Directors serving on a board of directors of a Canadian nonprofit are subject to Canadian liability laws, and as such, must understand their rights and responsibilities to ensure that they comply with current legislation. This extensive article covers a variety...
How financially competent is your nonprofit team? If yours is similar to many small nonprofits or charities, the board, management and staff are likely struggling to address financial challenges arising from the battered economy. Given these pressures, the treasurer's role...
Contemplating entering into partnership with a government body is something that can send shivers down the spines of executive-level staff at nonprofits and charities. Fear of being controlled by bureaucrats, losing your organization's sense of mission, and being beholden to...
Operational (primary focus: operations) The board does the work of the organization and manages as well as governs it. This is typical of a board in the "founding" stage of an organization and of boards in organizations, such as service...
If an event is cancelled or greatly scaled back at the last minute, due to circumstances beyond our control, what do we do about our vendors and sponsors? We’ve spent the money they gave us. Once businesses enter into a...
In June, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), after consultations with numerous sector organizations, including Imagine Canada, Health Charities Coalition of Canada, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals, announced the release of new fundraising guidelines for the nonprofit community. A detailed...
When the topic of recruitment is raised at board meetings, it is often met with sighs of despair or a blanket of silence. Directors rack their brains for potential candidates and inevitably someone decides to approach a friend out of...
If I have a dilemma in my role as board member and want to make sure I do the right thing, who can I ask for advice and how do I decide who to ask? What a great question! You...
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently released a new Guidance on Fundraising document, with the purpose of educating charities on what is considered appropriate, and legal, with regards to fundraising activities. Since the CRA will be auditing charities' fundraising activities...
For board members and executives joining the nonprofit community from other industry sectors, the issues around taxation can be quite novel. Nonprofits, for example, are exempt from paying income taxes. Yet every nonprofit has a number of important tax obligations,...
