Every registered charity board in Canada is a small network map. Board members sit on other charity boards. They know other board members. They sit on foundation boards, and they sit on company boards. None of this is hidden information; it’s all public. What’s missing is bringing it all together and turning it into actionable data.
Relationship mapping makes networks visible (and usable)
A board isn’t just a list of names. It is a set of connections waiting to be utilized. Relationship mapping takes those connections from the realm of anecdote, conversation, and memory and turns them into an organization-owned asset. Learning that a board member also sits on a private family foundation board or serves alongside the CEO of a publicly traded company on a separate charity’s board is incredibly valuable information and needs to be systematically researched and recorded.
How do I do it?
T3010
T3010 filings are the starting point for most of this work. Every registered charity submits a T3010 to the CRA annually, and it lists directors and trustees by name. T3010 data shows you where board membership overlaps.
Example: Relationship mapping using T3010 data reveals that your new board member currently sits on a hospital foundation board with a board member of a large DAF (Donor Advised Fund) holder. You use that relationship to secure a meeting with the DAF holder’s team of advisors.
SEDAR+
Where the T3010 covers registered charity governance, SEDAR+, the Canadian Securities Administrators’ filing system, covers boards and executive roles at publicly traded companies. A board member who also sits on the board of a public company has a second set of relationships worth mapping. SEDAR+ gives you the data to confirm it.
Example: Relationship mapping using SEDAR+ data reveals one of your board members used to sit on the board of a small mining company with a senior executive at a telecom. The board member didn’t disclose this relationship because he lost touch with his former colleague and didn’t know where she was working now. You use that relationship to secure a meeting that blossoms into a long-term sponsorship.
Public sector salary disclosures
Published annually by provincial governments, this data identifies senior public servants, hospital administrators, and university staff earning above a set threshold. Salary disclosures are typically used as a capacity indicator, but the greater value in these disclosures is the connection data that shows you how people know each other from the public sector organizations they work at.
Example: A long-time board member is also a senior university administrator. Another member of the university’s executive team sits on the board of a private family foundation who has been in your pipeline forever, but you haven’t been able to engage. You use that relationship to get an introduction and make your appeal.
Truthfully, we’re a bit spoiled in Canada when it comes to this stuff. Our philanthropic and corporate networks are relatively small and very intertwined. Also, the data we need to map these networks is disclosed publicly. Finally, every registered charity and non-profit in the country has what they need to get started: a board. Time to get mapping!
