I will be co-presenting on “Ethical Decision-Making in Fundraising: Dealing with Situations that Challenge Professional Ethics” at the Ontario Hospital Association conference HealthAchieve 2013 in Toronto in November. Ethical Decision-Making in Fundraising: Dealing with Situations that Challenge Professional Ethics…
In a recent Federal Court of Appeal decision, Cheder Chabad v. The Queen, the registered charity Cheder Chabad had asked that CRA be prohibited from publishing a notice of revocation until the charity had exhausted all its rights to object…
CRA has recently revoked the Christian Economic Assistance Foundation as a registered charity. The charity had been previously covered by the National Post in a story entitled “Parents could face massive bills after CRA accuses Christian schools charity program of…
The Tax Court of Canada recently released a decision in Winston Blackmore v. Her Majesty the Queen in which appeals from the tax assessments made under the Income Tax Act for an individual leading a polygamous community in B.C., “Bountiful”,…
There is an interesting and important report from the Parkland Institute entitled “Shooting The Messenger: The Need For Effective Whistleblower Protection In Alberta”. The report is written by David Hutton. David Hutton is also the Executive Director of, FAIR (Federal…
Today the CRA released its long awaited Guidance on Promotion of Health and Charitable Registration. This guidance could potentially impact a number of different types of charitable organizations that deal with health care. Here is a summary: `Guidance Reference number…
There was an interesting 94 page report entitled “Enhancing Accountability For The Religious And Broader Nonprofit Sector” in December 2012 from the Commission on Accountability and Policy for Religious Organizations . While I certainly don’t agree with many of the…
On September 17, 2013 Mark Blumberg will be interviewed on Ted Hart’s The Nonprofit Coach Radio Show. Here is a link with call in numbers:
Here is the Blumbergs’ submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance for their Pre-budget Consultations 2013. Blumbergs’ House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance- Pre-budget Consultations 2013 submission Some of the themes I touched upon are more…
There was an article recently in the Toronto Star regarding a Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) audit of the Islamic Society of North America, a registered Canadian Charity. Here is the article in the Toronto Star: Also the article references…
We have provided the letters from the CRA to the International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy Canada (IRFAN) when they were revoked for cause. IRFAN has now filed a Notice of Appeal with the Federal Court of Appeal…
The Charity Commission of England and Wales has published a very helpful guidance “It’s your decision: charity trustees and decision making”. Although there are difference between English and Canadian law the guide provides lots of useful information on how directors…
Mark Rosenman has written an article “Silence Isn’t Golden” for Philantopic of the US Foundation Center. It is well worth reading. “Confronted by headlines about truly questionable practices at a few dozen charities, the response of too many nonprofit leaders…
I will be giving a presentation to Chapel & York on Fundraising from Canada on July 26th, 2013 in London, England. Here is a link to the description and registration details: Here is the blurb from Chapel & York:…
In this article I discuss the importance of Canadian charities involving professional advisors in their planned giving efforts. Download Article
I recently wrote a short piece entitled “Asking a bigger question” that was distributed in the new Mackenzie Investments magazine entitled Mackenzie Strategic Philanthropy. My article dealt with the true cost of bringing resources into the sector. There are a…
David Baines recently retired from the Vancouver Sun. He will be missed. He was prepared to cover stories that others were not. He notes “I learned that it takes money, not just to publish stories, but also to defend them.…
The CRA has just released its new process for recognizing “municipal or public bodies performing a function of government in Canada”. Here is a PDF OF THE ARTICLE This will be of particular interest to Aboriginal bands, school boards and…
The Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) has overturned a Tax Court of Canada (TCC) decision in Guindon. The FCA found that, in this case in which no notice of constitutional questions was served by Guindon, “the Tax Court did not…
Corporations Canada, under Industry Canada, has started sending out default notices to organizations that are under the new CNCA but have not filed their Form 4022 – Annual Return. The Annual Return is quite easy to complete. Here is a…
The Charity Commission of England and Wales has offered some advice to donors interested in supporting Syria. I would point out that in Canada the Humanitarian Coalition is now collecting funds for Syria. http://humanitariancoalition.ca/ Here is blurb on the Humanitarian…
The website of the Charity Commission of England and Wales has been redesigned. The website always offered very useful information on legal issues affecting charities in the England and Wales. However, most importantly much of that information was also useful…
The CRA has revoked the registration of The Life Centre Word of Faith Ministries Inc. as a charity. The Globe and Mail covered this story in “Toronto pastor, wife charged in alleged $8.6-million Ponzi scheme” Here is the CRA press…
The Canada Revenue Agency has revoked the charitable registration of the Canadian registered charity Trinity Global Support Foundation. The London Free Press has written extensively on this charity and we have covered here: “FCA case on Trinity Global Support Foundation…