Voluntary and non-profit organizations are vital to strengthening our communities' social, economic and cultural fabric. They supply an astonishing array of services to Canadians, are responsible for organizing over a billion hours of voluntary work and employ 7.2% of Canada's workforce or 1.2 million people. Standing along side government and business this "Third Sector" plays an increasingly important role in addressing community problems, building resilience and enhancing democratic citizenship.

The mission of the Non-Profit Sector Leadership Program is to increase the organizational capacity of voluntary, non-governmental and community organizations by assisting them to:

• Improve their governance and management practices;
• Pursue their missions more effectively and creatively;
• Work with other organizations and governments to build stronger communities;
• Learn from each other locally, nationally and internationally.

The College of Continuing Education, Dalhousie University provides three leadership courses for executive directors, managers, and others working in and with community volunteer organizations. Each course involves face-to-face and on-line elements. They are highly interactive and provide opportunities to work and receive feedback on solutions to issues in participants' own organizations.

• Leading and Managing Non-Profit Organizations
• Strategic Planning
• Financial Management for Community Organizations
• Transformative Communication for Non-Profit Leaders

Effective Governance

We provide courses and consultative services to assist voluntary organizations improve their board practices, the quality of their partnerships and accountability to their communities.

• Improving Non-Profit Governance
• Board Coaching Program

We also design and facilitate broad-based collaborative processes on issues of community importance. This includes training and consulting services in:

• Negotiation, conflict management and mediation
• Multi-stakeholder collaboration
• Citizen engagement and consultation

We facilitate and participate in applied research projects, carried out in partnership with community organizations, on issues of importance to the non-profit sector. Topics of interest may include:

• Government-voluntary sector contracting relationships
• Inter-agency collaboration