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Articles
The top ten places to find volunteers
This article provides lists of the top ten usual and not-so-usual places to find new volunteers.
Food for thought: Canadian nonprofits improving access to fresh food
As we move into high summer and farmers across the country start bringing in their annual crops, the image of a group of accountants from PricewaterhouseCooperspitching in to harvest fruits and vegetables is probably not what springs to mind. But that’s exactly what happened last summer at an Ontario farm as part of a growing trend amongst food-based nonprofits trying to close the gap between Canada’s neediest citizens and access to healthy food produced in a sustainable, eco-friendly manner.
Human Resources Q&A: Making performance management easy
Most managers don't enjoy giving performance reviews, but it's an essential part of their job. Learn how to make the process smooth and easy.
Rise of the hybrid: Legal headaches and multibillion bonanzas
Will new legal structures lend clarity to social enterprise organizations and their role in society?
When it’s time for founders to exit
This article helps the founding members of an organization recognize when it’s time to move on.
Governance Q&A: When membership is not defined
Our bylaws do not define a “member” and we have no membership fee. Is it ethical to just let all adult attendees at the upcoming annual general meeting vote? Or all volunteers and staff?
Cultural accommodation in the workplace
This article provides tips and proven practices for developing a welcoming multicultural environment at nonprofits.
The rise of the hybrid: Colliding sectors
The nonprofit and business worlds have collided. New types of organizations increasingly mix and match the characteristics of both sectors, which can collectively be referred to as hybrids.
Fundraising and communications: One hat or two?
This article looks at whether or not fundraising and communications should be separate departments at a nonprofit.
Crowds: What are they good for?
Crowdsourcing, a term coined by Jeff Howe in Wired Magazine in 2006, is defined as the outsourcing of tasks by way of a general call-out to a large, undefined group of people. There’s also crowdfunding, which relies on the power of crowds to fund projects. No matter its iteration, the idea of crowds and the power they potentially hold for nonprofits is gaining much attention these days.
Fundraising Q&A: Asking a friend for a major gift
This article helps you prepare to ask a friend for a major gift for your charity.
A day in the life: Human resources director
This profile describes what it’s like to work as a Human Resources Director at a nonprofit organization.
M is for mentor
This article describes why mentoring can be helpful at any stage of your career.
Collaborating in the virtual space
“Two heads are better than one”, as the old saying goes, and it certainly applies when thinking about the benefits of collaboration.
Salaries and nonprofits: It should be a living
Are nonprofit employees paid too much? Or not enough?
Great Northern Arts Festival
Last month, in our series about summer arts festivals run by nonprofits, we looked at the partnership between Toronto’s Luminato festival and The New Yorker Magazine. This month, we head way up north, to the town of Inuvik on the Mackenzie River Delta in the Northwest Territories, to look at the challenges and opportunities faced by coordinators of the Great Northern Arts Festival (GNAF).
Challenges to volunteering for newcomers
This article outlines ways to effectively recruit and integrate volunteers who are new immigrants to Canada.
Young…and restless: The 20-something ED
It's becoming more and more common. Youthful and bold, new faces are emerging at the helm of a growing number of organizations. Some have the baton passed onto them while others are launching their own initiatives. Using buzzwords such as "innovative", "creative" and "impactful", these young guns brandish shiny social media tools in their holster and display energy levels typically reserved for ninjas.
Hiring: Overqualification and the law
A precedent setting Canadian court case shows employers cannot necessarily overlook a possible candidate because they are “overqualified”.
Human Resources Q&A: Manager lacks leadership skills
What do you do when your manager doesn’t know how to effectively lead?
Governance Q&A: Paying for board service?
Some of the directors of my nonprofit want to be paid a per diem for board and board committee work. Is this ethical?
Management recruitment pointers
Do you want to attract and recruit top-notch managers? Follow these tips for a successful hire.
Five ways to improve internal communications at your nonprofit
Nonprofit organizations spend a lot of time and energy communicating with external audiences, which include donors, volunteers, board members, reporters, politicians and policymakers. But are you neglecting to communicate with one of the most crucial target audiences of all — your own staff?
Creating budget friendly videos for nonprofits
Creating an effective and compelling video doesn’t have to cost your nonprofit a fortune.
