A new kind of workplace community has not-for-profits sharing common places, spaces and resources. And they're gaining a lot more than a healthier bottom line. Recently, 240 forward-thinking leaders from Ontario's not-for-profit sector came together at Toronto's MaRS Centre. They...
“Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.” Those words, attributed to the Dalai Lama, speak not only to the importance of change, but the need to maintain a focus on one’s mission when going through...
The company I approached for a grant this week asked for information to confirm that my charity operated in accordance with corporate socially responsibility. We exist for public benefit and are not a corporation in that sense, though we are...
When international development organization, Plan Canada, recently decided to change their name, they also underwent a number of other self-assessments and transitions. But it wasn’t necessarily a dissatisfaction with the status quo that spurned on these evaluations. Simply put: they...
Is it ethical to shut down a charity when there is a group of people that would like to form a new board, drawing on new contacts and strategies, to help the organization carry on its work? When should a charity...
Not-for-profit organizations are going green. Wikipedia describes it this way: Environmentally friendly, eco-friendly, and nature friendly are synonyms used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal harm on the environment. Here are some tips on how not-for-profit...
There’s an old adage that states when you want something done right, do it yourself. Many times, that philosophy can pay dividends to those who apply it on an individual basis. But when one looks at the voluntary sector and...
Many high performing not-for-profit organizations engage an objective third party - with the required expertise - to conduct an organization review. This involves a rigorous evaluation of how effectively resources are being applied to serve an organization’s vision, mission, and...
To ensure we're all on the same page when reading this article, let’s establish the definition of metrics: metrics are measurements. Another published definition is: “Metrics are a system of parameters or ways of quantitative and period assessment of a...
Many not-for-profit organization executives lie awake at night wondering what their members really want. Along with my colleague Jack Shand, CAE, I was involved in two projects recently where not-for-profit organization executives, and in the second instance major business leaders,...
