Leadership & Governance | PANL Perspectives

The public often holds the nonprofit sector to high principles of good governance, accountability and transparency. In this section, you’ll find debate about leadership and governance — and more than a little advice.

Articles

January 16, 2024

Supporting the Charity Ecosystem

By Dr. Susan Phillips. “Our firm prefers to support ‘boots on the ground',” the president of a major investment firm told me in turning down our funding proposal for an... More

November 14, 2023

“Is there a role for the arts in addressing social change? Potentially. Maybe. Sometimes.”–Meghan Lindsay

Meghan Lindsay is a performing artist and academic who's an instructor in the MPNL program. She works with many grassroots arts organizations and collectives in exploring alternative ways of operating.... More

August 17, 2023

“Hunger in Canada isn’t the problem. We have more than enough food to feed people.”...

“Hunger in Canada isn’t the problem. We have more than enough food to feed people.” –Sam Watts, CEO of Welcome Hall Mission

Samuel Watts is CEO and Executive Director of the Welcome Hall Mission, a 130-year-old nonprofit organization in Montreal that works with people experiencing homelessness, families living in precarity, and young... More

December 2, 2022

L’art, plus que jamais : changements stratégiques au Conseil des arts du Canada

[This article is also available in English.] À la fin de 2022 Simon Brault, directeur et chef de la direction du Conseil des arts du Canada, a rencontré PANL Perspectives... More

November 21, 2022

The Hockey Canada Fiasco: Yves Savoie Offers Lessons for Nonprofits in Canada

The Hockey Canada scandal has been in the news a lot this year. We spoke to Yves Savoie, an executive coach and strategy advisor to not-for-profits and charities, about broader... More

November 9, 2022

Stronger Policy Leadership for Canada’s Charitable & Nonprofit Sector: Advancing Conversations

By Susan D. Phillips. Disruption. Transformation. Reinvention. These lie ahead for Canada’s charitable and nonprofit sector. This sector must drive change for those it serves. And, it must help governments... More

September 25, 2022

ESG… SDG… PRI…: Does “impact” mean anything anymore?

By Tristan Smyth. ‘Impact,’ in a business context, warrants far more controversy in public discourse than it currently receives. It lurks in the shadows of the monolithic acronyms ESG, SDG,... More

January 25, 2022

“We should have more honest conversations and think of ways in which leaders can reach...

“We should have more honest conversations and think of ways in which leaders can reach out to each other and create an atmosphere of trust…”

Dr. Paloma Raggo is an assistant professor in Carleton University’s MPNL program and an Editor with PANL Perspectives. She researches leadership and nonprofit governance, global philanthropy, and research methods, and... More

October 20, 2021

Dominique Marshall on Histories in Philanthropy

Dominique Marshall is a historian in the Department of History at Carleton University. Her projects involve the history of nonprofit and philanthropy and work with the Canadian Network of Humanitarian... More

September 13, 2021

It’s Time to Go: A Capstone Report about Closure

The Capstone Project provides professional experience for students of the Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership program and provides important research in the nonprofit and philanthropic sector. Students work in... More

July 12, 2021

“When the next social network breaks down, we’ll still be here” –Kwende Kefentse, CKCU FM

Interview by Sherlyn Assam Kwende Kefentse is the new Executive Director of CKCU, the independent, 45-year-old, campus-community broadcaster located at Carleton University, in Ottawa. CKCU FM is a charity embraced... More

May 9, 2021

You Are Not Alone: How the Field of Design Supports the Nonprofit Sector

By Chiara Del Gaudio. Canada’s nonprofit and philanthropic sector is facing a major task of rebuilding and reinventing during the pandemic. This includes a fundamental reworking of our systems of care, developing radically different funding... More

November 7, 2020

How to Survive Founder’s Syndrome

It seems to me that your founder doesn’t know how and when to let go.

October 26, 2020

How to Deal with a Toxic Board Member

The chair of our board, Dick, has recently sent an aggressive email to a long-time staff member. He accused the staff person of being manipulative and lazy...

October 11, 2020

Stuck Between a Rock & a Board Chair

Arthur is now trying to control all kinds of operational and creative decisions related to the exhibit and now wants to include artwork from a personal rock collection. Help! Staff members are at their wits... More

September 20, 2020

Emergency? What Emergency?

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how unprepared the charitable sector was in navigating a crisis.