Being an effective member of a charity’s board involves more than showing up at meetings. It requires staying informed and asking difficult questions, participating in planning and policy making, ensuring a sound financial footing, and monitoring and evaluating the management and governance of an organization. In addition, it frequently means fundraising. 

The board’s role in fundraising is to prepare and be informed in order to make the appropriate approach. It is important to enlist people who have served as fundraisers before, individuals with sales and marketing backgrounds, and people who understand public relations and advertising. 

The position description for board members should refer specifically to fundraising activities. It should be known up front that board members have a duty to enthusiastically seek support from various sources.

The most populous generation in history, the Boomers, are getting ready to…to what? To retire from their for-profit jobs? Yes. To start a second career in a nonprofit? Yes. To volunteer more than they’ve had time to during their work years? Yes. To retire from their nonprofit jobs? Yes. To retire later than our parents did? Probably. To hand off the leadership of our nonprofits to two generations of people that they really don’t understand? Yes. To stress out the social fabric of society to the maximum extent? Yes.

In Generations, author Peter Brinckerhoff invites you to think about the implications of this trend for your nonprofit. Will you have more people to serve in ten years, or fewer? If you don’t provide services to the aging segments of our population, do you think your funding levels from governmental and foundation sources will drop, stay the same, or increase? How are you going to replace retiring staff and board members, particularly at senior management levels? 

Hilborn FORA Executive Briefings, The Networked Nonprofit: Connecting with social media to drive change, Allison Fine, author and consultant. Thursday, September 30, plenary 8 - 9:15 am, small group consultation 9:30 - 11:30 am, 88 Chestnut Conference Centre, Toronto. Option 1: Breakfast, presentation and a copy of Allison's new book, The Networked Nonprofit; Option 2: option 1 PLUS limited seating post-breakfast roundtable. Option 1, $97 +HST by September 10, $117 afterwards, Option 2, $277 by September 10, $307 afterwards.

http://www.canadianfundraiser.com/workshop_Viewer.asp?workshop_ID=390

Hilborn Key-To-The-Sector Workshops, Monthly Donors: How to find them and hold on to them, Harvey McKinnon, Harvey McKinnon Associates. Wednesday, September 15, 9 am - 4 pm, 88 Chestnut Conference Centre, Toronto. Includes lunch, nutrition breaks and a complimentary copy of Harvey’s book, “Tiny Essentials of Monthly Committed Giving.” Early bird $347 +HST to September 9; $267 + HST afterwards.

http://www.canadianfundraiser.com/workshop_viewer.asp?workshop_ID=389 

The search warrant that the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals obtained, and the manner in which the OSPCA carried out the search of the Toronto Humane Society’s premises were so flawed that the Crown has dropped all charges against former THS president Tim Trow and other society leaders. The decision was announced August 16.

Crown attorney Christine McGoey told a Toronto court that the warrant and search process was marked by “several serious breaches” of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms’ protections against unreasonable search and seizure.

How do you view other charities whose mission is the same as yours? They serve the same vulnerable people, work in the same neighbourhood or region. Sometimes you’re even mistaken for one of them, and they’re mistaken for you. Are they competitors? Or potential collaborators?

Four Canadian charities active in international relief decided some years ago to collaborate wherever they could. They’ve worked with one another on the ground for years. Five years ago, after acknowledging their common values, objectives, size and memberships in the same international alliances, they decided to collaborate on fundraising too. Care Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam-Québec and Save the Children created the Humanitarian Coalition, a charity whose sole job is to raise money for its members’ response to international disasters.