Book Description

The aim of this project is to close the gaps in basic knowledge about the nonprofit or civil society sector, and to shed light on the reasons for the significant disparities that exist in the size, composition, financing, and role of the sector in various countries and regions. [...] The work in Canada was guided by the conceptual and methodological approaches developed in this project.1 Canada's participation in the Johns Hopkins Comparative Nonprofit Sector Project augments three other major initiatives already underway in Canada to expand our understanding of the nonprofit and voluntary sector: the National Survey of Nonprofit and Voluntary Organizations (NSNVO),2 the 2000 [...] The result is the first empirical overview of the Canadian nonprofit and voluntary sector and the first systematic comparison of the Canadian nonprofit and voluntary sector with similar sectors elsewhere in the world. [...] Page 8 Executive Summary Because of its long tradition of relying on nonprofit and voluntary organizations to address the needs and interests of its population, Canada has one of the largest and most vibrant nonprofit and voluntary sectors in the world. [...] Page 4 Definitions and Approach: An Overview The legal position of nonprofit and voluntary organizations in Canada is complicated by the country's federal structure and by the presence of two distinct legal systems-a common law system at the federal level and in most of the provinces, and a civil law system in Quebec, which was settled by the French and remains predominantly French both culturally.