The Lessons Learned From The Voluntary Sector Reporting Awards For Excellence In Financial Reporting Transparency Information about the Voluntary Sector Awards Program and entry information can be found at http://business.queensu.ca/centres/CA-QCG/ voluntary_sector_reporting/ index.php . A professor at one of Canada’s leading universities wanted to use a set of financial statements from a not-for-profit organization in class as…
Contents: Volume 23, Issue 4 (2011)
Contributing Citizens: Modern Charitable Fundraising And The Making Of The Welfare State, 1920–66. By Shirley Tillotson. UBC Press, Vancouver, BC isbn 978-0-7748-1473-7 In Contributing Citizens, professor Shirley Tillotson of Dalhousie University provides an insightful look at the rise of the Community Chests. The predecessors of today’s United Way agencies, the Chests were federations of welfare…
Nearly every registered nonprofit organization is heavily immersed in figuring out how to use or harness social media to strengthen and promote itself and its work. In the frenzy to latch onto these new forms of communication and linkage, and given the pace at which these new media are developing, organizations may not be conscious…
Introduction The third and most recent edition of Imagine Canada’s Sector Monitor (www.imaginecanada.ca/sector_monitor) was conducted between October 28 and November 24, 2010.1 A major focus of this survey was exploring the public awareness and policy activities of Canadian charities. Because this topic can be somewhat sensitive among charities, the survey instrument used a framework that…
Summary this article describes a lobbying campaign by women in zimbabwe to ensure gender sensitivity in a new constitution—a campaign being conducted in very difficult circumstances. The description of this campaign is a further illustration of how rights set out in international agreements can be applied in domestic public policy processes. While the ultimate goal…
Introduction Advocacy has been defined as the act of speaking or of disseminating information intended to influence individual behaviour or opinion, corporate conduct, or public policy and law.2 Many people believe that the act of advocacy as a form of free speech is an essential part of democracy.3 While many registered charities in Canada believe…
Good policy development lies as much in the “how” as in the “what.” This is because the process used to develop policy positions can either lead one headlong into common policy development traps or help one to sidestep these and continue safely to one’s goal—producing good policy. This article looks at what we mean by…
Summary The following article was prepared by Blake Bromley for the Commission of Inquiry into the Investigation of the Bombing of Air India Flight 182 in support of his personal testimony in Ottawa on October 26, 2007. This article will be published in 3 consecutive issues of The Philanthropist: the first installment will be the…
Welcome to the fourth 2010 issue of The Philanthropist. This issue discusses public policy and how various parts of the charitable and not-for-profit sector participate in public policy making—and how it should be done. It is an area in which the sector has generally failed to have substantial and sustained influence. Before I focus on…
Organizations that provide settlement services for immigrants and ongoing support for immigrant communities play a vital role in Canadian society. These organizations provide benefits—including assistance with housing, language training, employment preparation, and social services for new immigrants, as well as ongoing programs designed to support disadvantaged communities and eliminate discrimination—that are now recognized as accruing…