Another title could be “Maple Syrup Business is not always charitable”. Many American comedians were concerned with the departure of George Bush that they would not have jobs, or at least their jobs would become more difficult. Never fear- if…
This case is not that interesting except for the facts. A church is accused of being involved with the fraudulent sale of official donation receipts, CRA is revoking their charity status, the church is asking for a stay of the…
CRA in this letter to a charity outlines their position that a charity can issue official donation receipts for amounts when fixed amounts are paid by persons participating in an organized orchestra trip as long as all advantages are subtracted…
The CRA has just released a Consultation on proposed Guidance on the Protection of Human Rights and Charitable Registration CRA is asking those interested to provide comments on the draft guidelines. The consultation will be of particular interest to those…
Canadian charities must file a copy of their financial statement along with the T3010 Registered Charity Information Return. In the past CRA was not as strict about this requirement but now they are following up on it more as people…
The Canadian legal and philanthropic publication The Philanthropist is now both online and FREE. You just need to register and will find some very good articles on different issues affecting charities and non-profits in Canada. You can reach the website…
Is a rabbi at a Jewish school entitled to the clergy residence exemption? Although he may be a member of the “clergy” he is not in charge of, or ministering to, a diocese, parish or congregation, according to this CRA…
The OECD acknowledges that “a crackdown on tax havens and cross-border tax evasion will help developing countries to raise more revenues to pay for much-needed schools, roads and hospitals…” The OECD also says that “improving the effectiveness of developing countries’…
Here is a very interesting presentation by Nicholos Offord of the The Offord Group entitled Fund Raising – Key Challenges & Issues for the Future. It is located at Although focused on health care fundraising he brings in…
The CRA has just published a very helpful page entitled “Checklist for Charities on Avoiding Terrorist Abuse”.
The Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology presented a report on the Bill C-4, An Act respecting not-for-profit corporations and certain other corporations and has suggested a number of amendments. Here is the report and here is the slightly…
Here is a copy of a draft paper delivered by Terry de March, Director General of the Charities Directorate, at a conference in Australia. At some point in the future, CRA may have a consultation on this topic and the…
The CRA has just published a very helpful page entitled “Checklist for Charities on Avoiding Terrorist Abuse”. For those interested in reducing the likelihood that someone will abuse the resources and reputation of your charity you may wish to…
I recently read a little book entitled Building Capacity Through Financial Management: A Practical Guide by John Cammack. It is published by Oxfam. The book is very inexpensive (around $15) and you can get the book for free at …
My article was reprinted in the Canadian Fundraising & Philanthropy eNEWS. Of course they cleaned up the grammar and logic! OPINION – Mark Blumberg Canwest nonprofit coverage sensationalist, inaccurate In this article, I look at and criticize a sensationalist…
The Federal Court of Appeal (FCA) recently dealt with a case called The Millennium Charitable Foundation (The Millennium Charitable Foundation vs. MNR 2008 FCA 414). In The Millennium Charitable Foundation case the law firm of Miller Thomson LLP, which represented…
Tax havens and tax evasion costs governments, including Canada, the US and those in the developing world a substantial amount of revenue. Although it undermines Western governments these tax havens devastate the capacity of many Southern countries to provide basic…
Tuberculosis (TB) kills about 1.7 million people every year. The Canadian government has just announced spending about 127 million to fight TB. Here is the CIDA announcement:
In March 2009 the Alberta Council for Global Cooperation (ACGC), in partnership with the Wild Rose Foundation, had Angus Reid conduct a poll of Canadians. Despite the global economic crisis, it appears that there is substantial support for various actors…
CRA just put out a easy to read and understand list of “Factors that will prevent an organization from being registered as a charity”. Perhaps CRA put out this list because with 4000 new organizations putting in applications every year…
The Canadian parliament is once again considering passing the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act. If it is passed it will affect 19,000 Canadian federal corporations that are incorporated under federal law. The Bill is currently in the Industry, Science and Technology…
If you are interested in assisting reduce or eliminate extreme poverty and you want more than writing a cheque to fix a symptom of a problem then you might find this note interesting. Various groups have highlighted the importance of…
The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) has recently prepared a report entitled “Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best: Benchmarks to Assess and Enhance Grantmaker Impact”. The report is geared towards US foundations but is equally relevant to Canadian foundations. …
Obama has proposed the largest budget in US history. He is planning on various tax cuts for people earning under US$250,000 and various tax increases for those earning over US$250,000. He is also planning on reducing the tax incentives for…