Who is grooming the next generation of nonprofit leaders? It should be you!
Preparing the next generation of nonprofit leaders
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Articles
Career Q&A: The art of a great elevator speech
Get advice on how to prepare and practice your "elevator speech" and be ready to network at a moment's notice.
Using smart business practices at Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada — Calgary and Area Chapter
Interview with Executive Director Mark Wolff after the organization was named as a Donner Award receipien in recognition of its service for people with disabilities.
Human Resources Q&A: A micro-managing employee
Advice on how to deal with a micro-managing employee.
Ten keys to working with corporations – without selling your soul
The work you do to find the right corporate partners can help make you a stronger, more creative, more focused organization — even before you receive the cheque.
Seven ideas to engage prospects
Providing prospects with a wide variety of engagement opportunities is critical to stemming leaks once they reach the cultivation stage of the development cycle.
Governance Q&A: Board service while job searching
I was invited to sit on the board of directors for a charitable organization. I am looking for work in the charity sector, including this organization. Is it a conflict of interest for me to accept?
Social media: What’s your policy?
If you’re an avid devotee of social media, chances are you’ve already heard about this infamous gaffe: a Red Cross employee uses HootSuite to send out an otherwise-innocent tweet about her alcohol-induced evening in the company of a specific beer. She thought she was sending it from her personal account. But she was wrong. As we all know, mistakes like that are not easily repealed and once you’ve hit that send button it’s hard to take things back.
Five characteristics of a healthy prospect pipeline
How do you know if your pipeline is healthy? We’ve identified certain core characteristics of a healthy prospect pipeline.
New beginnings: When to quit your job
Here is a suggested list of factors that may point to the need to get on with that next chapter in your professional career.
The hidden curriculum of community involvement
Increasingly, Millennials are bringing new insight to nonprofit organizations, lessons they haven’t learned in the classroom, but through real-world experience.
Straight from the source: A crowd-sourced article about Millennials by Millennials
This experiment saw three article coordinators reach out to their Millennial networks to collaborate on a series of questions about engaged citizenship, work, social media, and stereotypes.
Dear Millennials: A letter to my younger self
What would it be like to send a letter to ourselves, 50 years into the future? Tara Mahoney speculates.
Getting along with GenY: A manual to millennials
With Canada’s baby boomers approaching retirement, these future vacancies leave Generation X and Millennials no choice but to collaborate to construct a new landscape for our nonprofit workforce.
Millennial engagement: Bringing the next generation into your organization
Millennials have been described, and describe themselves, as passionate, connected, optimistic, and wanting to make an impact. Here’s how to welcome them into your organization.
Are your staff asking for flexible work arrangements?
The following questions are useful for managers to consider if employees at your organization are asking for a more flexible work arrangement.
Fundraising Q&A: How effective are your special events?
This article provides a checklist to help you conduct a comprehensive evaluation of your special event.
Innovation meets tradition: The 2011 Humber Initiative on Philanthropy
The recent Humber Initiative on Philanthropy conference at the college’s Lakeshore Campus was an intensive day filled with informative sessions and thought-provoking speakers.
Benchmark study shows online’s strength
Web-based fundraising is coming of age. That’s the conclusion of the 2011 Convio Online Marketing Nonprofit Benchmark™ Study, which evaluated the fundraising results of nearly 600 nonprofits.
Handling violence in the workplace
A recent Statistics Canada study revealed that one-third of all workplace violent incidents involved a victim who was working in social assistance or health care services.
Avoid workplace violence: Safety tips for staff and managers
Follow these tips to avoid being a victim of workplace violence.
Five easy ways to go green at work
It’s easy to bring your eco-values to work every morning, just follow our top five tips. Post them today, get your coworkers involved and see how much of a difference you can make.
Staff make the difference at Fresh Start Recovery
Interview with Stacey Peterson, Executive Director of Fresh Start Recovery, an organization that provides housing, treatment and support for people with addictions in Calgary, after the organization was named as a Donner Award receipient.
What an awareness day can do for you
What do pirates, penguins and pancakes have in common?They all have special days that celebrate their merits. Yes, it’s true — it seems everyone and everything now has an anointed awareness day. Despite the proliferation of awareness days, nonprofits in Canada believe they are an essential way to communicate with large audiences about key issues, encourage engagement, and offer information regarding programs and services they offer all year round.
Career Q&A: The importance of references
Advice on finding and using references during your job search.
