The last federal budget had some big news for the charity sector in the form of a proposed rule change about donating the proceeds of shares and real estate. Unfortunately, this rule change has been severely under-reported on. This is...
‘Innovate or die’ is a truism for any nonprofit, service agency, or social enterprise because the challenges we’re addressing are highly complex and unstable. But...how? It’s much easier to say how we want things to be than it is to...
Increasingly boards of directors for charities are expected to strengthen their governance practices, including their fiduciary and risk oversight. Driving this demand for stronger governance is research that finds that governance failures are at the root of many problems in...
On October 19, 2015 Canadians will go to the polls to elect their 42nd parliament. Campaigning got underway in early August and will last a total of 11 weeks. By the time votes are cast all the major party leaders...
Anyone who starts a charity or nonprofit organization does so to make a difference. But while this is a worthy motive, Marc and Craig Kielburger, co-founders of Free the Children and Me to We, offer a different perspective: “Society needs...
To become accredited or not? That is a question on the minds of a number of nonprofit organizations at the moment - and not just the larger ones. What is accreditation? The accreditation process acknowledges that your organization has successfully...
I am distressed by the increasing number of breathless senior staff leaders that I meet. The breathless leader moves quickly, with fidgety movements, speaking hurriedly and breathing rapidly and shallowly. While this may sound like the onset of a serious...
The election dilemma Wondering what your nonprofit or charity should do – if anything - at election time? With a federal election slated for later this year, many Canadian organizations will have to decide soon whether they will take steps...
According to 2013 Charities Directorate data, ten percent of nonprofits in Canada have only one employee, either part-time or full-time. It may be that this employee was the first person hired when a nonprofit moved from a working board to...
Anyone who has experience in managing nonprofit organizations understands the importance of excellence in strategic planning. Every few years, or at least upon the occurrence of a fundamental change in the organization, it is essential to sit back with the...

