Restoring Trust – The Art of Building Relationships
By Kathleen A. Provost, CFRE, MAdEd As a professional fundraiser, I have always been fascinated with the factors and events that can shape the way professional fundraisers build relationships in our ever-evolving philanthropic sector. There is one core factor of relationship building: trust. To understand how we build trust, we …
The Advantages of Donating Through a Corporation
Among all the reasons people give to charity, reducing their taxes is often far down the list. According to a survey by the Charities Aid Foundation in the U.K., more important reasons people give are: 96%: personal values including a sense of morality and ethics 75%: belief in a specific …
In Conversation with Teresa Virani, Executive Director, Philanthropy at Nicola Wealth
In this series, Nick talks with other philanthropic leaders who help to “get money moving” by addressing systemic barriers to giving. This edition features innovator and collaborator Teresa Virani, who has been a pioneer in the Canadian philanthropic landscape. Teresa’s most recent role is Executive Director, Philanthropy at Nicola Wealth. …
In Conversation with Sara Byrnell, Executive Director Philanthropy, KPMG Family Office
By Nicholas Palahnuk In this series, Nick talks with other philanthropic leaders who help to “get money moving” by addressing systemic barriers to giving. This edition features collaborator, connector, and advisor Sara Byrnell, who has mobilized giving in Canada at extraordinary levels during her career. Sara is Executive Director and …
A New Model of Philanthropy Can Point the Way for Tomorrow’s Leaders
By Kathleen A. Provost, CFRE, MAdEd As a professional fundraiser I always ask myself how I can share some of my learnings with other professionals. Since 2019, I have chosen to write this column, expressing my opinion and observations on our ever-evolving sector. For 2025, I thought I would add …
How Donors Choose to Give
By Leanne Kaufman Many Canadians have charitable intentions. In my role, we are seeing a significant increase in clients wanting to learn more about how they can be strategic in their charitable giving in life and in their estates. They not only want to develop a philanthropic strategy, but they …
Using Fundraising to Solve Health Care’s Greatest Challenges
By Julie Quenneville In February, Newsweek released its highly anticipated ranking of the world’s top hospitals, and for the second year in a row, University Health Network (UHN) was ranked #3 in the world. Second only to Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic in the United States, UHN’s recognition is already …
For CEOs and Future CEOs: Keep Donor Relations on Your Desk!
By Sandra Baker I get it! You are swamped. Your multi-faceted role requires you to be an expert in every aspect of your charity, from the cost of office coffee through to the minute details of every program you run. And, you must be an expert in human resources, budget …
Border Controls: AI and Data Sovereignty for Canadian Charities
By George Irish Two decades ago, I heard this statement many times. Canadian charities were setting up their first web donation forms and fundraisers faced a new question: How could they embrace new online fundraising tools while still maintaining control over sensitive donor information? Worries about cross-border data flows were …
At the Heart of Philanthropy Is Story
By Russell James III, J.D., Ph.D., CFP® My career has always focused on charitable giving. This was true in my practice experience, my research, and my teaching. But I’ll admit it. I never planned to study story. I was always more of a “numbers guy.” My law practice focused on …