It’s time to say ‘not’ to not-for-profit - The Globe and Mail

It’s time to say ‘not’ to not-for-profit - The Globe and Mail: But current guidelines from the Canada Revenue Agency suggest a 20-per-cent to 35-per-cent target fundraising cost ratio. Imagine the government telling a bank or software company what its expense targets should be annually. But this is what happens in our “not-for-profit” sector. At best, this stifles a charity’s current operations and its potential for greater impact in the future. At risk is fundraising innovation, prudent risk taking, launching social enterprises, creating new initiatives, enhancing service, creating brand equity – the very things lauded in the other sectors. At worst, it focuses public and policy attention on a difficult performance metric and creates a very short-term view of “investment” and “return.”