When is excellence not excellent?

Back in my grad school days, I was in a seminar called ‘Public Intellectuals, Institutional Critique’ where, among many other things, we grappled with the embrace of all things “excellence” in the academy. As I delve deeper into my work...

Community building on the coasts: BC and Nova Scotia introduce new social venture legislation

They may be Canada’s two coastal bookends, but two provinces, Nova Scotia and British Columbia, have recently taken almost identical measures to increase the power and reach of social venture organizations in each region. On December 4, 2012, Nova Scotia...

Volunteer screening: More than just a police records check

Volunteerism. It’s a wonderful activity that offers rewards for all involved. Sadly, there is a segment of the population, albeit slight, that sometimes targets nonprofits for criminal activity. A recent example is the revelation by Scouts Canada in 2011 of...

Governance Q&A: Choosing your volunteering

I’ve resolved to do more volunteering in my community. What’s the most ethical way to spend my limited time? Should I help my elderly neighbour, my professional association or a community charity? I hope your choices are not mutually exclusive....

Looking back, looking forward

2012 will go down as something of a mixed bag of events and happenings for Canada’s nonprofit sector. Numerous changes, both proposed and now-enshrined, in law and policies for charities made for an interesting year. The good news is, we’re...

Governance Q&A: Governance considerations in social enterprises

This column was written with the assistance of Ryan Turnbull, Director of Ethics and CSR, Eco-Ethonomics. Our charity needs to start a social enterprise to fund programs operating at a deficit. Do we need to replace the board with business...

Nine tips for avoiding and responding to fraud at your nonprofit or charity

In the Dr. Seuss classic, the Grinch dresses like Santa, slinks down chimneys and makes off with all the gifts under all the trees and fireplace mantles in Whoville. This story came to mind last week with the news that...

What’s in a name? The ins and outs of charitable receipting for non-cash gifts

Have you ever stopped to consider how much your name is worth? Chances are, if you’re anything like me and have not attained celebrity status, the value of your name has not crossed your mind. Why would it? It couldn’t...

Give now or give later?

Want to make a donation and get a tax credit for 2012? Under current rules, you need to get your money to your favourite charity by 11:59 pm on December 31 to qualify for a tax deduction for this year....

Governance Q&A: Articulating ethical values

If a board is responsible for articulating the ethical values of their organization, how would they know what those are? The board is responsible for articulating the ethical values as they want them to be, not as they are. It’s...