Isn’t it a great feeling when a board member asks a question out of the blue – and you are ready for it? Some board members may soon be asking about one or two emerging standards, so here’s a primer for senior staff and other governance champions.

Imagine Canada has issued another iteration of its draft Voluntary Standards of Excellence and is now working on an accreditation model. These standards relate to how well your organization is run.

The message seems simple – that being worthy of a donor’s support and being prepared to turn that support into action are essential to securing major gifts. However, anyone who works in the nonprofit sector knows that putting this directive into practice is hard work.

What does it mean to be worthy?

Writing for Blue Avocado, former Compass Point executive director Jan Masaoka describes some insights she gleaned from participating in the Women Executive Directors of Color network and by conducting a study on nonprofit women executives of colour. No matter what your ethnic heritage, you’ll recognize some of them, especially the first.

Note to funders: Give us money

By this, Masaoka means unrestricted money – a chance to experiment, to make mistakes, to sleep at night, to take the time to nurture leaders within our organizations. “Working with restricted grants and government contracts,” she states, “is like having 15 part-time jobs – with each employer designating which of your expenses your salary can be used to pay for.”

Almost half of Canada’s charities are having difficulty fulfilling their mission and/or are facing increased demand for their products and services. Nearly one-third expect to have difficulty covering expenses in 2010. And almost a quarter say their existence is at risk.

These are some of the sobering discoveries of Imagine Canada’s first Sector Monitor, released in May and based on research conducted between November, 2009 and January, 2010. 

Until now, Parkinson Society Canada has been the organization of choice for Canadians who support people living with Parkinson’s disease. But in September, 2009, a high-power competitor emerged: the Canadian branch of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research.

Michael J. Fox, the famous Canadian actor who stared as Alex P. Keaton in the successful TV series Family Ties and as Marty McFly in the Back to the Future movie franchise, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991. In 2000 he opened a foundation in New York City with one goal in mind: finding a cure. Since then, it has raised $150 million for Parkinson’s research.