Point : Bob Wyatt I am frankly well beyond frustrated by the media coverage of Canada’s voluntary sector. Or perhaps it might be more appropriate to call it non-coverage. Oh, sure, there are the “fluff ” stories—so-called human interest stories, usually featuring children or small animals. And there are, of course, the so-called scandal stories—somebody…
Contents: Volume 24, Issue 2 (2011)
Time and time again we hear the claim: “ The nonprofit, charitable, community sector helps to build resilient, healthy communities—in fact, we are leaders in doing so!” As a practitioner in the sector for many years, I myself have made this claim. There is truth to it. Indeed, it is a firm belief in this…
Introduction From 2005 to 2009, Canada’s roughly 85,000 charities reported that their collective revenues increased by roughly one quarter, equivalent to an annual growth rate of over 4%. Given this high rate of growth and the economic turbulence of the last few years, it is timely to look more closely at how charities are financed….
Understanding The Social Economy: A Canadian Perspective by Jack Quarter, Laurie Mook, & Ann Armstrong, Toronto: University of Toronto Press; 2009. isbn: 978-0-80209-645-6 CIRIEC: The Worth of the Social Economy. An International Perspective edited by Marie J. Bouchard, New York: Peter Lang Pub. Inc.; 2009. isbn: 978-9-05201-580-4 These two books represent milestones in defining, explaining, and describing…
It was with sadness that John’s colleagues and friends learned of his passing on Monday, January 24, 2011. John and I were fellow members of the Ontario bar, and I thought it would be fitting to say a few words about John’s contribution to our profession. John practised law for nearly 65 years as a…
Spirited Commitment: The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation by Roderick MacLeod and Eric John Abrahamson Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press; 2010. isbn: 978-0-7735-3710-1 Yves Savoie An acorn illustrates the jacket cover of Spirited Commitment: The Samuel and Saidye Bronfman Family Foundation recalling the phrase from a poem by David Everett “Large streams from…
Summary: The previous two issues of The Philanthropist, 23 (4) and 24 (1), featured an article 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. The following is the final installment: the text of…
This special issue is a collaboration between The Philanthropist and Imagine Canada. As part of its National Engagement Strategy, over 500 established and emerging leaders will come together from across the country and across the sector to be part of the National Summit for the Charitable and Nonprofit Sector in Ottawa, November 28–30, 2011. The…
Financial sustainability does matter. Funding for nonprofit organizations in Canada has reached a critical stage. Large numbers of organizations are constrained, and some are severely threatened by inconsistent and inadequate financing. The causes of this insecurity are many and varied, but the results are potentially changing the face of civil society right across the country….
Introduction: It’s not actually about “volunteering” at all I spent a part of my childhood in the back of a soup kitchen, quite literally. My parents started two soup kitchens when I was growing up, and I remember sitting with my brother, looking at all the cakes in the freezer and wishing we could eat…