donations

This past weekend I was part of a facilitation team taking a group of individuals and organizations through a course on starting a social enterprise.  The workshop was hosted by Canada Bridges and there were about 25 individuals ranging in age, ethnicity, and most especially in the ideas that they felt they could get to market that would make meaningful social change. Read more »

Why we need strategic philanthropy, not just good financial records…

There has been a lot in the news over the past few months about transparency in the charitable sector.  Most of these articles end up honing in on the cost of raising a dollar, overhead expenditures and tax compliance.  While these financial issues are definitely part of the equation, they should not be the basis upon which strategic philanthropy is based. 

Addressing complex social issues is not just about the financials, it is about the effectiveness of solving the social problem.

It has been a busy few weeks - tax season means people are starting to look at their overall wealth plans and laying out their charitable giving plan.  On the upside of this busy-ness is the fact that it looks like philanthropic activities are going up.

With Christmas right around the corner International Aid organizations like World Vision and Oxfam are promoting their "Gift Catalogue" of charitable products like goats, ducks, hens and rabbits.  How effective is buying livestock for someone living on less than a dollar a day?  It depends on the other supports that are provided the family who receives the animal.  It also depends on if that animal is indigenous to the region.

Photo from the Brampton Tanzania Trust. Read more »

In response to the Globe & Mail article published yesterday, "Charities see alarming trends as donors become older, fewer" I think this Paul Waldie is crying fire in a crowded theatre.  Read more »

In response to the Globe & Mail article published yesterday, "Charities see alarming trends as donors become older, fewer" I think this Paul Waldie is crying fire in a crowded theatre.  Read more »

I have been having a few conversations lately with Charity Intelligence about the true value of a charity.  Some of this is in light of the CEO Compensation debate that seems to have reared its head in the news lately.  In fact, in Canada there is a private member's bill - C-470 in the House of Commons that is being voted on about capping CEO Compensation.  This issue got me thinking about the true value of a charity. Read more »

In the 1980's Wendy's ran a commercial with the slogan, "Where's the beef?"  I was reminded of this as the debate about CEO compensation in the charitable sector is raising its head again. Read more »

Charity scams are alive and well in Canada.  In 2003 the Chronicle of Philanthropy released a report that in North America over $1.28B is lossed due to fraud (and that is only the fraud that is caught!).  This hit home this week when Ashley Kirilow was denied bail for her part in a cancery charity scam. Read more »

Last week I was having coffee with two amazing and insightful people at my favourite local coffee shop - @CaffeRosso in Ramsay. @MicheleFGartner and Bob McInnis, Executive Director of @brownbaggingit, and I were talking about donor motivations and charity trends around fundraising and identifying other revenue streams.  At some point during the conversation Michele identified that "Feel-Good Philanthropy" can have a negative downstream effect on overall grant-making because it does not look at a foundations overall social strategy. Read more »