Governance in a Charity: How Does it Work?

Charity boards guide mission-driven work by ensuring legal compliance, ethical standards, and effective use of resources. Strong governance relies on diverse skills, transparency, and accountability, helping organizations earn trust and achieve lasting impact in their communities.

Good Governance

Boards and staff must have clear, well-defined roles, strong policies, and shared expectations to ensure good governance. Look for: a governance framework, regular board orientation and succession planning, committees, performance reviews, accountability measures, and a working board/staff relationship.

Fact Sheet: Building Inclusive Teams and Boards

Foster inclusive nonprofit governance by embedding equity into recruitment, training, and daily operations. Recognize and address unconscious bias, set measurable goals, and create accessible channels for feedback. Prioritize impact over intent and ensure policies support diverse voices at every level.

Fact Sheet: Build a Culturally Competent Board

Build a culturally competent nonprofit board by addressing unconscious bias and promoting inclusivity. Conduct diversity audits to align board demographics with community representation. Encourage proactive recruitment through diverse networks and ensure accessibility in meetings to foster genuine participation.

Directors & Officers of Non-Profits

Non-profit boards have real power and responsibility. Directors must meet legal eligibility (age, not bankrupt, etc.), act honestly and with care, avoid conflict of interest, attend meetings, appoint officers, set bylaws, handle finances and duties overall. Failure to do so can lead to legal liability.

Planting Seeds S2 EP2: Ivy + Dean Consulting

🌱 Planting Seeds: Philanthropy in Saskatchewan connecting you to the community impact powered by donors and charities across the prairies. This show originally aired on Access Now TV. In this episode we chat with Jacq Brasseur from Ivy + Dean Consulting to hear how they uniquely support the charitable sector from an equity and queer inclusive lens.