The Vancouver Sun is reporting that North Shore Rescue is suing the Search and Rescue Society of B.C. over allegations that the latter groups has been using the name of the North Shore Rescue to raise money. It will be interesting…
Here is a redacted copy of a notice sent by the Charities Directorate of CRA reminding charities of their filing date and the consequences of not filing the T3010 Registered Charity Information Return within 6 months of the end of…
A number of Canadian charities have been revoked by CRA for supporting terrorism in addition to other concerns. One of those organizations was The International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy (Canada) or IRFAN Canada. It lost its charitable status…
AFP recently published an article of mine on the CRA’s Report on the Charities Program 2015-2016. They noted “Statistics, while helpful, sometimes require interpretation to fully understand the context of the material being presented. Lawyer Mark Blumberg provides a summary…
The consolidation of all Government of Canada websites into one domain at www.canada.ca has started. In theory this is an opportunity to have a more streamlined, secure government website. I have two concerns about how this will affect charities. First…
There are many rules and restrictions on Canadian private foundations and their investments. In 2015, the Federal government gave private foundations greater ability to invest in limited partnerships. If certain conditions are met from a CRA Income Tax…
The Charity Commission of England and Wales recently released an Inquiry Report on a UK charity that identified concerns with fundraising and foreign activities. There were a number of concerns raised but perhaps most interesting is the discussion around due…
CRA recently updated their guidance with respect to becoming a prescribed university outside of Canada. There are about 600 foreign prescribed universities and they can issue official donation receipts similar to a Canadian registered charity. The updated CRA publication (RC…
The Canada Revenue Agency (‘CRA’) recently updated the T2050 form used by organizations when applying for charitable status with the Charities Directorate of the CRA. On the last page of the form, CRA has included a privacy disclosure which indicates that CRA…
A notice from Corporations Canada of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (formerly Industry Canada) entitled “Last chance for not-for-profits to transition” has been sent out reminding non-profits that if they are still under the old Canada Corporations Act that…
The CRA has added a page on cause-related marketing page to the receipting part of their website. The CRA seems largely concerned that in some cases no official donation receipt should be issued when there is a cause related marketing arrangement…
If you are into technology and like to click things and then see those clicks magically be reflected in a newly generated page then you are going to love CRA's new Checklist Tool for Canadian registered charity applications. It allows…
The Charity Commission has released a case report that deals with political activities of a UK charity and also its funding of a non-charity. This case report is interesting from a Canadian perspective as there have been people in Canada…
In October 2016 the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation announced that they were looking at a merger. Today the CCS sent out an email announcing “On behalf of the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS), I am thrilled to…
On Sunday January 29, 2017 there was a terrible tragedy in Quebec City. A right-wing terrorist massacred six people praying at the Centre Culturel Islamique de Québec and injured almost 20 others. This is the worst terrorist attack in Canada in over 25 years. It's hard…
In Canada, the Charities Directorate of CRA reviews carefully all registered charity applications. Some of the latest statistics from the CRA show that most charities that apply for registration are not granted it. It is not that these organizations are…
In August 2016 we launched a website to improve transparency on Canadian registered charities. It is at www.charitydata.ca We have just made a number of improvements to the website. Here are some of the improvements: 1) We have added more…
Kate Robertson and Mark Blumberg recently prepared an article, “Some thoughts on Professional Athletes and Philanthropy in Canada: Part 1” which provides helpful information and guidance for professional athletes and their trusted advisors who are exploring philanthropic options in Canada. Part 2…
The CRA released a report today entitled Report on the Charities Program. It has lots of useful information on the charity sector, regulation of charities, statistics relating to the Charities Directorate and various new developments. Although this is the…
CRA uses a risk based approach to deciding which charities are to be audited. CRA a few months ago announced they are adjusting their audit strategy to focus more on larger Canadian registered charities. I guess someone in the past…
The CRA has recently completed a 2 1/2 month consultation with Canadians on the ability of Canadian charities to conduct political activities. Here is the full text of the CRA press release on the closing of the political activity consultation on…
CRA's Guidance CG-002, Canadian Registered Charities Carrying Out Activities Outside Canada discusses a “development project”. The guidance provides Canadian registered charities greater leeway in certain instances when conducting a “development project” to be able to hand over capital assets and…
The Charity Commission of England and Wales recently published an Inquiry Report into a former charity named REDAID. It is well worth reading. In Canada, directors of registered charities sometimes focus too much on the Income Tax Act requirements of…
CRA has had an alphabetical index of all policies and guidance relating to charities. This is a very helpful tool for charities wanting to see if CRA has a position on a particular issue. The only problem with the list…