About Sector Source

Sector Source is a project of Imagine Canada and the legacy of the Nonprofit Library and Risk Management and Insurance and Liability Resource Centre.

Our aim is to provide a single location for charities and nonprofits to access selected professional material about managing, developing and overseeing their organizations.

Our resources range from practical tools that support organizational effectiveness to current research about the charitable and nonprofit sector. We also provide digests of current news affecting the sector and training to benefit your organization through our Nonprofit Newswire service and our Training and Events feeds. 

Sector Source also acts as a knowledge support system and tool for the Imagine Canada Standards Program. The Standards are freely available to all organizations and this site provides direct links to supporting documentation for items as is available. While organizations can voluntarily sign up for the Standards accreditation program, our goal is to provide the essential resources freely, so that any organization can work independently on the standards. Visit our Standards Program section and the accreditation process to learn more.

About Imagine Canada

Imagine Canada is a national charitable organization whose cause is Canada’s charities and nonprofits. We support and strengthen charities and nonprofits so they can, in turn, support the Canadians and communities they serve.We work on a variety of issues and challenges that face the sector, including funding, human resources, volunteerism, governance, sector accountability and better understanding of the sector through research. It is our role to be a strong voice to issues and challenges for charities and nonprofits as a sector.

History

Sector Source is the legacy of Imagine Canada’s Nonprofit Library and the Risk Management and Insurance and Liability Resource Centre. Imagine Canada was initially known as the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (founded in 1981). In 1983 it established a resource centre, which became the first charitable and voluntary sector library in Canada. In 2002, the Centre launched an online library catalogue (nonprofitscan.ca), expanding its traditional collections mandate to include downloadable electronic resources. The Canadian Centre for Philanthropy - John Hodgson Library was named in recognition of the Centre's founding director and long-time supporter, John Hodgson.

Who is John Hodgson?

John M. Hodgson Q.C. (1921-2011), an expert in Canadian estate and trust law, was a tireless advocate of the vital social role played by Canada's volunteer and charitable sectors. He made exceptional contributions to the charitable sector in Canada through leadership in charitable law to co-founding the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (one of Imagine Canada’s predecessor organizations). A champion of knowledge and educational services to charities and nonprofits, he co-founded The Philanthropist journal. In particular, at Imagine Canada, John was a visionary and supported the development and sustainability of the Nonprofit Library and our National Engagement Strategy through the Agora Foundation. Imagine Canada proudly designated John M. Hodgson, Q.C. as the first Patron of Imagine Canada in December 2010, recognizing his outstanding service to Canada’s charities, his role as co-founder of the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy and his generous support to Imagine Canada.