Introduction This article presents a nonacademic review of what it takes to create effective boards for nonprofit organizations. It identifies the main factors affecting the board’s operation which shape its impact on the organization. For each set of factors, the typical problems that can arise are noted and various approaches to handling them discussed. The…
Introduction In 1993 Revenue Canada reported more than 70,000 registered charities in Canada. A report by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy estimates that over $86 billion passed through registered charities in 1993: approximately 12 to 13 per cent of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product. Charities paid $40 billion in salaries and benefits to 1.32 million people;…
Introduction Two very important areas for trustees of not-for-profits (NPOs) to consider thoughtfully are investment policy [on adopting an investment policy, see Kelly Rodgers in (1995), 12 Philanthrop., No. 3, p. 9-12] and the spending rate. The spending rate is a measure that is applied annually to the capital base of the NPO to determine…
Charity and the Internet The Federal Court of Appeal’s jurisdiction over the Income Tax Act makes it the principal Canadian court that rules on the meaning of “charity”. Over the last two decades the Court has consistently held that its principal point of reference for deciding the scope of the fourth head of charity-purposes “beneficial…
To close this volume of The Philanthropist, we focus primarily on management issues. Vic Murray gives us the benefit of his long experience in the sector by advising how to build better boards. Bruce Levine reports on the findings of the United Way of Lower Mainland, B.C., which conducted a survey of financial management practices…
Foundation Management in Canada: An Introduction for Trustees By Milton K. Wong, Leopold Amighetti, Jane Butterfield and Patti Ryan Published by M.K. Wong & Associates Limited, Vancouver, B.C. REVIEWED BY COLIN GRAHAM Vice President, Finance and Administration, Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto Investment management is becoming increasingly complex and competitive. Foundations are not simply financiers…
The Charity and Not-For-Profit Sourcebook By Arthur B. Drache Published by Carswell, Toronto, 1995 REVIEWED BY JAMES PHILLIPS Faculty of Law, University of Toronto At first glance The Charity and Not-For-Profit Sourcebook appears to be a new and very useful service to lawyers and others working in these areas; an addition to the growing number…
The United Way of Greater Toronto raised over $51 million in its 1995 campaign:1 a new level of achievement. Other Canadian fund-raising campaigns may exceed the total raised but nothing approaches the United Way campaign as a successful annual event. In addition, the United Way of Greater Toronto launched a capital endowment campaign in May…
This article was developed from a presentation to The First Annual Fundraising Congress at the Hilton Hotel, Toronto, November 16, 1995. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Ontario Securities Commission, its other Commissioners, or its staff. A requirement of my appointment to the Ontario Securities Commission, some two years ago, was…
by JAMES CUTT, CURTIS HANNIS, DENIS BRAGG, ARIF LALANI, VIC MURRAY AND BILL TASSIE University of Victoria, Victoria, B.C. I. Introduction It is business as usual in human service nonprofit organizations (HSNPOs) when demand for services increases much more rapidly than the resources needed to meet demand, and when managers and boards face a constant…