Nonprofit Research: Ratings, Reports, & Governance Resources

Charity Intelligence has been in existence since 2006. The organization focuses on providing Canadian donors with independent research and charity ratings that helps donors make informed giving decisions.

Their website includes:

• details about their research process
• details about their ratings methodology 
• free access to their A-Z Charity Ratings listing (includes reports on over 600 Canadian charities)
• a research report section that focuses on topics such as Environmental Charities in Canada, Charity Lotteries, and Charity Intelligence's top charity picks.

PFC has been around since 1999. This association includes members from Canada's private and public grantmaker foundations, as well as charities and corporations. They conduct research that supports the development of the philanthropic industry in Canada and covers topics such as governance and policies for grantmaking. Some of their publications are freely available.

Please explore the links below for research guides on a number of related subjects.

Sector Source is a project of Imagine Canada and aims to provide Canadian charities and nonprofits with resources that help them with develop their organizations. The resources cover a variety of areas such as board governance, staff management, fundraising, and setting up a charity.

The Sector Source provides free resources under four main sections:

• Managing an organization: Resources on board governance, finance & administration, fundraising, volunteer and staff management resources, and much more.
• Research and impact: Includes reports and statistics on giving and volunteering in Canada, major issues affecting charities and nonprofits in Canada, and much more.
• Library and resources: Use the search bar in this section to search Sector Source's resources.
• Standards accreditation: Imagine Canada has created its own Standards Program that provides free resources to Canadian charities and nonprofits. The program includes an accreditation process that helps charities and nonprofits show their dedication to transparency.

KCI Ketchum Canada is a leading consultant for the nonprofit sector in Canada. Their website provides a number of free resources that can be useful for research purposes, such as:

• : These publications are produced 4x a year and focus on major issues in the nonprofit and charity sector in Canada, such as strategy, retention, new funding sources, and donors.
• KCI Sector News: Includes a Major Gift News section and a People on the Move section.
• Conference Presentations: Includes a list of recent conference presentations by KCI and includes slide decks. Presentations focus on issues such as retaining fundraisers, donor issues, philanthropic trends, and much more. 

Most of CharityCAN's resources are fee-based reports and unfortunately, the library doesn't have access to them. However, the Globe and Mail, in partnership with CharityCAN, publishes a free ranking of Canada's 100 largest not-for-profit institutions. Here is the 2016 report.

You can also use CharityCAN's basic charity search on their website. This search will return up to 25 charities that match your search critieria and will display total revenue, total assets, and the category for that charity (i.e. health organizations, welfare and outreach).