Transparency in the nonprofit sector is more important than ever – Carmichael
Now in its eighth year, the Good Governance Awards recognise and encourage adherence to responsible governance and transparent reporting by nonprofits in Ireland. Each year, more than 100 nonprofit organisations enter their annual report and financial statements into the awards to be assessed under the criteria of transparency, governance, strategy, and financial information. In 2022, the 7 Good Governance Awards Winners ranged from NiteLine, an out-of-hours peer support service for third level students which has an annual income of just over €33,000, to Trócaire, an international social justice organisation with an annual income of more than €73 million.
Commenting after the 2022 Awards, Dearbhla Fitzsimons, Director of Corporate Services at Trócaire, said “Trócaire are beyond pleased to have won in our category this year and this feedback has been a key contributor to year-on-year improvements in our report. The Good Governance Awards is a great initiative and very much appreciated. I especially love to see how smaller organisations benefit from the advice and really believe the work of the Good Governance Awards raises the bar for our whole sector.”
Speaking today, Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí, CEO of Carmichael and Founder of the Good Governance Awards, said, “The Good Governance Awards raise the quality of corporate governance in our sector by encouraging higher standards of good practice. Expert feedback is provided to all entrants on how to improve the quality of their annual reports. This helps to ensure our sector is meeting best practice, constantly improving and communicating appropriately to its stakeholders.
“This year we are especially encouraging applications from the diverse range of organisations working in the nonprofit sector. We welcome applications from all areas – from arts and sports to homeless services and youth organisations. Due to the growing profile of the Good Governance Awards, we expect to see our highest number of applications ever this year.”
How to Enter
Any nonprofit organisation in Ireland, whether a charity, Company Limited by Guarantee, sports club or social enterprise, can enter the Awards. There are seven categories for the awards based on the annual turnover of the organisation:
- Category 1: For organisations with an annual turnover of less than €100,000
- Category 2: For organisations with an annual turnover of between €100,000 and €250.000.
- Category 3: For organisations with an annual turnover of over €250,000 and under €750,000.
- Category 4: For organisations with an annual turnover of over €750,000 and under €2.5 million.
- Category 5: For organisations with an annual turnover of over €2.5 million and under €10 million
- Category 6: For organisations with an annual turnover of over €10 million and under €50 million
- Category 7: For organisations with an annual turnover of over €50 million.
Details on the entry criteria and categories; the judging panel; how to enter; and other resources such as annual report templates are available at: www.goodgovernanceawards.ie
A new Directory of Irish Nonprofits will be launched on Friday the 26th of May. The Directory has been created to promote the transparency and digital accessibility of Ireland’s 20,000-strong nonprofit sector.
The Directory is a joint initiative of leading Irish philanthropies and nonprofits and was built in the first quarter of 2023, using data from eight separate public regulatory sources. It is the only classified listing of all registered nonprofits in Ireland, and it will be accessible online from 26th May. The Directory is accompanied by a report analysing headline changes in the sector in 2022 compared to the previous year.
Funding to establish the Directory of Irish Nonprofits in 2023 has been provided by the Community Foundation for Ireland, the Ireland Funds, the OKC Philanthropy Fund and St. Stephen’s Green Trust and it is built using legacy IP from Benefacts Legacy DAC.
Carmichael and Enclude are working with Benefacts Legacy DAC during 2023 to explore how they can maintain the Directory in the future.
The launch event took place online at 11am on Friday 26th May.
Watch the recording here.
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Carmichael’s 2022 Annual Report is now available to read here:
Our CEO Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí gives an overview of the year.
Thank you to our funders, Board, team, resident nonpfrofits and all those of those who have used our services in the last year and continue to do so.
Carmichael and BoardEffect, invite you to schedule a 30-minute, in-person evaluation of your board technology, taking place here
at Carmichael House on May 18th from 12.00pm-5.00pm.
Mark Wilson, Governance Advisor at BoardEffect, will guide you through a series of questions to better understand your board and its current status.
Mark will then provide you with:
- Feedback on areas where your board could improve
- Information on risks associated with your current
processes - Advice on board-friendly technology platforms
- Best practices and answers to any of your questions!
Sign up here for a 30-minute assessment chat – spots are limited!
The next Board Chairs’ Network Meeting will take place on May 17th 2023, 6pm-8pm, Davy Group, Dawson Street, Dublin D02 PY05.
Facilitated by Carmichael, the purpose of the network is to provide a space for nonprofit board chairs to meet each other, share experiences and discuss topics of mutual interest including key concepts and issues with nonprofit governance. The network meets in person once per year and online 3 times per year.
This event is only open to Chairs and Vice Chairs of nonprofit Boards.
Sign up here.
If you would like to join the Board Chairs’ Network and/or attend the next meeting, contact Roisin@carmichaelireland.ie.
We are looking for a catering supervisor to join the team here at Carmichael.
Please see here for full job description:
Carmichael Catering Supervisor
To apply please submit a CV of no more than 2 pages and a Cover Letter of no more than one page which addresses your catering experience to roisin@carmichaelireland.ie by May 8th.
Office Accommodation Available in Carmichael
Across our two buildings on North Brunswick St and Coleraine St in Dublin 7, Carmichael is home to 44 Resident Nonprofits which benefit from affordable office accommodation, shared facilities and access to knowledge sharing with other Resident Nonprofits and Carmichael’s staff.
