When CRA audits charities they typically send a long questionnaire to be filled in by the charity on many different issues. With some questionnaires, it is clear that they have a particular interest in a certain area such as foreign…
In this New York Times article published today entitled “Steve Bannon Is Charged With Fraud in We Build the Wall Campaign” it has shocking revelations about a fundraising campaign in the US. Hat tip to Paul Alof for retweeting it.…
With the current focus on WE Charity and the CSSG program, there is a lot that can be learned about transparency in the charity sector. I will now discuss directors’ changes and the importance of notifying Corporations Canada if you…
Today Dalal Al-Waheidi, Executive Director of WE Charity, told the Finance Committee that today they filed their registration for the Federal lobbyist registration system. Here is a printout WE Charity _ Dalal Al-Waheidi, Executive Director – 12-Month Lobbying Summary –…
Would you like to obtain a grant from the Federal government? Well if you “communicate with a public officer holder” asking for funds that probably is lobbying and if you spend over 1/5 of an FTE over any month (A…
There is so much confusion on memberships for Non-Profits and Charities in Canada that we have just launched a 2-hour course on the topic. Here is more information.
Every year we do a 3-hour course on transparency and the T3010. This year there has been a lot of interest in transparency around charities. On August 5, 2020, at 1 PM we will have our course Transparency in the…
WE Charity is a Federal Corporation under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (“CNCA”). The CNCA is corporate legislation that applies to both Canadian non-profits and charities that are set up under the CNCA. As it covers a number of different…
We have recently added 2 new full-day courses namely Fundamentals of Running a Canadian Charitable Organization/Operating Charity and Fundamentals of Running a Private or Public Foundation in Canada. These are in-depth courses which will help those who run operating charities…
Here are a number of trends or compliance suggestions for charities over the next six months: If you are an Ontario corporation under the Ontario Corporations Act (OCA) (which is now 113 years old) – seriously consider transferring your organization’s…
CRA has just published its plan for the resumption of full activities. Here is one pertaining to the Legislation and Policy Branch (Charities). My comments and concerns are below. Highlights are: “Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch (LPRAB) (July –…
Today we are launching a new course of restricted gifts for Canadian charities: “Restricted Gifts – Managing the Opportunities and Dangers of Restricted Charitable Gifts“. For every course, I need to have a picture and for this one, I picked…
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the non-profit and charity sector. Some organizations have been completely shut down, some have suspended programs, some have changed their mode of operations to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, others have seen a huge…
A qualified donee is an organization that can issue official donation receipts for gifts it receives from individuals and corporations. It can also receive gifts from registered charities. A qualified donee can be: a registered charity (including a registered national…
Here is our Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Legal Checklist for Working with Intermediaries in Canada 2020. It will be of help to Canadian registered charities that work with/hire non-charities such as businesses, non-profits or individuals to carry out work for the…
We are delighted that Corporations Canada today has provided a simple way for non-profits and charities under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (“CNCA”) to request an extension of the six-month timeframe for holding AGM’s and also a requirement to provide…
The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has recently released some tips for ensuring that you protect your organization’s privacy, as well as the privacy of those you meet with. While we are still practicing social distancing, it is…
Here is some really good guidance from the Charity Commission of England and Wales. Guidance Manage financial difficulties in your charity caused by coronavirus Guidance about coronavirus (COVID-19) related financial difficulties in charities and how to work through them.…
In this brief note, we try to suggest ten steps for a simplified contractor arrangement between a Canadian charity and a group in Canada that is not a charity (the “Intermediary”) implementing a project for the Canadian charity in Canada. …
We have just prepared a new course on Canadian Charities Working with Non-Charities in Canada. Here is information on the new course and how to register. I was quite disappointed that certain organizations have misrepresented the ability of Canadian charities…
I wrote to the BC Financial Services Authority on May 4, 2020, asking for some clarifications relating to their Information Bulletin entitled “Charitable Donation of Life Insurance Policies in British Columbia” which we covered here. On May 8, 2020, they…
The Guardian recently had an article “UK charity failed to safeguard aid worker killed in Syria – report“. The article deals with Alan Henning, a UK volunteer who went to Syria and was captured and beheaded by ISIS. Here is the…
Every year less than 1% of Canadian registered charities identify in their T3010 receiving a life insurance policy for which they issued an official donation receipt. (See Schedule 5 to the Blumbergs Canadian Charity Sector Snapshot 2017). That being said…
Many groups are doing special purpose fundraising for COVID-19 in which they are specifically soliciting or accepting for COVID-19 related programs. Charities have to be careful of a number of issues when fundraising for a specific purpose. After having worked…