In the September Newsletter we discuss the CRA Fundraising Consultation, provide my article on Canadian Charities and Foreign Activities which appeared in The Philanthropist, review rules for lobbying and political activities by Canadian charities, and provide a link to the…
Here is my updated article on “How Much Should A Canadian Charity Spend on Overhead” Why low overhead may not be a good thing for a charity and what is appropriate? I am occasionally asked ‘what is an appropriate…
Canadian registered charities need to scrupulously avoid involvement with partisan political activity. In this brief note we cover CRA policy statement CPS-022 on political activity by charities and CRA’s Advisory on Partisan Political Activities. It is really important for Canadian…
The bad economic times, the war in Iraq and increasingly worsening socio-economic situation in the US is having some Democrats and Republicans wonder whether the structure and tax incentives for the charitable sector is working. Will Canada follow the lead…
This case dealt with whether the Charities Directorate of CRA requires judicial authorization to request certain information from a registered charity and CRA won the appeal. The CRA note headnote/summary is below. The CRA in Registered Charities Newsletter No. 31…
The Global Philanthropy Forum is presented by the World Affairs Council of Northern California. The 2008 title was “Human Security, Human Rights and the Shared Responsibility to Protect: A conversation between elders and emerging leaders”. They had some excellent speakers…
It looks like Industry Canada will be making a second attempt to pass a new federal non-profits act to replace the Canada Corporations Act. It will be called the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (NFPC). Industry Canada will in 2008 attempt…
Here is Your Guide to Charitable Giving and Estate Planning produced by the CAGP Greater Toronto Roundtable 2008. It was inserted in the Globe and Mail. I have a couple of articles in this edition. GlobalPhilanthropy.ca was created by Mark…
The Canada Revenue Agency has recently been sending out a new form letter to some applicants for charitable registration which appear to have foreign activities requesting they provide greater detail in terms of the foreign activities. Here is a copy…
Here is a copy of the Blumbergs Canadian Charity Law List – May 2008 with articles on subjects such as the Burma Cyclone and Sanctions, Flow-Through Share donations schemes, risk management and volunteers, planned giving in a global world, the…
A recent report entitled “The Commitment to Development Index for Africa: How Much do the Richest Countries Help the Poorest Continent? is well worth reading. As we know Canada has a good reputation in terms of helping developing countries. The…
I am just back from the 2008 AGM of the Canadian Council for International Co-operation. It was awe inspiring to see some of the wonderful work being done by Canadian charities in the international development realm. Not only was this…
The Canadian Federal Budget, delivered in March 2007, provided an additional tax incentive to Canadian pharmaceutical companies to provide drugs to certain Canadian registered charities as long as the drugs will be used outside of Canada. The March 2007 budget…
Alliance Magazine has a summary of this UK article on Who Gives for Overseas Development? at This article may be of interest to professional fundraisers who work on international development and humanitarian aid. It may or may not be…
The CRA recently posted their top ten list of why applications for charitable status will not be successful. It was placed in a Consultation document entitled “Charitable Work and Ethnocultural Groups – Information on registering as a charity “. As…
This interesting book provides lots of insights into grantmaking in Africa.
There is a high-level thought-provoking article entitled “Creating High-Impact Nonprofits” By Heather McLeod Grant & Leslie R. Crutchfield that was published last year in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. It may be particularly useful to those interested in improving their…
How much charitable giving actually supports the most needy? I recently read this article on a study commissioned by Google.org which shows that in the US the answer is that little of the charitable donations made by individual donors actually…
The website GlobalPhilanthropy.ca assists Canadian individuals, non-profits and charities to conduct foreign activities including international development, humanitarian assistance, and education. GlobalPhilanthropy.ca provides resources to assist those interested in conducting charitable activities outside of Canada with the the legal, ethical and…
Although the law, governance and ethics are closely intertwined there is little written about ethics of Canadian charities operating abroad. Here are some links that may be of assistance to Canadian charities that operate outside of Canada to understand some…
I am going to read “Making a Difference in Africa: Advice from Experienced Grantmakers” by Rob Buchanan and Jayne Booker. If I have time I will be looking at “Taking Philanthropy Seriously: Beyond Noble Intentions to Responsible Giving” edited by…
Inc. Magazine recently wrote an article entitled “Everybody Wants to Save the World: But when you start a charity overseas, good intentions often go awry” The article profiles Troy Wiseman, former owner of fashion label, BUM International. “There was a…
The Toronto Star on December 4, 2007 had an article discussing recent Statistics Canada data. The Star noted that “The immigration figures shows that about one out of every five Canadians was born in another country. In the Toronto region…
Here is my December 2007 newsletter for those interested in charities and non-profits. The December issue is a little early to highlight our new GlobalPhilanthropy.ca website as discussed below. 1) New Canadian Global Philanthropy Website at Globalphilanthropy.ca The Globalphilanthropy.ca website…