CAN Milestones
1984: CAN is founded with 10 members to address the growing needs of nonprofits facing the immediate crisis of health insurance access for nonprofits.
1988: The Nonprofits Insurance Alliance spins off from CAN's fiscal sponsorship and becomes the state's first liability insurance pool for nonprofits, eventually insuring tens of thousands of nonprofit organizations nationwide and becoming the industry's model for insurance coverage and rates.
1989: CAN starts the National Council of Nonprofit Associations. In 1989, there were 11 statewide nonprofits across the country; today there are 35.
1991: CAN is called "one of the top 10 association in the United States" by Market-Driven Management, published by the American Society of Association Executives. The Chronicle of Philanthrophy chooses CAN as one of the nine most innovative nonprofits in the country.
1992: CAN holds the 1st Annual CAN Conference to bring nonprofit leaders, staff, and volunteers together from across the state to network, learn cutting-edge management and fundraising skills, and build important relationships.
1996: CAN first publishes the highly praised Facts & Fallacies: Setting the Record Straight on California's Nonprofit Community. This book presents real facts and dispels misinformation about the California nonprofit sector.
1996: CAN holds the first annual Celebrating California Nonprofits and Philanthropy Week – the highlight of which is Nonprofit Policy Days in Sacramento. This event brings nonprofits, philanthropy, and government together to discuss and explore policy issues of mutual concern.
1998: CAN kicks off the national Nonprofit Financial Reporting Initiative in partnership with the California Society of Certified Public Accounts to improve the content, quality, accuracy, and timeliness of nonprofit financial reporting.
1999: With funding from CAN's subsidiary, CAN Insurance Services, CAN establishes its annual Excellence in Leadership Award program.
2000: CAN publishes the articles "10 Things Nonprofits Must Do in the 21st Century" (also available in Spanish). The articles becomes a chapter in the book Improving Leadership in Nonprofit Organizations (Jossey-Bass, 2004)
2001: CAN establishes a Sacramento office to increase nonprofits visibility and influence in the capitol. CAN now has 3 offices: its headquarters in Los Angeles and satellite offices in Santa Cruz and Sacramento.
2002: CAN forms the Nonprofit Advisory Body to the State Attorney General and holds the first meeting with the AG's office in Sacramento.
2004: CAN celebrates its 20th birthday with eight events across the state, including a two-city Annual CAN Conference in Los Angeles and San Francisco.
2005: California's precedent-setting Nonprofit Integrity Act takes effect with major amendments resulting from CAN's mobilization of legal and accounting experts and nonprofit organizations as well as national media outreach.
2006: CAN organizes the first-ever nonprofit-focused forum of candidates for the California Attorney General.
2007: CAN initiates a multi-year effort to secure a stronger voice for nonprofits in disaster response and recovery; resulting in nonprofits being represented in virtually every state disaster planning body, new laws to reimburse nonprofit disaster service providers, and to reduce nonprofit liability in disaster response.
2008: CAN extends to charity bingo its ongoing campaign to expand nonprofit fundraising opportunities that began with the legalization of raffles in 2000 and continued with legalization of casino and poker nights (2006) and new types of wine donations (2007).
2009: CAN publishes two articles: A Blue Print for Demonstrating Nonprofit Accountability and Ten Principles Your Nonprofit Can Adopt