Is any non-profit group finding it easier to raise money these days? Is any business finding it easier to decide where to put its charitable dollars? The answers to these questions is never "yes" when corporate sponsors and non-profit groups get together to discuss fundraising pressures in their communities.

The solution? Smart non-profits are collaborating to meet the challenge. This is the idea behind a series of collaborative fundraising workshops held over the past year in Alberta communities seeking creative solutions to donor burnout. Three workshops have been held so far - in Stony Plain, Fort McMurray and Camrose. Another is scheduled in Lacombe.

The workshops were organized by the communities with the assistance of Alberta Community Development. Examples of collaboration abound. In one case, a local lawyer and ocmmunity relations representative from MacDonald's told participants what they looked for in funding requests and what types of causes they were likely to support; in another, two neighbouring public libraries extended borrowing privileges to each other as a way of increasing holdings at no additional cost to taxpayers.

For more information on how to organize a collaborative fundraising workshop in your community, contact Gene Roach, Alberta Community Development, Yellowhead Region, 963-2281; RITE 310-0000. The Resource Centre for Voluntary Organizations at Grant MacEwan College offers an excellent collection of resource materials for the non-profit sector free of charge. For more information, contact: Lynda Robertson, 497-5616; e-mail: Robertson@admin.grcc.ab.ca