Ten mistakes that sink collaborations!

1. The convener invites people to the table who are not able to participate fully or successfully. Often we don't think very much about who we need at a collaborative table. Conveners often use a stakeholder model and draw a...

The secrets of storytelling and leadership in tough times

I was sitting around with a few friends the other night and we were all talking about the economic recession that is having a dramatic and unprecedented impact on every nation’s financial well-being. The conversation became quite animated with all...

Strategies to proactively assess the impact of the growing recession on your organization

Wherever you turn these days, there is no escaping the talk of financial doom and gloom. From newspaper articles to television news reports, from politicians and economists to the general public, the economic downturn and its impending consequences are on...

Now is the time to exercise your resiliency muscles

Nonprofit organizations are coming to terms with the impact the economic recession is having on their financial sustainability. It is projected that major gifts will be down substantially and that new donor acquisition will be quite challenging. On top of...

Managing during tough economic times

Times are tough. Money is tight, cutbacks are on the rise, and employment is on the decline. Bay Street is exceptionally cautious these days as nervous anticipation sets in. The automobile industry, the media conglomerates, banks - they're all feeling...

Lessons learned in a nonprofit world: Are we trying to reach targets or clients?

Let's say you get funded and rewarded based on the number of clients who get jobs, but the dilemma is this: do you only take clients that have a chance at employment success instead of the hard-to-serve clients who won't...

Human Resources Q&A: Understanding bad bosses

Last week in the newspaper there was a feature on another book about bad bosses. It seems that there’s an inexhaustible supply of these people. We know that bad bosses are poisonous, but we just can’t seem to escape them....

Looking at how you do what you do: One way to collaborate

So often in the voluntary sector we talk about collaboration. However, a number of factors can make collaboration in the sector quite difficult. These include: Funder-driven legacy: Often in the Canadian context, when government has encouraged collaboration we have experienced...

Lessons learned in a nonprofit world: The anxious nonprofit

Funding is tight, targets are hard to meet, and clients are demanding more from you. Emotions and stress are running high. You meet as a team to find a solution and, if you are like many, you might make the...

Learning communities: The best investment we can make

Economic and political uncertainty top global news headlines these days. Yet, in the midst of the turbulence, David Holtzman, senior knowledge exchange specialist at the Canadian Council on Learning (CCL), reminds us that “learning is the most important investment we...
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