Communication has a huge impact on how well an organization can follow through on its mission. Are you communicating as effectively as possible?
Getting the message out: How to communicate on a dime
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Articles
“They Say” — who are “They”?
Personalize your communications by avoiding the third party.
Career Q&A: How to deal with getting a colleague as a boss
Getting a new supervisor can be stressful for any employee. But what do you do when your new boss was, at one time, a colleague and friend?
Remembering June Callwood: A Candlelit Procession to Honour Her Social Activism
On April 14th, Canada lost one of its greatest social activists. June Callwood was “Canada’s conscience”. She was a founder or director of more than 50 organizations and lent her assistance to over a hundred causes in her 40 years of activism.
How long are your donors?
How long do most of your donors contribute to your organization before they walk away? One year? Five? Ten? You should know.
Mail vs. e-mail: The best way to send an invitation
How to evaluate your invitation method based on desired audience.
Donor fatigue: Do we tire of giving?
Charities and nonprofits are getting better at reaching out to the public via TV ads, radio spots, lotteries, newsletters and the like. But is it all getting too overwhelming for John Q. Canuck, and is there a limit to his generosity?
Governance Q&A: What to expect at annual general meetings
A look at the intricacies of Annual General Meetings and the ethics of decision making.
Budget 2007: Legal implications for charities
Adam explains what the 2007 federal budget will mean for charities, plus highlights some of the other budget announcements that affect Canada’s nonprofit sector.
Benefits and issues arising from a gift for endowment
Benefits and challenges of setting up an endowment fund for charity, as well as how to market these funds to your donors.
Ten essentials to choosing technology for your organization
How to use technology to save your organization time and resources.
Completing your charity information return
Adam explains the purpose of the T3010, when it has to be filed, who gets to see it, and what you need to know about including sensitive information on the form.
Executive Directors: NO is not the right answer
While it is acceptable to negotiate workloads with your board, staff should use words other than “No” and “can’t”. This article studies why and how to do that.
Outward Bound: Consultants bring help from the outside in
While hiring outside help may not be the most common route for the society and other organizations, it is still often considered a significant step toward achieving mission goals.
Career Q&A: How the recruiting business operates
This article is a must read if you're thinking about working with a recruiter or executive search firm.
Delivering a project in stages
There are various approaches or models for the project lifecycle. This article focuses on the Staged Delivery Model and addresses some of its disadvantages.
Accommodating persons with disabilities: What HR managers should know
Questions for HR managers to ask when incorporating job accommodations into the planning and development of HR practices.
Governance Q&A: How to handle confidential sessions of the board
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?
How to think like a CEO in a not-for-profit setting
A different approach to helping volunteers and staff perform effectively is to help them learn how to "think like a CEO". This article offers some tips on how volunteers and staff can think like a CEO when they are participating on committees, boards, councils and the like.
Determining the value of charitable gifts
It’s not always clear what the value of a gift in kind actually is, which makes filling out a charitable tax receipt that much harder. Adam explains who is responsible for determining the fair market value of such gifts, how that assessment is carried out, and the risks involved if charities aren’t diligent about the process.
The proliferation of nonprofits: Is competition an opportunity or a threat?
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 on who you talk to, or what aspect of competition you are discussing, the answer will be different.
A vision of failure
How to create a long-term plan to prevent organizational failure.
Response rates to expect in direct mail fundraising
What kind of response rates do your direct mail fundraising letters generate? It all depends on the kind of mailing we’re talking about.
Connecting with community: Look, listen and learn
As communities grow and diversify, and as member issues become more complex, it’s becoming increasingly important for organizations to have their ear to the ground. Concerns facing communities need to be addressed head-on in order to avoid a game of guesstimates. But how best to connect with your community to ensure programs and services truly represent their needs?
Receipting issues affecting registered charities
Adam reviews the CRA requirements for official donation receipts, the penalties for non-compliance, and some of the common questions that charities face when accepting gifts from donors.
