Board Governance Workshop - May 2024

Charities and non-profits provide a tremendous value to our communities. As the not-for-profit sector takes on more complicated problems, the legal and governance rules that they must comply with also become more complex. Sometimes charities end up in the news for the wrong reasons, and it can usually be traced back to a mis-step in governance.

This session will explore the legal and governance requirements for charities and non-profit organizations and their boards of directors, with a focus on the practical issues that regularly lead to larger problems. Topics will include: the regulatory difference between a charity and non-profit, the role of members vs. directors, fiduciary duties of directors, conflict of interest, confidentiality and governance models vs. operational management.

This course is being held from 9:30am - 12pm at the Tofino Community Hall.

About the presenter:

Michael Blatchford is a partner with Miller Thomson. Michael practices from Vancouver, working with charities and not-for-profits across Canada, helping them to carry out their mission while complying with legal and regulatory obligations. Michael represents charities to CRA and advises on all aspects of charity law, including fundraising, donation receipting and social enterprise activities. Michael also works with registered charities and donors to plan and implement tax-effective charitable gifts and other structures for strategic philanthropy.

In addition, Michael works with organizations as a parliamentarian and meeting advisor, using tools such as Robert’s Rules of Order to facilitate complicated or contentious meetings.

Michael is a director on the national board of the Canadian Association of Gift Planners and also serves on the executive of the Canadian Bar Association’s national Charity Law Section.

This workshop is being co-sponsored by Clayoquot Biosphere Trust and Tourism Tofino.