Articles of Interest in Vantage Point E-News

The following two articles appeared in the March 2011 edition of the Vantage Point E-News. 

The first article, Operating in Black and White, is by Tamara Vrooman, CEO of Vancity Credit Union. 

The second, Charitable Venture Organizations: A Model Whose Time Has Come? is by Margaret Mason (Bull, Housser & Tupper, LLP)

Operating in Black and White 

By Tamara Vrooman

In this article Tamara discusses financial issues affecting non-profit organizations, including changes to the BC Society Act, community investment funds and companies, demonstrating value, and business transformation.   

Article excerpt: "The tools available for financing and funding of the not-for-profit sector typically reflect a clumsy adaptation of tools designed for other audiences and purposes. Clearly, the not-for-profit sector and those who support it must move together towards new models of purposeful investment in social change and appropriate tools, resources and supports for the same.

The regulatory environments for not-for-profit organizations in BC and across Canada can be confusing to practitioners and board members alike as they try to interpret the legislative framework in which they operate. It can be confounding for allied professionals (lawyers, accountants and bankers) seeking to assist the sector, and it can produce unintended consequences when not interpreted consistently by regulators and others enforcing policies within different levels of government. ..."

Click here for the full article.

Charitable Venture Organizations: A Model Whose Time Has Come?

By Margaret Mason

In this article Margaret looks at a report by The Tides Canada Initiatives Society in Vancouver called Tides Canada Initiatives Society: Charitable Venture Organizations: A New Infrastructure Model for Canadian Registered Charities." 

Article excerpt:  "The report describes a model which was termed, for the purposes of the report, a "charitable venture" organization or "CVO". Organizations currently exist which operate on this model but the term CVO is not in common usage. Such an organization is a registered charity which performs the following activities: internally generated projects performed by employees or contractors, externally generated projects "adopted" as projects of the charity and performed by the charity's employees or contractors and the "housing" of community collaborations. ...  It is clear there is a significant call for organizations in Canada that provide this infrastructure, particularly as it relates to not-for-profit groups without charitable status that operate through agency agreements and for unincorporated groups that operate as projects of a CVO. ..."

Click here for the full article.

About Vantage Point

The mission of Vantage Point is to inspire & build leadership in the voluntary sector. This publication is intended to be a medium of communication and information for the many organizations active in the volunteer and not-for-profit sector. The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the writers and do not necessarily reflect official policy of the Board of Directors of Vantage Point.

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