Operation Save Canada Teenagers and Revival Time Ministries International were revoked by CRA for improper receipting, falsifying bank statements and other assorted problems. Attempts to appeal by Reverend Daniel Mokwe failed. On January 18, 2011, Operation Save Canada Teenagers and…
I have been blogging about C-470 since March of 2010 with many concerns about the process in which the bill was forwarded and the content of the bill. When this current election was called C-470 died on the order paper. …
Like many Canadians I will be watching the election. I will be blogging on whether there are implications for the charitable sector and whether any of the parties have anything particularly interesting to say about the charitable sector. Also, a…
The New York Times, in an article entitled “Madonna’s Charity Fails in Bid to Finance School”, discusses how Madonna has abandoned her efforts to build an expensive school in Malawi after investing 4 million in the prepatory work to the…
Here is an article entitled “Tax rule changes take charities by surprise” at the Globe and Mail. You can read the article at
CRA announced today that “The registration for the April 27, 2011, Charities Information Webinar is now open. This webinar will be on Non-compliance issues and how to avoid them.” You can register at Here are some other archived webinars…
I had the privilege today of attending the Budget 2011 Stakeholders Lock-up. Here are the parts of the budget that relate to registered charities and other qualified donees. Also below are some of the highlights of the budget. Highlights…
Here is a CRA letter on whether naming rights for provided to a business that made a donation to a registered charity is an advantage under split receipting rules. In other words if a business has a naming opportunity is…
Here is a recent CRA letter on the clergy residence deduction which confirms in this particular case of an ordained minister working as a chaplain/spiritual care coordinator in a long term care facility that he is qualified for the clergy…
The 2011 Alberta budget has a section in it warning Albertans about abusive charitable gifting schemes that offer a person tax savings that are greater than the “investment” by the taxpayer. The government is very direct and describes these as…
The Civicus World Assembly 2011 will be held in Montreal around September 8-12, 2012. This is a great worldwide gathering of NGOs. For those interested in development as well as civil society this is a great conference to network and…
The National Post reported that “Law firm Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP and accounting firm BDO Dunwoody LLP are among several defendants named in a proposed class action that seeks more than $300-million in damages due to a failed donation tax…
Charitable organizations that conduct some commercial activities should consider whether these activities meet the CRA’s guidelines on what is a related business. Failure to meet those guidelines could result in the assessment of penalties and even in a revocation of…
The CRA has updated its section “Webinars, Information Sessions, and other news” of the Charities and Giving website and renamed it “Educational resources for charities” It now contains the Toolbox for directors, officers, and volunteers and a new page…
Here is an interesting press release from the Humanitarian Coalition on “All aid dollars raised support survivors of disaster in Japan”. www.humanitariancoalition.ca PRESS RELEASE HUMANITARIAN COALITION: All aid dollars raised support survivors of disaster in Japan March 18, 2011 –…
There was an article in the Globe and Mail entitled “Are charities taking advantage of the urge to help Japan?” I think that this article misses a number of very important points. I am not sure why the Globe and…
The CRA has just revised the attachment to IC84-3R, Gifts to Certain Charitable Organizations Outside Canada, to include Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust of New Zealand. Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust of New Zealand is added to IC84-3R and is now qualified…
The massive earthquake in Japan, apparently the biggest earthquake ever recorded in Japan, and the subsequent tsunami, have caused tremendous destruction. The problems with the nuclear reactors have cause further dislocation. The Humanitarian Coalition is fundraising for Japan – you…
The Charities Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency has updated the Spending requirement checklist to include information to help registered charities determine if they have met their disbursement quota spending requirement. For the updated Spending requirement checklist see:
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has recently started a Twitter account. You can sign up at Some of the information relates to donors and charities, but most of it relates to other areas of tax compliance. If you want…
Here is a copy of the judgment of the Federal Court of Appeal in the Ballard and Coleman cases. It is a consolidated appeal of a number of cases. Over a year ago, in early 2010, the Tax Court of…
Here is a copy of the Blumbergs Canadian Charity Law List – March 2011 Blumbergs Canadian Charity Law List – March 2011 1) Japan earthquake – what can Canadian charities do? The massive earthquake in Japan, apparently the biggest earthquake…
On February 28, 2011 I did a webinar with the Coordinator of the Humanitarian Coalition, Nic Moyer, entitled “Responding to International Disasters: Fundraising and Coordination with Nicolas Moyer”. You can watch the 1 hour webinar at: https://ocsa.webex.com/ocsa/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=TC&rID=3061432&act=pb&rKey=dcef805e9eec9dae It is free…
The House of Commons has had a third reading and passed C-470 on March 8, 2011. On March 9, 2011 it received first reading in the Senate and there will be second reading on March 21, 2011. If this bill…