From the Founder’s Pen

Reflections on doing good well

Commentary and essays on the nonprofit sector, technology, partnership and service — written to inform, provoke thought and, now and then, to encourage.

Written by Rajiv Bhargava, Founder & Executive Director

Leadership

2 min read

Why We Are Called Bridges

A bridge does not replace either shore. It simply makes crossing possible. That modest ambition is the whole of our philosophy.

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Sector insight

2 min read

Fewer Hands, Same Heart: Reading Canada’s Volunteering Numbers

Statistics Canada’s latest survey shows formal volunteering falling from 41 to 32 per cent in five years. The figure is sobering; the response it demands is not despair but design.

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Volunteering

2 min read

2026, the International Year of Volunteers: A Global Theme With Local Consequences

The United Nations has named 2026 the International Year of Volunteers for Sustainable Development, and Canada’s National Volunteer Week asked us to “Ignite Volunteerism.” The invitation is worth accepting on its own terms.

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Giving

2 min read

Four Billion Reasons for Hope: Lessons From GivingTuesday 2025

GivingTuesday 2025 raised a record US$4.0 billion, and volunteering on the day grew by twenty per cent. The headline is money; the more instructive story is participation.

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Technology

2 min read

Everyone Uses AI; Almost No One Is Transformed by It

A 2026 study found that 92 per cent of nonprofits use artificial intelligence, yet only 7 per cent report a major improvement in capability. The gap between adoption and transformation is where the real work lies.

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Sector insight

2 min read

Resilient, Not Comfortable: The State of Canadian Fundraising in 2026

Nearly three-quarters of Canadian charities report stable or growing voluntary income. Resilience is real — but it is being purchased with effort, adaptation and a steady turn toward digital maturity.

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Leadership

2 min read

Paying the People Who Do the Good: Nonprofit Compensation in 2026

A national survey of 924 organisations shows nonprofit pay rising faster than inflation since 2020. Fair compensation is not a diversion from the mission; it is one of its preconditions.

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Technology

2 min read

The Inbox Is the New Front Door: Phishing and the Small Nonprofit

Email-based threats against nonprofits rose by more than a third in a single year, and credential phishing by half. The defences that matter most are neither expensive nor complicated.

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Giving

2 min read

The Quiet Revolution of Monthly Giving

Canada’s online giving data point to a steady rise in monthly donations and gifts of securities. Behind the trend lies a more profound shift: from transactions to relationships.

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Community

2 min read

In Praise of the Two-Person Charity

Most of the nonprofit sector is small, local and astonishingly resourceful. These organisations deserve not our sympathy but our serious investment.

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Technology

2 min read

The Spreadsheet That Ate Saturday

Every organisation has a document that quietly consumes its best hours. Identifying it — and retiring it gracefully — is one of the most humane things a leader can do.

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Technology

2 min read

Five Questions to Ask Before You Buy Any Software

Technology decisions in small organisations are often made quickly and regretted slowly. Five disciplined questions can prevent most of the regret.

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Partnerships

2 min read

Multiplication, Not Addition: The Case for Nonprofit Collaboration

When organisations collaborate well, the result exceeds the sum of their efforts. When they collaborate poorly, it falls short of either. The difference lies in design.

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Partnerships

2 min read

What a Good Partnership Agreement Actually Looks Like

The best partnership agreements are short, specific and written in plain language. They exist not to anticipate litigation but to prevent misunderstanding.

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Volunteering

2 min read

The Volunteer Who Stays: Designing Roles People Love

Volunteers rarely leave because they stop caring. They leave because the role was unclear, the welcome was cool or their contribution went unnoticed. Each of these is a design problem.

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Volunteering

2 min read

Your Day Job Is Someone’s Missing Piece

Skills-based volunteering transforms ordinary professional competence into extraordinary community value. The accountant, the designer and the network administrator may be the rarest volunteers of all.

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Leadership

2 min read

Measuring What Matters Without Drowning in Metrics

Small organisations are asked to measure more than ever, often with no additional capacity. A disciplined handful of indicators serves both the mission and the funder better than a sprawling dashboard.

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Community

2 min read

Telling Your Impact Story Honestly

Stories move people in ways statistics cannot. Precisely because they are so powerful, they must be told with consent, accuracy and respect for the dignity of those they describe.

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Leadership

2 min read

A Small Board’s Guide to Big Decisions

Volunteer boards govern organisations with real obligations and real consequences. A few steady practices allow even a small board to govern with confidence.

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Technology

2 min read

Digital Literacy Is Dignity

When essential services move online, digital skills cease to be a convenience and become a condition of full participation. Teaching them well is an act of respect.

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Technology

2 min read

The Laptop’s Second Life

Every year, organisations retire thousands of computers that could serve students, newcomers and community groups for years. Giving them a second life requires care, security and a little logistics.

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Community

2 min read

Planting Trees With Strangers

A community planting day accomplishes something beyond its environmental purpose. It turns neighbours who have never spoken into people who have built something together.

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Giving

2 min read

From Idea to First Grant: A Gentle Roadmap

Many worthy projects never reach funders because their founders do not know where to begin. The path is less mysterious than it appears, and it rewards preparation more than polish.

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Leadership

2 min read

Leading With Less: On Burnout and the Nonprofit Leader

Nonprofit leaders are often praised for sacrifice. A sector that depends on the exhaustion of its leaders, however, is not sustainable. Caring for those who care is a strategic necessity.

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Volunteering

April 27, 2025 · 2 min read

“Volunteers Make Waves”: National Volunteer Week 2025 and the Ripple Effect

Canada’s National Volunteer Week 2025 celebrated the ripple effect of individual service, even as it acknowledged a sobering reality: most charities could not meet demand. The theme invites a practical response.

