Blog by Tim Herron.

Tim Herron is President and Chairman of the Board with the Starlight Children’s Foundation. He is a Certified Governance expert available for Executive Interim Leadership roles as part of the Accomplished Executives team at Boardroom Metrics.

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Charities and governance are becoming much better partners these days.

As we see from statistics in Canada and the US, the number of charities that are merging or closing their doors is becoming more and more apparent.   It is evident that proper business practices need to be adhered to.  For many of the charities, the mission and vision although noble, tends to stray from proper business practices in the name of the cause.

Over the past three years, we have seen many charities due to donor fall off and economic conditions reduce the services or programs they offer.  This, while not surprising to some is now becoming the norm.  Having a clear vision, following proper business practices and having governance checklists can give a proper underpinning to the charity.

With the government watchdogs paying more attention to charities and especially fundraising expenses, it now requires Boards and management of charities to be better stewards of the funds that are entrusted to them.

According to Stats Canada, a quarter of all Canadian tax filers made charitable contributions.  With about 80,000 registered charities in Canada, many small charities rely on volunteer Boards and grassroots fundraising for their existence.   Proper oversight is paramount.  Understanding financial issues such as budgeting, expense costs and proper record keeping are key to success and sustainability.

Good governance for charities is now sacrosanct.  Good governance protects the charity, the Board and stakeholders whose money was provided to fulfill the charities mission and vision.  It is the responsibility of the Board and management to accept good governance practices and make it as ubiquitous as daily business practices.

~*~To read more about Tim Herron, please visit his web profile page at https://www.boardroommetrics.com/accomplished-executives/accomplished-executive-profiles/tim-herron