When I say "dynamic nonprofit leader", I bet your mind instantly goes to someone in particular. Someone who has a certain charisma, who gets the job done, is a force to be reckoned with and usually is an inspiration to...
The cartoon Calvin and Hobbes occasionally featured a game called Calvinball in which the little boy made up the rules, changing them as it suited him. While it made for humourous reading, playing his game would not make for a...
Back in my grad school days, I was in a seminar called ‘Public Intellectuals, Institutional Critique’ where, among many other things, we grappled with the embrace of all things “excellence” in the academy. As I delve deeper into my work...
How many times have you heard about climbing the career ladder? In the nonprofit sector, the top rung is most often the executive director. The typical nonprofit executive director is the expert generalist - they design, build and evaluate successful...
Leveraging funds. Capacity-building. Community-driven action. Enabling populations. Collaboration. Participatory action. Anti-oppression. Just some examples of a multitude of terms regularly thrown around by professionals in the nonprofit sector, these buzzwords can be reasonably categorized as industry speak, or just plain...
In the Dr. Seuss classic, the Grinch dresses like Santa, slinks down chimneys and makes off with all the gifts under all the trees and fireplace mantles in Whoville. This story came to mind last week with the news that...
In naming 2012 as the United Nations’ Year of Co-operatives, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “Co-operatives are a reminder to the international community that it is possible to pursue both economic viability and social responsibility.” In recognition of the Year...
You finally get the go-ahead. After much deliberation over many months, your project proposal has been given the green light by your board. You've got the money set aside to get it done, and even know of a company that...
Nestled amongst the lush greenery of Langley, British Columbia, the Langley Senior Resources Society has spent the last 30 years offering services that help the elderly maintain their independence. Then, in 2009, the centre's contract for outreach programs – which included...
At the second annual Calgary Nonprofit Innovation Awards on September 13, Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations (CCVO) Vice President of Programs and Operations Michael Grogan admitted that innovation is “the most overused word in the organizational lexicon these days.” According...
