Beyond cash, there are many other types of gifts that donors can give to charity. Adam Aptowitzer, a lawyer with the Ottawa-based law firm Drache LLP, reviews some of the options and what charities need to keep in mind when...
My executive director read some motivational books and now wants us to have a Can-Do attitude where anything is possible. I would dearly love to say yes to everyone, but our shelter has limited space and people do get turned...
What type of board do you want ‘yours’ to be? A nonprofit organization recently asked me to help them figure out “what type of board they wanted to be”. This reminded me of discussions with a colleague who suggests that...
My community has many needs. Sometimes as executive director I hear about new grant programs that would serve my community well, but the type of service is well outside what my organization does. I cannot just tweak. Should I go...
This article continues our series on a charity’s dispute with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). In our last article we dealt with the first formal stage of a dispute, the audit process, culminating when the charity receives a notice of...
Call to order! The chair has called order for the regular monthly meeting of your nonprofit board. You’re asked to speak to an item that you placed on the agenda - board assessment - a matter that’s been on your...
I hear a lot about conflict of interest at the board and executive level. Is it an issue below that? Conflict of interest is possible and serious throughout all levels of staff. The Code of Conduct for staff, and staff...
Donors and agencies, who evaluate nonprofit performance, often look to see that most of your organization's funds are being used for core programming purposes. However, different sources recommend differing practices and policies for allocating disbursements among the functional categories. As...
I see bad people get away with stuff all the time. Those they report to look the other way, or are equally bad, or seem so gullible. Does anything bad ever happen to nonprofit staff or volunteers who behave unethically?...
The numerous corporate failures and director scandals of recent years have brought financial literacy to the forefront of board governance issues today. Literacy signifies the ability to read and understand fundamental financial statements as well as the ability to ask...
