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Many charities are taking stock of their last fiscal year this week. And, if you are an Executive Director and your donations are down this year, you may be thinking about letting your fundraiser go. Here are some questions you should ask your fundraiser first – What is the 3 year trend of donations for your charity? […]
If you are like me it’s the New Year and you haven’t really dealt with clearing up the Christmas/Hannukah mess yet. A great first step is getting rid of gently-used or new things your kids or grandkids can’t use. A key part of that sentence is “gently-used or new.” No one wants your Harry Potter book […]
Charities often struggle to find great volunteers. Part of the problem is that for some reason, many charities have the idea that there are a legion of people out there just waiting to do dull, routine clerical work. How can you effectively find the good volunteers who are keen to help you? Have you posted […]
Some Board members serve for a year. Some serve forever. Which is better? While there are pros and cons to both approaches, conventional wisdom has Boards with defined term limits. Not sure where you stand? Here are a few quick Pros and Cons thanks to very smart folks at BoardSource. THE PROs OF TERM LIMITS • Provide […]
A cancer patient has complained about hospital parking fees arguing “the fees are a violation of the Canada Health Act, which recognizes Canadians’ right to guaranteed access to health care services “without financial or other barriers.” If you have ever said the sentence “Charities should be run more like businesses,” you are part of the […]
If you are a Executive Director, CFO, Board Chair, Board Treasurer, volunteer manager, or Fundraiser and you operate under the illusion that anyone who works for a charity as an employee or volunteer is a good person who would never steal, have I got bad news for you. Yes, sadly, even charity employees steal. in fact, your […]
One of my first jobs was working to raise money for Goodwill in San Francisco. Through this work, I was inspired and impressed by the mission of the organization and the remarkable front-line employees. Recently, in the face of enormous financial crisis, the entire Board of the Toronto Goodwill quit. I am outraged. The media […]
(Psst- want to know a secret?) 2016 is nearly here and nearly 50% of are making a resolution to get healthy in the new year. Want to know a secret that volunteers and donors already know? The lazy way to get more healthy is to give and volunteer! Donors and volunteers live longer and happier […]
Twas the night before Christmas and despite fundraising yelps, not a gift was stirring – not even one via CanadaHelps. The direct mail was posted with live postage and care, in hope there were still donors writing cheques here and there. The children were snuggled all nestled in beds, while visions of social enterprise chocolate danced in […]
“It would be so great if Justin Bieber would do a performance for our charity. We could make millions” is on the minds today of many after hearing of the benefit concert Beiber did for House of Blessing, a charity his family benefited from in the past. What is smart was that this event was on […]
