Here is a recent article written by Mark Blumberg, Kate Robertson and Lynn Gluckman of Blumberg Segal LLP on the Top Fallacies about private foundations in Canada. The article discusses incorrect misconceptions that many people have about private foundations. This article was also published as…
The Hillborn Charity eNews just published the second part of our article Top fallacies about private foundations in Canada. It discusses numerous incorrect preconceptions that people have about private foundations.
In the Cup Trust case there was an abusive scheme run by a charity and controlled by a trustee, Mountstar. The Mountstar trustee was replaced by an interim manager appointed to take over the affairs of the charity. The interim manager…
The Charity Commission of England and Wales recently put out a notice entitled Charities encouraged to take part in Financial Action Task Force consultation on protecting charities against terrorist abuse. As the Charity Commission noted “The Financial Action Task Force (FATF)…
The Hillborn Charity eNews just published the first part of our article Top fallacies about private foundations in Canada. It discusses numerous incorrect preconceptions that people have about private foundations.
The Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal from the Opportunities for the Disabled Foundation v. The Queen (FCA). Here is a PDF copy of the Federal Court of Appeal decision in Opportunities for the Disabled Foundation v. The Queen.
Here is a list of the Largest Gifts from Canadian Charities to Foreign Qualified Donees for 2014. The list contains gifts of approximately $254 million. This is in addition to over $3.1 billion listed in our recent article Which Canadian charities spent…
Canadian registered charities spent in 2014 over $3.1 Billion dollars outside of Canada by using employees, volunteers or intermediaries. This figures does not include certain gifts to “qualified donees” that are prescribed universities or UN agencies which are further hundreds of…
The Hamilton Spectator has revealed that US charity with a branch in Canada is being sued as part of a class-action lawsuit. The article entitled “Hamilton-based charity allegedly can’t account for over $90M in donations“. The subtitle is “There are…
I look forward to speaking at the AFP Ottawa Fundraising Day 2016 on May 18, 2016. My topic will be “Top 20 Charity Law Issues for Canadian Registered Charities”. Here is a detailed description of the presentation: A Track – Charity…
Every month or so we send out a newsletter with highlights of developments over the last month affecting non-profits and charities. It is a useful tool to keep your organization, your staff and board members up-to-date on developments affecting non-profits…
On February 11, 2016, the National Post had an article entitled “‘Can I get a tax receipt?’: Tax confusion muddles Syrian refugee sponsorship efforts“. The article discusses some of the complexity around the current receipting rules and how they have…
Here is an article “Canadian Charities Helping Syrian Refugees“. It may be helpful for some charities that wish to get involved in the Syria Crisis.
Many Canadian charities and donors wish to assist Syrian refugees and those affected by the conflict. CRA has just released guidance to assist donors and charities understand their legal obligations. Here is the text below: Assisting people affected by the…
I will be presenting a webinar for Charity Village on January 28, 2016 on Top 20 Compliance Issues for Canadian Charities. Here is a blurb: Top 20 Compliance Issues for Canadian Charities Are you a board member, senior executive or executive director…
In a terrible incident 6 Canadian volunteers working with a Quebec based charity were killed in a terrorist attack in Burkina Faso. The Canadian volunteers were there to build a school. Apparently at least 28 people from 18 different countries were…
Here is a brief article on “Which Canadian charities spent the most outside of Canada in 2013?”
I had the pleasure of being on The Exchange on CBC on December 11, 2015 to discuss the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (“CZI”) with Bruce MacDonald, CEO of Imagine Canada. You can watch the segment of The Agenda here (at approximately 18:35).…
The Charity Commission announced that its funding has been frozen until 2020. The Charity Commission has already lost half of its budget over the last few years and with this freeze the budget is actually decreasing every year as a…
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has launched a quick public consultation on the Interpretative Note for Recommendation 8 which deals with non-profits and the risk of money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF). It is a very positive step that…
There is a small category of qualified donees called “registered foreign charitable organizations that have received a gift from Her Majesty in right of Canada”. Qualified donees are groups that can issue official donation receipts under the Income Tax Act…
In the US there has been a dramatic increase in the number of non-profits over the last few years. The Chronicle of Philanthropy has written a short article citing a forthcoming report which outlines how state regulators have not increased their…
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has recently released a guide entitled Best Practices on Combating the Abuse of Non-Profit Organizations. FATF is an important international inter-governmental group “that develops and promotes policies to protect the global financial system against money laundering,…
The Trinity Global Support Foundation was recently revoked. It received some media attention because of the involvement of the former mayor of London, Ontario in the charity. Here are the letters from CRA explaining the detailed reasons for revocation of…