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Giving

February 18, 2025 · 2 min read

The Case for Trust: What a Study of Unrestricted Giving Revealed

In February 2025, a three-year study of more than a thousand organisations that received large, unrestricted gifts found the effects overwhelmingly positive. It strengthens a quiet revolution in how funders relate to nonprofits.

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Giving

December 3, 2024 · 2 min read

Goods, Time and Voice: The Broader Generosity of GivingTuesday 2024

GivingTuesday 2024 raised US$3.6 billion, but its most striking figure was a 32 per cent rise in people donating goods. Generosity, it seems, is becoming more tangible and more varied.

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Community

October 28, 2024 · 2 min read

Past Two Million: HungerCount 2024 and the Limits of Heroic Effort

In March 2024, Canadian food banks recorded more than two million visits in a single month — nearly double the figure of 2019. Heroic effort has carried the sector this far; structure must carry it further.

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Community

July 24, 2024 · 2 min read

Jasper, July 2024: Preparedness, Loss and the Multiplying Power of Matching

The wildfire that reached Jasper in July 2024 destroyed about a third of the town. Governments pledged to turn every dollar donated into three. The episode offers lessons about readiness and about generosity amplified.

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Community

October 25, 2023 · 2 min read

Nearly Two Million Visits: What HungerCount 2023 Asked of Our Communities

Food Banks Canada recorded 1,935,911 visits in March 2023 — a 32 per cent rise in a single year. Behind each visit is a person, and behind each food bank is a network of volunteers under growing strain.

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Sector insight

July 10, 2023 · 2 min read

Halfway to 2030: What the SDG Midpoint Report Asks of Every Organisation

In July 2023, the United Nations reported that only about 15 per cent of the Sustainable Development Goal targets assessed were on track. The finding is a summons, not a verdict.

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Community

June 1, 2023 · 2 min read

A Summer of Smoke: Community Resilience After the 2023 Wildfire Season

Canada’s 2023 wildfire season burned more than 15 million hectares — over twice the previous record. Beyond the statistics lies a question every community organisation must now ask: are we ready?

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Giving

February 6, 2023 · 2 min read

When Distance Disappears: The Türkiye–Syria Earthquakes and Canadian Generosity

After the devastating earthquakes of 6 February 2023, Canada pledged to match up to $10 million in donations. The response illustrated how diaspora communities and established agencies can work together in a crisis.

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Sector insight

January 6, 2023 · 2 min read

Investing in the Invisible: The Community Services Recovery Fund

In January 2023, applications opened for a $400 million federal fund aimed not at new programmes but at the people, systems and processes behind them. It was a rare and welcome recognition of what organisations actually need.

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Giving

December 15, 2022 · 2 min read

Five Per Cent: Understanding the 2023 Disbursement Quota Change

In December 2022, Canadian law raised the disbursement quota for larger charitable endowments from 3.5 to 5 per cent. Behind the technical language lies a simple question: how quickly should charitable wealth reach communities?

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Volunteering

December 5, 2022 · 2 min read

“Together, Act Now”: Reflections on International Volunteer Day 2022

On 5 December 2022, the United Nations marked International Volunteer Day under the theme of solidarity through volunteering. The phrase contains a quiet challenge to how we organise help.

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Technology

November 30, 2022 · 2 min read

The Day the Chatbot Arrived: Nonprofits and Generative AI, Three Years On

When ChatGPT was released on 30 November 2022, few imagined how quickly it would enter everyday nonprofit work. The technology is powerful; the wisdom to use it well remains a human responsibility.

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Community

September 24, 2022 · 2 min read

After Fiona: What Atlantic Canada Taught Us About Response at Scale

Hurricane Fiona struck Atlantic Canada in September 2022. The Canadian Red Cross later reported assisting more than 96,000 households — a reminder that modern relief is as much about systems as about supplies.

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Sector insight

July 5, 2022 · 2 min read

The Invisible Nine Per Cent: The Nonprofit Sector in Canada’s Economy

In July 2022, Statistics Canada reported that nonprofits accounted for 9.0 per cent of the nation’s GDP in 2020 and employed 2.4 million people. The figure challenges the notion that charity sits at the margins of economic life.

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Partnerships

June 23, 2022 · 2 min read

From Control to Accountability: The 2022 Qualifying Disbursements Reform

In June 2022, Canadian law changed how charities may fund organisations that are not themselves registered charities. The reform rewards a virtue every organisation should cultivate: good documentation.

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Giving

November 30, 2021 · 2 min read

GivingTuesday 2021 and the Question of Momentum

GivingTuesday 2021 raised US$2.7 billion — a record, yet the first year without double-digit growth. The moment invited an important reflection: generosity cannot depend on novelty alone.

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Community

November 17, 2021 · 2 min read

When the Water Rose: British Columbia, November 2021

The atmospheric river that struck British Columbia in November 2021 displaced thousands. The response revealed both the generosity of Canadians and the importance of organisations ready before disaster arrives.

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Sector insight

August 17, 2021 · 2 min read

The Uneven Recovery: What 2021 Taught Us About Charity Resilience

In August 2021, a national survey found more than four in ten Canadian charities still facing revenue declines while demand kept rising. The pandemic did not affect every organisation equally — and neither should our response.

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Community

February 19, 2021 · 2 min read

Two Billion Trees and the Patience of Good Work

In February 2021, Canada committed to planting two billion trees over a decade. The ambition is national; its success, I have come to believe, will be decided locally.

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