Capturing the impact of philanthropy

whitePaper | May 1, 2023

The second part of the annual Grow Together Report surveyed 120 decision makers in nonprofits in April 2023 to understand the current state of nonprofit organizations in Canada. The survey reveals that financial pressures for nonprofits have eased somewhat in the last 12 months, although organizations continue to struggle with rising costs and with securing skilled talent to help drive strategic initiatives, including digital transformation.

whitePaper | March 25, 2020

In their seminal article, "Nonprofit Starvation Cycle", Ann Goggins Gregory and Dan Howard exhort nonprofit finance professionals to report to funders the real costs of running nonprofit organizations. The authors explain that the popular trend to restrict funding to specific programs without accounting for infrastructure expenses leads to an unintended consequence, a "nonprofit starvation cycle", where charities cease to function because they can't pay for overhead costs, such as administrative employees, computers and electric bills. To break this unhealthy cycle, the article encourages nonprofits to recalibrate funder expectations by providing accurate financial reports and other supporting information to reflect the true costs of nonprofit operations.

whitePaper | October 25, 2021

Delivering social impact is the main purpose for a nonprofit organization, so anything that gets in the way of that must be reduced or eliminated. The right technology can help remove these barriers, but it must fit the needs of the business and be approached strategically – with cloud ERP systems designed specifically for the sector.

whitePaper | April 1, 2022

This year there are increasing macroeconomic headwinds on the horizonaltogether. As we continue to operate in an uncertain environment this will undoubtedly increase the importance of the work of charities in our society. In this publication, we consider these headwinds, and the sector risks they present as well as the opportunities and practical considerations for charities. A particular focus will be on climate change and how charities can develop their response in this area. We also review wider developments in the charity world, including in relation to specific risks and external audit, as well as in the areas of tax and VAT.

whitePaper | January 31, 2023

If there was ever any doubt that technology would make its way into the charitable realm, the pandemic’s reliance on virtual tools made clear how all-encompassing such trends would become.

whitePaper | March 30, 2020

Like the rate of failure seen in new business ventures, nonprofits often fail because they cannot secure the funding to be sustainable. This is because many nonprofits focus on their outputs rather than outcomes. Fundraising strategies should emphasize the value of the result expected to be delivered, then emphasize the downstream impact (outcomes) not just focus on the activities (or outputs) of the nonprofit itself.