Looking at tort law and how that affects charities and wrongful acts committed by employees.
Vicarious liability for wrongful acts of employees of charitable and nonprofit organizations
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Articles
Thirteen reasons we love direct marketing
Direct marketing is: “An interactive system of marketing which uses one or more advertising media to effect a measurable response and/or transaction at any location.”
Purging your house list
Size counts! The bigger it is, the better it is! That’s your house mailing list I’m talking about, but the statement is true only up to a point. Your list might be too big!
Many charities and not-for-profits affected by Ontario’s new lobbying act
A look at the legitimate lobbying activities in Ontario under the Lobbyist Registration Act.
A ten-step checklist for board recruitment
A checklist of tips to use for recruiting board members.
The wide gray lines – Managing volunteer boundaries
This article explains the six distinct boundaries where volunteer conflicts can occur and provides tips for dealing with such conflict.
Public Relations 101
This article answers the question, “What is PR?” and looks at the types of PR that charitable and nonprofit organizations should consider in their PR planning.
Watching the news
Whether you are pitching a story or being interviewed, you must convince the reporter that the public is interested in what you have to offer.
Making Headlines
How to write a successful press release that generates buzz.
Piggybacking: One way to get media attention
A case study that shows how follow up calls are essential for getting reporters interested in your story.
Now, about that press release
A breakdown of a successful press release.
The personal touch
The key to establishing a personal relationship with a reporter.
Relationship-Building in the Networked Age: Some implications of the Internet for Non-profit Organizations
The Internet is emerging as an essential tool for building these relationships, and charitable and nonprofit organizations must learn to take advantage of the tools or risk losing out to those groups who do forge communities and service their donors more effectively in the networked age.
Relationship-Building in the Networked Age: Some implications of the Internet for Non-profit Organizations (Part 2)
How to start building online relationships with numerous stakeholders – some tools and tips for nonprofits.
Budgeting a fine art for NGOs operating internationally
The challenges of working internationally with changing exchange rates and dollar values.
Directors’ failure to meet the standard of care will result in personal liability
Unlike the incorporating statutes for business corporations, there has been little statutory reform to bring the non-profit incorporating statutes into the 20th century, much less the new millennium.
Rebuilding after the storm
It is a rare organization that has never gone through a period of turmoil, which may have even threatened its continued existence. Crisis can have a disheartening impact on all concerned. It can be the death knell for an organization or a time for renewal and revitalization.
Potential for director’s liability substantial
Charitable and nonprofit organizations in Canada are facing a wide variety of legal issues, including those made through inadvertence, negligence or misunderstanding, and may be involved in legal proceedings they could have avoided.
What’s in a name, when it belongs to a nonprofit?
Results of a US report exploring the legalities of cause-related marketing and commercial/nonprofit product advertisements.
No Comment!
I must confess, I have actually advised a client not to comment a time or two. This is a rarity. However, it is the way we said “no comment” that helped avoid a crisis.
Tricks-of-the-trade: Revamp your recruitment message
Tips for improving your volunteer recruitment campaigns.
Recruiting volunteers for hard-to-fill positions
How to run a recruitment campaign for hard-to-fill volunteer positions.
A development director needs more than “a smile and a shoeshine,” but it’s a good start
No matter how high-tech the tools, funds are raised person-to-person.
Special Events: Why go to all the trouble?
Questions to ask when hosting a special event
Ten tips on how to work with your direct mail provider
Clip and tape this checklist someplace you can see it- every time you prepare a mailing project. Will it bullet-proof you against every contingency? Probably not.
Use donor research to build the foundation
How to use research to build a foundation
Obstacles to starting monthly giving programs… and how to overcome them
How to overcome obstacles to starting a monthly giving program
Visiting elderly donors: 10 big challenges
How to overcome major challenges when visiting elderly donors.
Five distinct types of fundraising volunteers
Fundraising becomes easier when a nonprofit group has the right array of volunteers. What are the right types? Here are the five unique styles.
Nonprofit mergers: The perils and the possibilities
The reality of a nonprofit merger is that it is neither an elixir nor a heresy. Rather, a merger is one alternative — not necessarily the best or only one — for nonprofits seeking to respond to the challenging trends of the times.
Monthly donors are your best opportunity for a legacy
Profiles of monthly donors and why they are important to fundraising
Book Review: The Cathedral Within: Transforming your life by giving something back
Bill Shore, founder of Share Our Strength, an anti-hunger, anti-poverty organization, profiles community leaders throughout the United States who are successfully tapping the private sector for community building initiatives.
Sample bequest wordings — Let me count the ways…
Ten examples of bequest wordings that donors can use in their wills.
Get wild with planned giving: think of it as fundraising!
Five ways to implement case-centred planned giving marketing.
CRTs offering great potential, but awaiting clarification from hesitant Canada Customs & Revenue Agency
An exploration of charitable remainder trusts and how they can be used in Canada.
You can stand out from the crowd by doing simple things exceptionally well
Why creating standards of excellence is so important to gift planning, and three suggestions on where to start.
Here’s a solicitor’s check-list for success
A Solicitor’s Check-list for Success, a few of the most crucial dos and don’ts to bear in mind as you knock on that next door, behind which your next new major donor may be waiting.
Burk: Avoid anything that separates you from your donor!
Findings from Penelope Burk’s fundraising research, including how donors want to be recognized.
Renewing the relationship
Any relationship — marketer-customer, master-servant, husband-wife — needs to be renewed from time to time. Fundraisers must keep in mind that there’s no such thing as a permanent commitment anymore. People tend to commit only for a time.
We must learn to cultivate retirees as a national resource
How to incorporate retirees into your volunteer program.
The seven deadly sins of gift planning
Seven key errors that will cause your gift planning program to fail.
Getting the media to attend – again and again and again
If you want to make sure that the media attend your next media conference, make sure that you follow these simple but effective tips.
Treat your raffle-ticket buyers like donors
Creating and maintaining a buying history with raffle-ticket purchasers
Accountability: The maturing of the charitable sector
How accountability has changed in the aging nonprofit sector.
You can’t do it all
Working for charities and nonprofit organizations is rewarding and inspiring for many of us. However, in today’s climate of change and uncertainty, helping work can also take its toll. Managers, staff, and volunteers in our field are always at risk of chronic stress and burnout.
Coping with caring — the dangers of chronic stress and burnout
Working for charities and nonprofit organizations is rewarding and inspiring for many of us. However, in today’s climate of change and uncertainty, helping work can also take its toll. Managers, staff, and volunteers in our field are always at risk of chronic stress and burnout.
Media tips: talking or thinking
Staying away from “talking points” can help you sound more genuine.
Matching the “Thank-you” to the volunteer
Knowing these four volunteer motivations can help you provide the right appreciation to your volunteers.
Time-consuming, but powerful when done well, seminars can make the difference
How to conduct a successful seminar to advertise your planned giving program.
Ten myths of telemarketing
Most Canadian charities are still reluctant to use telefundraising, or to even test it. Here are a few points that will help dispel some of the myths around telephone fundraising.