Fundraising Q&A: Summer activities to strengthen your fundraising program
This article suggests several activities you can undertake over the summer to help raise more money all year long.
Funders support and seek out co-location models
The current post-recession hangover has left the sector particularly vulnerable, causing funders to take a more active approach in seeking out innovative — and cost-cutting — collaborative setups.
The Canada Revenue Agency gets physical
When the federal government announced its budget on June 6, one of the measures within it made Registered Canadian Amateur Athletic Associations (RCAAAs) sit up and take notice.
Avoiding culture shock for your new staff
Bringing new people into your organization can result in culture shock. Here’s how to deal with it.
Ten tips to build a quality culture at your nonprofit
This article provides tips for developing a positive and productive culture at your nonprofit.
Career Q&A: Insecure interviewers
Advice on what to do when your interviewer appears to be more nervous that you.
Setting out as a freelancer: Is it right for you?
People leave work in the nonprofit sector to become freelancers for a variety of reasons. The variety of their stories is instructive for people considering making a similar leap to self-employment.
Volunteer management: A niche or mass market commodity?
This article considers the increasing importance of the professionalization of volunteer managers.
The mentor within: Using a mentoring program to improve retention
Can a mentorship program help you retain staff? Some organizations say it can.
Human Resources Q&A: Countering workplace conflict
Sometimes everyone just can’t get along. Follow these tips to deal with workplace conflict.
Keep your eyes on donor engagement but don’t forget employee engagement
This article outlines how important nonprofit employee engagement can be for the bottom line.
Ten tips for effective volunteer engagement
This article outlines tips to transition your members into volunteers.
Governance Q&A: Should family members serve on the same board?
My organization just elected a married couple to its board. Is this ethical?
New results from the 2011 International Gift Planning Survey
In October 2010, CharityVillage® and Give Green Canada jointly launched a survey to gather information about a subject in dire need of more data: bequest opportunities for the international charitable sector.
Furthering the arts with strategic partnerships: Luminato and The New Yorker magazine
Find out how a strategic partnership between two popular cultural entities led to an excellent opportunity for collaboration.
Filling the service gaps at Community & Primary Health Care (CPHC)
Interview with Ruth Kitson, Executive Director of Community and Primary Health Care (CPHC, and organization that provides universally accessible and comprehensive primary health care and community support services to a diverse population, after the organization was named a receipient of the Donner Awards.
The telecommute
Ever since the advent of the Internet and email, a slow but steady progression of working away from the traditional workplace office has taken place. And what once looked like a revolutionary trend 10 years ago, now seems to many simply to be part of societal evolution due to technological advances. But the questions remain: are nonprofit organizations making use of technology to their full advantage? Are more of them allowing people to work from home? And if so, has it been for the better?
Connecting with the wired wealthy
A US study clearly shows that there is a shift taking place among wealthy donors with more and more of them going online to connect with charities.
Fundraising Q&A: What should I include in my annual report?
This article reviews the purpose of the annual report and helps you decide what to put in it.
Picture perfect: 10 tips for taking great photos
Photography is one of the areas where program staff and volunteers can use their creativity to enhance the organization’s communications materials. Here are a few tips to help you along the way.
Why run when you can walk? The evolution of walkathons
Using a walk for the dual goals of generating awareness and raising money has become a strategic choice for many charitable organizations. But is the competition too much?
More education…or real-life experience? Finding the best route to your dream job
Will a sheaf of credentials impress your prospective boss, or is old-fashioned, in-the-trenches experience still the gold standard?
Mergers: Not a four-letter word
Mergers have long occupied a complicated place within the nonprofit sector. With increased competition for resources, however, more nonprofits are seeing mergers as necessary and even valuable.
The Manitoba Initiative
In early April, Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger grabbed the attention of sector organizations by announcing his province was set to provide "stable funding and less red tape" for nonprofits. He’s beginning by launching a two-year pilot project designed to evaluate and establish the best methods to provide one-stop government funding.
Taking the right risks at Nova Scotia’s Educational Program Innovations Charity (EPIC)
Interview with Barry Waldman, Executive Director of EPIC, an organization in Nova Scotia with a mission of advancing marginalized learners through innovation, empathy, volunteerism, diversity and partnership, after the organization was named as a Donner Award recipient.
