Governance is a hot topic in the nonprofit sector, with largely volunteer-based boards of directors struggling to fulfil their governance responsibilities, as well as serve as major fundraising resources. Indeed, board members are often recruited for their fundraising prowess, with little expectation that they will actively monitor the nonprofit organization. The fact that nonprofit organizations…
The Special Report: Ornge Air Ambulance and Related Services (Office of the Auditor General of Ontario, 2012) reports that the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MOHLTC) has not been obtaining the information it needs to fulfill its oversight responsibilities over Ornge’s financial undertakings and operations. Ornge, a government agency reporting to the MOHLTC, is…
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…
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…
Most individuals have been in a meeting at which an accountant or financial person presents financial information. This can take the form of a budget proposal, a review of the year-end financial statement, or a routine report on operating results at a board of directors’ meeting. Once the presentation begins, the people at the meeting…
LAURIE MOOK Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto BETTY JANE RICHMOND Faculty of Education, York University, Toronto JACK QUARTER Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto Evidence of Volunteer Contributions In Canada, the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating for the year 2000 estimated that there were 6.5 million…
This article was developed from a presentation to the Essential Curriculum in Charities, a part of the Professional Development Program in Continuing Legal Education, Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Toronto, held on March 6 and 7, 2001. Introduction This article will examine the role of the Public Guardian and Trustee in charitable matters, a…
In “Standing on Guard for Thee: The Role of the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee”, Kenneth R. Goodman of the Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee Ontario (OPGT) provides a review of the current operations of the OPGT in regard to charitable matters. The OPGT’s jurisdiction originates in the Crown’s parens patriae…
Reinventing Your Board By John Carver and Miriam Mayhew Carver Published by Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, 1997, 232 pp., $40.95 REVIEWED BY VICTOR MURRAY Faculty of Administrative Studies, University of Victoria The phenomenon know as John Carver’s “Policy Governance Model” for the management of nonprofit boards seems to be continuing unabated. By November 1998, 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;…