SCOA 35 Years: The Right People at the Right Time

Muriel's path to the Saskatoon Council on Aging began with a problem she'd watched too many people face alone: isolation. Having worked with older adults for years, she knew how serious it was. When she encountered the people behind SCOA's Isolation Project, the quality of the volunteers working on it convinced her this was an organization worth her time.

She's thought a lot about why SCOA has lasted 35 years when so many non-profits don't make it past ten. Her answer might surprise people who assume longevity comes from broad mandates and stable structures. SCOA's strength, she believes, came from the opposite — specific projects with clear purposes.

"Projects" attract a particular kind of volunteer. Someone passionate about elder abuse, or isolation, or age-friendly communities will show up with genuine commitment, not obligation. The defined timeframe lowers the barrier to getting involved. And then, more often than not, those same people stay — moving into board roles and longer commitments than they ever anticipated. The grant-chasing that funds these projects is frustrating, she's the first to admit. But it keeps the work concrete and the people engaged.

She also points to something most non-profits never get: the same executive director across the organization's entire existence. That kind of continuity is rare, and it matters more than most governance frameworks will tell you.

SCOA's history hasn't been without turbulence. A government funding withdrawal once nearly ended the organization entirely — until some well-connected volunteers stepped in and had the decision reversed. Muriel sees that moment as emblematic of something SCOA has consistently managed to do: attract the right people at the right time.

The result, over 35 years, is an organization that has kept aging visible as a community issue when it could easily have been ignored.

Muriel Baxter is.a former SCOA President and committee volunteer.