The reality and perspective of the small and medium-sized organizations that constitute the majority of nonprofits in the country is critical to understanding the nonprofit landscape. A number of recent surveys have taken a snapshot through the lens of tough economic times, and their findings are significant. The economic downturn of the last eighteen months…
Giving: Celebrated, Scrutinized, And Studied Sandy Houston Grassroots Philanthropy: Field Notes of a Maverick Grantmaker Bill Somerville with Fred Setterberg, Berkeley, Ca.: Heyday Books isbn 978-1-59714-084-3 Just Another Emperor? The Myths and Realities of Philanthrocapitalism Michael Edwards, New York, N.Y.: Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action and The Young Foundation (web publication: www.justanotheremperor.org) isbn 978-0-9816151-1-0 Giving,…
Introduction So, is it over? Can we re-boot to “business as usual?” bank profits are up, unemployment down. Was it just another blip in the boom-and-bust cycles of the market or the harbinger of a more significant and permanent change in our economy? If the latter, what does it mean for Canadians’ well-being? What should…
Point : Don Bourgeois Whether or not there is a charitable and not-for-profit “sector” is more than an exercise in semantics. Its existence (or non-existence) matters because the idea of a “sector” speaks to commonalities of interest and cohesion, and those factors lead to influence and political power. In politics, size does matter to the…
Our plan was to begin a series of columns on the use of technology by civil society organizations with a glossary of terms and tools with a balanced consideration of the benefits and challenges inherent in each. Like many plans, ours has been overtaken by events. Pundits, journalists, bloggers, and even politicians had become aware…
“Endowments” are held by many Canadian charities. However, the source of these endowed funds and the nature of the legal conditions applicable to these endowments vary widely. More and more often charities that hold endowments are seeking input on how they can or should spend their endowments. The answer to whether they can only spend income…
The nonprofit sector—Canada’s growing economic giant. Well, you won’t read that headline anywhere. Most Canadians are unaware of the role that the country’s nonprofit sector plays in our economy. However, data from Statistics Canada continues to show what a key player the nonprofit sector really is. It also shatters old stereotypes about nonprofit organizations relying…
Welcome to 2010 and the first issue of The (new) Philanthropist. We hope that The Philanthropist / Le Philanthrope will contribute to the strengthening of the nonprofit sector by creating space for reflection, conversation, and debate. In this first issue we present an impressive group of contributors who explore different aspects of the challenges and opportunities…
Yves Vaillancourt Introduction À la suite d’une demande de son comité éditorial, j’ai accepté d’écrire de temps en temps des articles en français dans la revue bilingue The Philantropist / Le Philanthrope. Pour le premier article, j’ai tenu compte d’une suggestion à l’effet que je livre une vision d’ensemble des principales questions auxquelles se trouve…
Mandeep Tiwana and Clare Doube remind us in their article “Civil Society Under Attack,” featured in this issue of The Philanthropist / Le Philathrope, that civil society is openly repressed and under attack in many parts of the world, which should make us feel very fortunate as Canadians. Our governments may suddenly withdraw funding from…