Career Q&A: Crafting great thank-you letters
Everyone knows that following up with a thank you after a job interview is a must for any successful job seeker. But what exactly do you say in those letters besides "thank you"?
Human Resources Q&A: What is the right salary?
Steps to establishing an appropriate salary and pay scale.
The hidden costs of fundraising
It’s critical to understand what hidden costs might accompany fundraising campaigns and it’s best to discover them before you go over budget and risk losing the confidence of your board and donors.
Silent, live or online: Which style of auction is best?
How to assess what kind of auction will best suit an event
Endowment funds: An overview
An exploration of endowment funds, including different types and how they can benefit a charity.
Governance Q&A: Is it ethical for a counsellor to just “make the right choice” for their clients?
A look at what is ethical when dealing with conflicts of values and how to not be judgmental.
The joy of giving
As owners of small and medium-sized businesses do their best to survive, charitable giving can feel like one more demand on their limited time and money. But there are ways to make charitable giving more of a joy and less of a chore.
How donors can make the most of their assets
Beyond cash, there are many other types of gifts that donors can give to charity. Lawyer Adam Aptowitzer reviews some of the options and what charities need to keep in mind when accepting such gifts.
Let’s get fit! Improving operational performance
Nonprofit organizations can improve performance by resolving to undergo an assessment of their overall organizational performance, formulating a plan to improve areas in need of development, and taking regular action to improve in these areas.
Managing the PR emergency before it happens
Is your brand prepared for a public relations disaster? When something goes wrong – a fire, a theft, a strike, a sexual harassment suit – knowing who you are is at least as important as knowing what to do.
Branding: The view from the inside
Branding is a hot topic and there have been plenty of stories written about the “why” and “how” of branding. Less has been written about the “so what”? For organizations just starting a branding process through to those who’ve completed and launched a new brand, what do the brand and branding process mean for staff?
When bad press happens to good people: Tips for survival and recovery
How do businesses and organizations that come under intense press scrutiny, from the smallest organizational gaffes to full-blown Enron-esque disasters, deal with a tarnished reputation and negative public opinion? According to the experts, it’s all about proactive communication plans.
Let their fingers do the walking: Organizing your content online
How to effectively organize your online content.
Nonprofits mean business: Social ventures flourishing in for-profit world
Nonprofit organizations play an integral role in our lives and infuse our world with a conscience. But their impact on our well-being notwithstanding, they also comprise a significant economic force, providing services and products, and achieving success on the same playing field as those in the private sector. But with limited resources, staff and finances, can nonprofits really compete?
Career Q&A: Networking 101
If you're unsure about how to make the most of networking opportunities, check out this article for networking tips and tricks.
The value of volunteer contributions: Calculation (im)possible?
With funders increasingly interested in the value of organizations’ volunteer programs, we explore a new model that attempts to calculate the dollar value of your volunteers’ time.
How to measure volunteer satisfaction
This article outlines a step-by-step process for developing a volunteer satisfaction survey.
Human Resources Q&A: Explaining succession planning
What is succession planning and how do you do it.
Governance Q&A: To dream big or to be realistic?
A Can-Do attitude, while ideal to serve all the community’s needs,must be able to work within the boundaries of organizational priorities.
Governance models, board types or best practices?
An instructional article on choosing what type of board best suited to your organization.
Introduction to the project lifecycle
This article provides a description of the project lifecycle and demonstrates what a project looks like when it all comes together.
Dealing with difficult people
How to determine if you are being bullied at work and deciding to manage relationships with difficult people.
Quest for Success: Cause-related marketing and the desire to do good
Designed to give women a voice the creators felt was lacking in other games in the marketplace, EVE’s Quest involves charades, drawing, singing, intuition challenges and trivia questions, all the while making women’s issues and accomplishments its central focus.
Major gifts campaign checklist
A successful major gifts fundraising campaign is not magic. It is a straightforward, concise process of executing well-defined components arranged in a step-by-step progression.
Effective event tools and tips
This article offers tools and tips around effective event planning.
