Coast Together Workshop Series – Workshop #1
Financial Governance for Charities and Non-Profits with Gordon Holley
Date: Wednesday, November 19, 2025
Description: This workshop will introduce responsibilities in financial governance and explore ways to effectively implement reliable financial management tools specifically for charities and non-profit organizations. Board and staff will come away more equipped to understand information presented on financial statements, identify and address financial risks, and clarify ways to build stronger financial capacity. This workshop being delivered by Vantage Point in partnership with Humanity Financial.
Facilitator: Gordon Holley, CPA, CA, FCPB, Co-founder & Advisor at Humanity Financial Management
Learning Outcomes:
・Describe the importance of good financial governance in the non-profit sector.
・Identify the financial governance responsibilities of the board, understanding more about financial risks.
・Describe the difference between charities and non-profit organizations and the most common areas of non-compliance.
・Identify and understand key information presented on the financial statements.
・Identify strategies to strengthen organizational financial wellness.
Gordon Holley, CPA, CA, FCPB
Co-Founder & Advisor, Humanity Financial Management
Gordon (he/him) is a recognized leader who works with social purpose organizations and First Nations to transform their financial management and financial governance.
As Co-Founder & Advisor, Gordon exemplifies our bold vision of what it means to operate with social purpose and social conscience: doing good while being good.
In 2020, Gordon led our efforts to become the first accounting firm in Canada to qualify for Certified B Corporation certification. In 2022, he realized our goal of becoming a Benefit Corporation: the first accounting firm in Canada to do so.
Gordon is Chair of Community Foundations of Canada; a member of the Audit and Finance Committee for PayPal Giving Fund Canada; and a champion of First Nation financial management strategies that build resilient communities and organizations. In 2022, Gordon was elected to the Board of Directors of the Aboriginal Finance Officers Association, BC branch (AFOABC).
“I want our clients to be liberated from financial uncertainty. By building confidence in financial management, governance systems, strategies, and decision making, we activate opportunities for self-determination and for impact.”
Coast Together Workshop Series – Workshop #2
The Purpose-Driven Board: Rethinking What Effective Governance Looks Like for Small & Mid-Sized Organizations with Nic Gagliardi
Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Description: When it comes to non-profit governance, the status quo isn’t working. Board members feel undervalued and disengaged, EDs are overwhelmed, and organizations aren’t getting the strategic leadership they need.
This full-day, hands-on workshop takes a fresh look at governance by putting your organization’s purpose front and centre. Together, we’ll explore how governance really happens in your organization (hint: most of it isn’t at board meetings!), uncover some of the hidden sources of tension in nonprofit governance spaces, and design some new approaches that will make your board more effective and engaging.
Through interactive presentations, peer discussions, and hands-on activities, you’ll gain new perspectives and practical tools to strengthen your organization’s governance.
Facilitator: Nic Gagliardi of Rise + Run Co.
Learning Outcomes:
・Assess your organization’s governance to identify what’s working and what needs to change.
・Challenge conventional wisdom and ‘best practices’ to find governance approaches that actually work for your organization.
・Understand the “minimum viable board” model and how streamlining the board’s role can strengthen governance.
・Explore how to navigate the complexity of governance spaces, leveraging people, process, and power to navigate resistance and implement change.
・Develop an action plan to address barriers to effective governance in your organization.
Nic Gagliardi (she/they)
I’m Nic Gagliardi, your go-to nonprofit governance nerd with 18 years of experience transforming strategy, creating impact, and building capacity within the nonprofit sector.
I was just 20 years old when I chaired my first board — and it’s fair to say I had no idea what I was doing! Since then, I’ve gained a lot of experience, asked a lot of questions, and made it my mission to really, truly understand nonprofit governance. I’ve been a committee member, a board director, a nonprofit staffer, and an Executive Director. And all along the way, I kept running into the same core issues again and again, with the same sub-par solutions. I started to wonder . . . if so many nonprofits are struggling with crappy governance . . . why don’t we try a different approach?
Today, I work with nonprofit organizations across Canada to move past outdated norms and build governance systems that are practical, sustainable, and effective. I believe that strong governance is essential to creating impact, and my mission is to help organizations design governance that truly supports their purpose.
Beyond consulting, I share my experiences and expertise as a speaker, facilitator, and writer. My work has appeared in national publications like Charity Village, The Philanthropist, The Small Nonprofit Podcast, and Future of Good. I’m also the author of the popular Nonprofit Board Stories Newsletter, where I share real (anonymous) nonprofit board experiences, along with some helpful governance advice.
