comprehensive strategic plan, business and financial models, and impact assessment frameworks to diversify funding sources, enhance financial sustainability, and reduce reliance on single-stream funding.

Increasing and Diversifying Revenue: Developing a comprehensive strategic plan, business and financial models, and impact assessment frameworks to diversify funding sources, enhance financial sustainability, and reduce reliance on single-stream funding.

Approved Value of Capital Assistance grant:

The project “United Hands, Stronger Futures”, the approved value of grant assistance is established at $20,000 for the project period from November 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026. This amount supports eligible expenditures related to governance strengthening, revenue diversification, operational management improvement, essential office equipment, and direct project administration. The approved funding value reflects the scope of activities and deliverables outlined in the application and provides a complete and balanced budget for successful project implementation.

What is the current progress on this project?

The project is currently at an advanced implementation stage, with approximately 85% of activities completed. Governance reform is the most advanced area at 90%, operational management is 80% complete, and revenue diversification is 80% complete. Most of the core planned outputs in the original application have already been delivered, including updated governance tools, strategic and financial planning documents, a redesigned website, improved bookkeeping procedures, staff and board training, and volunteer recruitment. The remaining work is mainly focused on finalizing the social enterprise feasibility study, submitting additional funding proposals, completing final review processes, and preparing the final evaluation and reporting package. Overall, the project is on track and progressing in line with its approved timeline.

Does your organization have any challenges with project implementation ?

Yes. United Hands Organization has faced some project implementation challenges, mainly limited board member availability, capacity constraints during simultaneous system upgrades, and resistance to change when introducing new financial procedures. The report notes that UHO addressed these issues through flexible meeting schedules, simplified tools, phased implementation, and targeted governance and financial literacy training, which helped maintain project progress.

Is your organization adhering to financial process/reporting/budget?

Yes. United Hands Organization is adhering to its financial processes, reporting, and budget requirements. The progress report states that expenditures to date are aligned with the approved work plan, 100% of purchases are supported by official receipts, and financial controls and tracking mechanisms are fully implemented. It also notes that 100% of financial transactions now follow the updated bookkeeping procedures, which shows strong compliance with financial management and reporting expectations.

In your opinion, is your project on track to meet the project timeline?

Yes, in the United Hands’s opinion the project is on track to meet the timeline. The progress report states that the project is already about 85% completed, with governance at 90%, revenue diversification at 80%, and operational management at 85%. It also clearly identifies the remaining final tasks and states that these steps will ensure 100% completion by March 31, 2026, which matches the original project end date.

Would you have any recommendations in relation to this project?

es. United Hands Organization would reasonably recommend continuing the project through to full completion, Yes. United Hands Organization would reasonably recommend continuing the project through to full completion, with particular focus on finalizing the social enterprise feasibility study, submitting the remaining funding proposals, with particular focus on finalizing the social enterprise feasibility study, submitting the remaining funding proposals, and completing the external review of the impact assessment framework and financial audit checklist. These are the and completing the external review of the impact assessment framework and financial audit checklist. These are the main unfinished tasks identified in the progress report and are the most important steps to strengthen long-term main unfinished tasks identified in the progress report and are the most important steps to strengthen long-term sustainability sustainability

UHO would also recommend maintaining the flexible and phased implementation approach already used to address UHO would also recommend maintaining the flexible and phased implementation approach already used to address project challenges, especially around board availability, system upgrades, and adoption of new financial procedures. project challenges, especially around board availability, system upgrades, and adoption of new financial procedures. The report shows that flexible scheduling, simplified tools, phased rollout, and targeted training helped sustain The report shows that flexible scheduling, simplified tools, phased rollout, and targeted training helped sustain momentum. momentum. A final recommendation would be to keep strengthening revenue diversification and operational systems after the

A final recommendation would be to keep strengthening revenue diversification and operational systems after the project closes, since the original project was designed to build stronger governance, stable funding streams, and project closes, since the original project was designed to build stronger governance, stable funding streams, and more effective operational management for long-term organizational sustainability.

Would you have any recommendations in relation to this project?

The report does not state formal recommendations to the SBCCI team explicitly, but based on UHO’s documented challenges and remaining activities, UHO would reasonably recommend continued technical and responsive support from SBCCI. This would include timely guidance on final reporting, support for completing the impact assessment framework review, and flexibility during implementation where board availability, system upgrades, and adoption of new financial procedures created pressure on delivery. These recommendations are consistent with the report’s note that flexible scheduling, phased rollout, and targeted training helped the project maintain momentum and that the final tasks still include the feasibility study, additional proposals, audit checklist review, and final SBCCI reporting.

United Hands is a non-profit humanitarian organisation based in Edmonton, Canada.

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