Succession Crisis: Is the Nonprofit Sector Ready?

Episode 23 – Succession Crisis: Is the Nonprofit Sector Ready?

The challenges around leadership succession that the nonprofit sector is currently facing are nothing new. Back in 2019, the Senate Report, “Catalyst for Change: A Roadmap to a Stronger Charitable Sector” highlighted the issue and made recommendations calling on the federal government to work with the nonprofit sector to find solutions. Fast forward five years and what was already considered a serious problem has morphed into a full-blown crisis as many nonprofit leaders opted for early retirement during the pandemic. Is the sector prepared to navigate this crisis? Listen to sector experts discuss how organizations can better manage leadership transitions in this episode of CharityVillage Connects.

Meet Our Guests in Order of Appearance 

• Dave Hutchinson, President and Leadership Talent Partner, Cause Leadership
• Kathy Archer, Leadership Development Coach
• Nick Chambers, Partner, Social Impact Practice, Boyden
• Jen Vachon, Director, Programs and Advocacy, Fora: Network for Change

With special comments from:

• The Honourable Ratna Omidvar, C.M., O.Ont., Senator for Ontario, The Senate of Canada
• The Honourable Paulette Senior, Senator for Ontario, The Senate of Canada
  
  

About your Host

Mary Barroll, president of CharityVillage, is an online business executive and lawyer with a background in media, technology and IP law. A former CBC journalist and independent TV producer, in 2013 she was appointed General Counsel & VP Media Affairs at CharityVillage.com, Canada’s largest job portal for charities and not for profits in Canada, and then President in 2021. Mary is also President of sister company, TalentEgg.ca, Canada’s No.1, award-winning job board and online career resource that connects top employers with top students and grads.

CharityVillage Resources from this Episode

• 2024 Canadian Nonprofit Sector Salary & Benefits Report

Additional Resources from this Episode

We've gathered the resources from this episode into one helpful list:

• Catalyst for Change: A Roadmap to a Stronger Charitable Sector (Senate of Canada, 2019)
• Exploring the Looming Leadership Deficit in the Voluntary and Nonprofit Sector (The Philanthropist, 2007)
• The demographic time bomb : mitigating the effects of demographic change in Canada (Senate of Canada, 2006)
• Weekly Report 2.07.26 on Long-term sustainability (Charity Insights Canada Project, 2024)
• Millenials to Generation Z in the workforce (CBC, 2024)
• Kevin Calloway on The Current (CBC, 2022) 
• Fora: Network for Change Rise on Boards program

Learn more and listen to the full interviews with the guests here.

What is CharityVillage Connects?

Welcome to CharityVillage Connects – a series that highlights topics vital to the nonprofit sector in Canada. CharityVillage is a resource to over 170,000 charitable and nonprofit organizations in Canada. This series, hosted by President Mary Barroll, will provide in-depth conversations with experts in the nonprofit sector. We’ll examine diversity, equity and inclusion, innovations in fundraising, the gap in female representation in leadership and many other subjects crucial to the growth and development of charities throughout Canada.