A couple of years ago, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada took a strategic step outward. Though boasting a staff rich in expertise and vast in experience, they nonetheless decided to outsource an external consultant for an upcoming sponsorship program....
Introduction Every project has a beginning and end. It begins with an idea, such as how to improve communications with donors, and ends with the delivery of a product or service, such as a donor database. Each project follows a...
When it is ethical to have 'in camera' sessions of the board, and what are the guidelines around tracking and communicating decisions made at them? First, just so everyone understands, 'in camera' and 'executive session' appear to be interchangeable terms...
One of the typical characteristics of not-for-profit boards or committees is that they attract people with differing levels of skills, expertise, education, maturity and intentions. They attract doers, leaders, followers, and sometimes even “devil’s advocates”. In most organizations, these individuals...
While cash donations are always welcome, many charities are also happy to accept gifts in kind. However, unlike cashing a cheque, it's not always clear what the value of a gift in kind actually is, which makes filling out a...
There are 161,000 nonprofit and voluntary sector organizations in Canada...and counting. To ask the question, “Is the proliferation of nonprofits an opportunity or a threat?” is a little like asking if the glass is half full or half empty. Depending...
What would it take to make your organization fail? What conditions could precipitate and sustain “the spiral of death”? What would complete financial collapse really look like? These are grisly questions to consider, but sometimes we need to envision complete...
To receipt or not to receipt, that is the question. Well, actually, that's just one of the questions that crops up when a charity receives a donation. Adam Aptowitzer, a lawyer with the Ottawa-based law firm Drache LLP, reviews the...
I counsel clients and am required to explain a range of options. My clients are usually under considerable stress and not at their best for making sensible choices. It often seems they make the worst possible choice. I compare notes...
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...
