Do either one of these two scenarios sound familiar? The phone rings. It’s a producer, looking for a guest on a panel discussion and they want a representative from your nonprofit to appear in the studio that day. You start...
Should a charity divert monies from its programs to attempt to influence public policy? A charitable mission is about making some aspect of the world or community better. If a current or proposed public policy works against that mission, the...
Citizen protests come in a variety of forms. Some take to the street or show up at Parliament Hill, placards in hand. Others strike, petition, blockade and sit-in (or bed-in, a la Lennon; but I digress).Then there are blackouts –...
Many of us would rather get a root canal than go through yet another organizational revisioning process. The question is: Is it still important to have a mission statement in 2012? The story of Family Services of Hamilton (FSH) offers...
Think back ... Can you ever remember a time when you were excited to read a blog post titled: “A quarterly report from the Executive Director”? Yeah, neither can I. If the most recent item on your nonprofit organization’s blog...
There’s nothing quite like an annual report to get the creative juices flowing. Or not. Typically viewed as a tedious, mind-numbing exercise, when I was recently asked to help an organization produce theirs, the request was prefaced with an apologetic,...
Stunt philanthropy. Haven’t heard of the term? Keep reading. Just think... One of Canada’s most charismatic members of parliament forgoes the warmth of his bed to sleep outside to raise money and awareness for support programs for homeless youth. A...
If you want someone to respond to your appeal or read your newsletter, you need your message to break through the clutter and distraction. This holds true regardless of medium, but becomes essential for any appeal using the written word....
Today's nonprofits are agile — a necessity when budgets are lean, government grants can disappear in a flash and fundraising is as critical as the programs you deliver. But recently, successful nonprofits aren't just agile, they're mobile — as in...
It's hard to believe, but springtime contains delights other than the return of Cadbury creme eggs! It's also the time of year when the charitable sector's major online and social benchmarking reports are released, typically in concert with the annual...
