It is nice to see that the Charities Directorate has launched a new “Quarterly updates from the Charities Directorate”.  I was particularly impressed with the note from CRA that they “provided three webinars on various topics (books and records, completing your T3010 online, and registering for My Business Account) to more than 2,330 participants”.   The Charities Directorate needs to do a lot more educational webinars.  There is obviously a huge need for them.

Here is the first Quarterly Update:

Quarterly updates from the Charities Directorate

Welcome to our first edition of Quarterly updates from the Charities Directorate! It is so great to have a new way to share information and news with you. We hope these messages provide you and your organization with valuable and relevant information on topics that impact the charitable sector.

In April, we began our new fiscal year, and I am excited about all that we have planned for 2024-25, including the charity-related items proposed in Budget 2024. As we continue to modernize and improve our service delivery, we are looking forward to seeing how these budget items will positively impact our operations, as well as those of the charitable sector more broadly.

In case you missed it

We cannot start a new fiscal year without reflecting on a few highlights from the previous year. Most notably, the Charities Directorate:

• released a new version of Form T3010, Registered Charity Information Return
  • Reminder: If you are filing an annual information return for a fiscal period ending on or after December 31, 2023, it is important to know that we do not accept outdated versions of Form T3010. By filing online through MyBA, you will always have the most updated version of the T3010
• published Guidance CG-032, Registered charities making grants to non-qualified donees
• published the Report on the Charities Program 2021-22
• provided three webinars on various topics (books and records, completing your T3010 online, and registering for My Business Account) to more than 2,330 participants
• conducted a research survey on filing Form T3010, Registered Charity Information Return with the sector, to gather your feedback on filing online

Engaging with the charitable sector

It has been a busy few months for engagement opportunities!

In March of 2024, the Charities Directorate had the pleasure of participating in a dialogue with Muslim-led charities, hosted by the Institute of Islamic Studies at the University of Toronto. We had an opportunity to hear about experiences and issues faced by Muslim-led charities, as well as provide information about the Directorate’s regulatory responsibilities and resources available to the charitable sector to help them comply with their obligations.

On April 2, 2024, we attended the Canadian Association of Gift Planners Advanced Canadian Gift Planning Summit for a talk on compliance and the importance of quality data. We also participated in a Fireside Chat with CEO Ruth MacKenzie on a range of regulatory issues of interest to participants.

On April 10, 2024, we presented at a virtual event hosted by Volunteer Ottawa to highlight what board members need to know about achieving and maintaining charitable status, including the importance of having board members review their organization’s T3010, Annual Information Return to ensure accuracy.

The Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector (ACCS) also met April 11-12, 2024. The ACCS includes representatives from both the charitable sector and government. At this meeting, we continued to work together on highlighting and advancing emerging issues related to charities with a view to finalizing their fourth report.

We spoke at the Ukrainian Canadian Bar Association’s Knowledge Hub to share general information about the role of the Charities Directorate, prohibitions on supporting foreign militaries and considerations for charities that provide humanitarian aid abroad on April 25, 2024.

On May 9, 2024, we participated in the Canadian Bar Association’s Charity Law Symposium. During the symposium, the Charities Directorate provided program updates, such as our latest highlights in education and outreach. We also underlined the importance of compliance, and covered some of the Budget 2024 items of interest to the Charities Directorate.

We look forward to more engagement opportunities in the months ahead.

Spread the news!

As we begin these quarterly updates, we will need your support in spreading the news. Help us reach more members of the charitable sector, and encourage others to sign up for our electronic mailing list! If someone else in your organization should be receiving these emails, please forward this message to them so they can subscribe.

Sincerely,

Sharmila Khare
Director General
Charities Directorate
Canada Revenue Agency