Governance Q&A: Representatives who vote against their chapter
Is it ethical for a chapter representative on a provincial board to vote against her own chapter?
Ten mistakes managers make
These lessons learned in managing others may benefit seasoned, capable executives, as well as newly minted managers.
Downgrading: When asking for less gets you more
Why it might be a good idea to proactively "downgrade" monthly donors.
Charity fraud: Are you protected?
March: the month that normally segues winter into spring. But did you know it’s also Fraud Awareness Month? The issue was brought into sharp focus this month with scammers using the March 11 earthquake in Japan to commit charity donation fraud. The RCMP even published an alert on its website to guide the public in ensuring organizations were legitimate and that donations were used for their intended purpose.
Are you ready for a crisis?
It’s not just high-profile celebrities, corporations and organizations that need to have a crisis communication plan, all nonprofits should have one.
Animal welfare and the CRA
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is in the midst of attempting to clarify its guidelines on how the more than 700 Canadian animal welfare charities can legally operate and continue to maintain their charitable status.
Ten tips for dealing with difficult co-workers
Is there someone in your workplace — a domineering manager, a difficult co-worker, or maybe even a demanding client or customer — who drives you crazy?
Achieving dramatic outcomes without core government funding at Alice Housing
Interview with Joanne Bernard, Executive Director of Alice Housing, an organization that provides safe second-stage housing and supportive counselling for women and children leaving domestic violence, after the organization was named as a Donner Award receipient.
Fundraising Q&A: Risk management for third-party fundraising
This article provides a comprehensive reference list of policies and procedures that should be put in place when working with third-party fundraisers.
Introverts in the nonprofit world
This article explores the unique challenges of being an introvert employee in the nonprofit sector.
Spreading the green gospel: Communicating your sustainability actions inside and outside your charity
How to spread the word about your organization’s sustainability programs, both within your organization and without.
Growing Younger: Youth recruitment in an aging nonprofit sector
A rapidly aging Canadian workforce, coupled with a decline in birth rates, creates a looming challenge for employers across job sectors — that of replacing retirees. In the nonprofit world, where limited funds and job insecurity are inevitable, the mean age of employees has reached an unparalleled 43.3. Despite increased competition among young graduates in the workforce, recruiting young staff for nonprofits has become particularly difficult — and exceedingly pressing.
Do you need to hire an outside marketing agency?
You know you can’t do it all. And you know that there is a lot of talent out there who could really help your nonprofit market and communicate itself. It may be time to consider a marketing agency.
Career Q&A: Negotiating your salary
Advice on how to approach a salary negotiation when accepting an offer of employment.
Charity watchdogs: An intelligent development?
Are charity watchdogs a good idea or are they misrepresenting the sector?
Ten time-saving tips for busy nonprofit managers
Can you get more done? Can you use your time better? Yes, most certainly. The tips below are practical ideas to upgrade your day-to-day nonprofit life.
Human Resources Q&A: Making hiring decisions easier
Follow these tips for a smooth hiring process.
Ethics Q&A: Mixing religion and overseas volunteering
I was accepted as an international development volunteer by an NGO connected with my faith. However, I am upset—the orientation material they sent says I can’t bring my holy books to give away.
Thinking big at Sarnia Lambton Rebound: A Program for Youth
Interview with Mary Ellen Warren, Executive Director, who speaks about their key success factors after the organization was named as a Donner Award receipient for excellence in the delivery of social services.
Deal with performance issues using the CALM Approach
Confronting performance issues is an area of responsibility that makes many managers uncomfortable. Using the CALM approach can help.
Understanding what nonprofits do
Do you struggle with explaining just what it is that makes your nonprofit special?
Wanted: Receptionist for accounting duties
Addressing the quantity and diversity of bookkeeping and accounting tasks is a challenge for many small organizations; however, separating these duties is also a critical issue to be addressed.
Are you interested in transitioning to the nonprofit sector?
Recent trends show a dramatic increase of the number of people wanting to transition from the for-profit world to the nonprofit sector. Here are some tips to make the move go as smoothly as possible.
Weathering the job search
Searching for a new job can be a creative and rewarding process, but when your efforts don't turn into an offer quickly, the task can become frustrating, demoralizing, even anxiety-provoking.
Financing sustainability in a charity: How to get and maintain funds to make change happen
This article speaks to an issue that does not always surface when it comes to addressing sustainability issues in an organization: how do you cover the costs of going green?
