The Government of Canada announced on June 7, 2017 that it is “suspending the implementation of certain provisions in Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL) in response to broad-based concerns raised by businesses, charities and the not-for-profit sector.” These provisions were not yet in force…
The CRA has announced that it will make automated calls to Canadian registered charities to remind them to file their T3010 Registered Charity Information Return. That is a positive step in using technology to remind charities of their filing obligations.…
The recent decision of Ploughman v. The Queen, 2017 TCC 64 deals with a “third-party civil penalty” against Mr. Ploughman for his involvement in what CRA refers to as “abusive charity gifting tax shelter” but this decision refers to as…
I recently delivered a webinar to CharityVillage on Charitable Receipting: Do’s and don’ts for Canadian registered charities. If you are interested in seeing the slides or listening to the webinar you can do so at Charitable Receipting: Do’s and don’ts for Canadian…
There seems to still be interest in the topic of charities and political activities! My prayers that we focus on more important issues have not been answered. I get calls or emails every few days asking about it. It is…
We are pleased to announce the Blumbergs' Canadian Charity Law Institute 2017 will be on Monday October 16, 2017. Further details will follow. Registration and early bird information is here.
In a press release entitled “Minister Lebouthillier welcomes the Panel Report on the public consultations on charities and political activities” CRA noted the receipt of a report on charities and political activities. That report was reflective of the vast majority…
On May 25, 2017, I will be doing a free webinar for CharityVillage on Charitable Receipting Do's and Don'ts which will discuss receipting by Canadian registered charities.
Mark Blumberg will be co-presenting on “How community foundations can lead and engage in small ‘a’ advocacy” in Ottawa at the Community Foundations of Canada 2017 Conference on Saturday May 13, 2017. Here are more details on the session: Block…
David Callahan, is the editor of Inside Philanthropy, and he is one the top progressive experts on philanthropy in the US. His article “Second Thoughts: Why I Changed My Mind About Philanthropy and Public Policy” has nothing to do with…
Here is an interesting article from the NPQ entitled “Wallace Global Fund Fires Law Firm for Aiding Trump’s “Ethical Carnage”. It discusses how a large US charity has decided to sever a long term relationship with a major US law…
The 2017 Canadian Federal Budget was released today. Here is our article 2017 Canadian Federal Budget – How will it affect the Canadian charitable sector?
The Ontario Hospital Association is having a conference entitled “Strengthening Foundation Governance: Current Issues, Challenges and Solutions“. I will be presenting on Charitable Giving, Transparency and Standards. There will be a number of other interesting presentations. Charitable Giving, Transparency and…
The Charity Commission has recently updated their guidance “Charity finances: trustee essentials“. It provides helpful information on finances that Canadian directors and trustees, as well as staff, should be aware of. Keep in mind that on certain points the law in…
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…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and National Association of State Charities Officials (NASCO) are organizing a conference called “Give & Take: Consumers, Contributions, and Charity” on Tuesday March 21, 2017. It will be in Washington but it will be…
The Charity Commission of England and Wales has provided some useful information on the dangers of using cash couriers for implementing local and foreign activities. Here is the alert: Commission and police strongly advise charities against the use of…
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…
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…
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…
Imagine Canada has announced that their original “Ethical Code Program” is being merged with their new Standards Program. They are notifying charities that “The Program will remain open, and participants may continue to use the trustmark, until December 31, 2016. After that…
We recently reviewed the private foundations contained on the T3010 Registered Charity Information Return for 2013, 2014 and 2015. We looked at who had the largest expenditures, what their total assets were and the percentage of total assets that were disbursed…
I recently read a press release from a Canadian think tank that said “Charitable giving in Canada hits 10-year low”. They proposed “In total, Canadians claimed $9 billion in charitable donations in 2014. But had Canadians donated in 2014 at…
Recently in the UK there were fines imposed by the Information Commissioner’s Office on two prominent charities. This raised the issue of charities and privacy of donor information. Essentially there were three concerns raised. 1) Screening donors for wealth and lifestyle…