Resources

Index of resources:

• Governance and Board Development
• Leadership and Management
• General Voluntary Sector Links 

The Non-Profit Sector Leadership Program is pleased to provide voluntary and non-profit organizations with some of our program's resource materials as well as selected links to other websites that also offer useful information on leadership and management topics. Under all three headings one will find links to a number of the most active organizations, in North America and beyond, working on behalf of the sector in advocacy, research and education.

These sections will be updated regularly to include new resource material. Please check back frequently and let us know if there are additional resource materials you would like to see here or other links that we should include.

Links to external sites open in new browser windows independent of this one.

   Governance and Board Development

We are pleased to provide some of our original program resources on governance and board development as well as links to other key sites. We would appreciate hearing from organizations that have found our materials useful, have suggestions for improvements and adaptations, or are looking for information on other governance topics.

A Guide to Successful Board Recruitment - [PDF format]
Annual Reports: The Basic Ingredients - [PDF format]
Building a Board Member's Manual - [PDF format]
Board Succession Planning Checklist - [PDF format]
Chairing a Board Meeting - [PDF format]
Executive Director Succession Planning Checklist - [PDF format]
Good Board Practices Checklist - [PDF format]
Guidelines for Board-Staff E-Mail Communication - [PDF format]
How Boards Can Have Better Conversations - [PDF format]
Legal Responsibilities of Boards - [PDF format]
Managing Board Conflict: A Guide for Volunteer Boards - [PDF format]
Non-Profit Web Sites: Enhancing Organizational Accountability - [PDF format]
Sample Non-Profit By-Laws - [PDF format]
Should We Form a Board Committee? - [PDF format]
Ten Proven Ideas for Better Board Meetings - [PDF format]
Your Board Recruitment Package - [PDF format]

Sample Policies

Alberta Board Development Program
BoardSource
CompassPoint's Board Café Newsletter
Fundamentals of Effective Board Involvement (On-Line Tutorial)
Governance and Leadership - NCVO (U.K.)
Institute on Governance - Ottawa
Nonprofit Governance and Management Centre (Australia)
Policy Governance (John Carver)
Free Management Library - Authencity Consulting
Volunteer BC

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   Leadership and Management

These sites provide ideas for organizational leadership, strategic planning, evaluation, marketing and public relations within the voluntary sector.

Alliance for Non-Profit Management
Appreciative Inquiry
Compass Point Nonprofit Services
HR Council for the Voluntary / Non-Profit Sector
Idealist: Action Without Borders (see Tools of Organizations)
Free Management Library - Authencity Consulting
Nonprofit Good Practice Guide (Johnson Center at Grand Valley State University)
ALIA Institute - Authentic Leadership In Action
The Society for Organizational Learning
Society of Fundraising Executives - Atlantic Canada
TechSoup - The Technology Place for Non Profits
Voluntary Sector Knowledge Network (Centre for Nonprofit Management, Victoria BC)
Pillar Nonprofit Network (see Resources and Links)

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   General Voluntary Sector Links

Association for Nonprofit and Social Economy Research (ANSER)
A newly formed (2007) association dedicated to developing a Canadian body of knowledge that encompasses the fields of community development, philanthropy, nonprofit management, volunteering, social and environmental accounting, government/voluntary sector relationships, social movements, citizen engagement and civil society.

ARNOVA
The Association for Research on Non-Profit Organizations and Voluntary Action is an international, interdisciplinary network of scholars and non-profit leaders involved in conducting and disseminating research on voluntary action, non-profit organizations, philanthropy and civil society.

Canadian Policy Research Networks
A Canadian research organization with an interest in the non-profit sector, citizen engagement and the social union. Of particular interest are their reports on the non-profit sector and quality of life indicators.

Charity Village
Canada's super site for the nonprofit sector contains information and links to information and resources for executives, staffers, donors and volunteers. It is worth spending some time touring this site.

Imagine Canada
Imagine Canada builds on the proud history of two leading voices of Canada's charitable and nonprofit sector: the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (CCP) and the Coalition of National Voluntary Organizations (NVO). In January 2005, both organizations launched Imagine Canada. Imagine Canada focuses on three key areas: (1) helping charities and nonprofit organizations fulfill their missions; (2) championing corporate citizenship and helping businesses partner in the community, and (3) helping Canadians and their governments understand how the work of charities, nonprofit organizations and community-minded businesses is important to our country and its future.

International Society for Third Sector Research
ISTR is an international association promoting research and education in the fields of philanthropy, civil society and the non-profit sector.

Jossey-Bass / Wiley Publishers
The U.S. publisher with the largest selection of books on management including non-profit leadership, board development, fundraising and accounting.

Free Management Library - Authencity Consulting
This resource first appeared in 1996 as one of the first 'libraries' of on-line resources for non-profit organizations. It has been generously developed and maintained on a volunteer basis by Carter McNamara of Authencity Consulting. It contains information on seventy-five topics relevant to both non-profit and for-profit businesses. Check out boards of directors, evaluation, finances, and other categories.

Federation of Community Organizations
The role of the Federation of Community Organizations (FOCO) is to connect and strengthen the voluntary sector in Halifax Regional Municipality.

National Council for Voluntary Organizations
The National Council for Voluntary Organizations (NCVO) is the umbrella body for the voluntary sector in England. It has over 800 member organizations as well as sister councils in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. NCVO provides information, brokered services, publications and events.

Nonprofit Library Commons
An initiative of Imagine Canada, this redesigned website is a useful on-line library containing a large stock of resources of value to non-profit organizations.

Registry of Joint Stock Companies - Nova Scotia Department of Business and Consumer Services
This website contains information on incorporating a non-profit or volunteer organization under the Societies Act of Nova Scotia.

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