A bright and spacious office currently equipped for 7 people, with potential to accommodate more, has come available in Coleraine House. The annual fee is €16,685, charged quarterly in advance at €4,171. Carmichael hopes to have a new Resident Nonprofit in place on or before June 1st.
Please contact roisin@carmichaelireland.ie if you would be interested in arranging a viewing or have any questions.
The Level 6 Certified Charity Trustee Programme aims to provide learners with a broad understanding of the governance framework guiding Organisations and an understanding and appreciation of the organisational behaviours within an organisation. This will allow the learner to be informed and confident in their roles.
This predominantly online 1 year part time programme has been designed in partnership with Carmichael and TU
Dublin. The aim of this programme is to provide participants with an opportunity to deepen their understanding of
their roles and obligations. Since 2021, Charities have been required to report on their compliance with the Charities
Governance Code which is designed to help charity trustees meet their legal duties under the Charities Act 2009. With over 11,000 registered charities in Ireland this programme will assist organisations and their trustees to effectively fulfil their roles within an organisation in line with regulatory framework and to be professionally competent within the team to do so.
Course Content
- Governance & Legal Compliance Responsibilities: The module focuses on the legal and accounting framework as it applies to organisations. The module will draw on the Law, Accounting and Governance that is required to fulfil their duties and responsibilities effectively in compliance with the regulations.
- Charities Act
- Charities Governance Code
- Trustee Governance
- Companies Act 2014
- Financial Governance
- Risk Management
- Data Protection
- Cyber Security
- Organisational Behaviour & Dynamics: This module focuses on the behaviour of individuals and groups in organisations including not-for-profit organisations. It will provide learners with an understanding and appreciation of this behaviour and an awareness of how it contributes to the success of the organisation. The module will draw on concepts and theories from the field of organisational behaviour, management and the not-for-profit environment to gain further understanding of different organisational behaviours and to improve learners’ self-confidence and potential governance effectiveness. Learners will engage in self-reflection regarding their use of individual and organisational actions.
- The Nature of Organisational Behaviour
- Individual Behaviour
- Motivation
- Communication & Decision-making in the Workplace
- Working in Group & Teams
- Leadership in Organisations
- Organisational Power and Politics
- Organisational Conflict
- Organisational Culture
- Organisational Change
Application Details
Applications are now open. Apply Now
Please contact sandra.thompson@tudublin.ie for further information.
Module Details
TU Code: TU5533
Level: NFQ Level 6
Award: Certificate in Business in Organisational Governance and Behaviour
Duration: 1 Year
Mode of Study: Part Time
Method of Delivery: Online and face to face workshops
Location: To be confirmed
Contact: sandra.thompson@tudublin.ie
Schedule: This programme runs for 2 semesters, one module per semester. Semester 1: September 2023 – January 2024, Semester 2: February 2024 – June 2024
Commencement Date: September 2023
Fees: €1,250
Find out more information click here
Webinar March 29th 2.30pm
Join Carmichael CEO Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí, Patrick Downes and Edward Rees to hear best practices on how your governing board can increase its effectiveness.
Board effectiveness holds many definitions depending on the industry, mission, organisation size, local legislature, challenges and tasks at hand, and more. However, there are some common factors all governing boards must adhere to to be successfully effective.
Register for Board Effect‘s 30-minute panel discussion webinar to get the latest insights on how to increase board effectiveness in mission driven organisations. Industry experts will discuss, provide tips, and share best practices on:
- Defining board effectiveness
- Board member recruitment, onboarding, and annual reviews
- Information sharing structure and processes
- Board member communications, engagement, and more!
Governing boards are expected to be more engaged, more knowledgeable and more effective than ever. The good news? There are ways to achieve this by implementing the right tools and best practices.
Sign up here.
Wednesday, April 26th, 1.10pm-2pm
In this webinar our panel of experts will discuss a real governance issue which an Irish nonprofit has faced and suggest actions to take. There will also be an opportunity for the audience to ask governance-related questions. Book your place here.
This webinar is a live discussion based on Carmichael’s Governance Dilemma newsletter, formerly the Trustees’ Quandary. In each edition, we look at a real-life challenge that a nonprofit Board has faced and considers a range of responses. The scenarios are anonymised so as not to identify any particular nonprofit.
If you would like to sign up to this mailing list, see here.
The panel consists of:
Gerry Egan, consultant and trainer. Gerry works with a variety of commercial and non-profit clients specialising in corporate governance, data protection and strategy and change.
Andrew Madden, Head of Training, Consultancy & Communications at Carmichael. Andrew enjoys working in the non-profit sector where he sees people motivated by a desire to make a real and positive difference. He is particularly passionate about governance in non-profit organisations as he believes that well-governed organisations are best placed to achieve and realise their own objectives to the fullest.
Jillian van Turnhout, consultant, Chartered Director and certified by INSEAD in corporate governance. Jillian has been a CEO, Chair and is an experienced Director (State, Charity and Commercial).
The panel will be chaired by Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí, CEO of Carmichael. Diarmaid has extensive experience as a board chair and a board member in a number of charities and with working with boards and providing governance support and advice. He is actively involved in the Good Governance Awards, Mentoring and the Board Chairs Network initiatives led by Carmichael.
