Tucked away in the latest federal budget were several proposed provisions which will radically impact the way that charities manage their donations. These provisions, which reform and substantially simplify the existing disbursement quota rules, should dramatically impact the conversations that gift planners (and all fundraisers) have with their prospective donors.

Thankfully, Canadians will be returning to those halcyon days when “DQ” meant a trip to the local Dairy Queen for some tasty soft-serve. While the elimination of the most onerous disbursement quota provisions should be thunderously applauded, we need to understand what these changes truly mean when we sit down with our supporters and discuss their next gift.

That warm, relaxed feeling you brought back from vacation? Vaporized in an instant by the overwhelming sight of your inbox! But take heart – Gina Trapani, author of Upgrade Your Life, has some tips to help you blast through those hundreds of unread messages and recapture your holiday-happy mood.

Here’s the first revelation: Just because they sent it doesn’t mean you have to read it.

Some of Canada’s leading charities have raised slightly more money each year over the past five years, except for 2009 – but they’ve had to get those gifts from 13 per cent fewer donors, according to a five-year client audit of direct marketing fundraising results from Cornerstone Group of Companies.

While only 32 charities are represented in the study, Cornerstone describes many of them as “the leading fundraising marketers in Canada,” as indicated by the group’s aggregate 25 million donations totalling $695 million in direct marketing revenue over the five-year period.

The governance committee is unique among the board’s committees, says the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants. “Rather than addressing only a single aspect of the board’s mandate, the governance committee focuses holistically on the entire board. As such, it can serve as a centre for self-reflection to build and enhance the board’s effectiveness, acting as a performance catalyst for the board.”

Gulf Coast area charities and churches are beginning to calculate the contributions they’ve lost from people who can no longer afford to give because of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, says British newspaper The Telegraph.

Tithing fishermen who have been put out of work by the disaster have been unable to keep up their contributions. With their lost pledges on record, at least one congregation, the Anchor Assembly of God in Bayou la Batre, Alabama, is filing a claim for the contributions it would normally have received during the disaster period, as well as the money it expects to lose next year – a total of $50,000.