If you anticipate that your charity is going to be audited by the Charities Directorate of CRA you may wish to review my article Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Audits and Canadian Registered Charities at Here is a copy…
The Canadian Council of Christian Charities (CCCC) has provided their submission to the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) on the CRA’s proposed guidance on foreign activities (the “CRA Consultation on the Proposed Guidance on Activities Outside of Canada for Canadian Registered…
A number of NGOs have tried to spotlight the famine in Eastern and Sub-Saharan Africa and CIDA has just committed further funds to the problem. Here is an article by Kevin McCort of CARE Canada “We must make famine…
Here is some information on the Third Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise in Toronto in November. Third Canadian Conference on Social Enterprise – Early Bird Rate! The Social Enterprise Council of Canada invites you to join hundreds of existing and…
The Ontario Public Guardian and Trustee has produced a charity bulletin entitled Charitable Fundraising: Tips for Directors and Trustees. In that bulletin they list in “Appendix A: Factors to Consider Before Signing a Fundraising Contract”. Appendix A: Factors to Consider…
The CRA has announced contribution funding for eight new projects under the Charities Partnership and Outreach Program (CPOP). One of the announced projects will be handled by the Ontario Community Support Association under its Charity Law Information Program (CLIP). The…
In this article I wrote for the Charity law information program it discusses the Ten Most Useful Features of the Canada Revenue Agency’s Charity Directorate Website for Charities. If you have not recently visited the site you might find that…
I will be delivering two workshops in Toronto on October 6, 2009 for the Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) of CapacityBuilders. For further information see the Toronto Brochure and registration information for CLIP. For a full list of workshops see: …
The main page for the OCSA 2009 Conference is at The program is at I thought I would highlight a few interesting speakers namely Seb Elsworth, from the UK Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations(ACEVO) who will…
CRA has provided some more detail on how organizations are included in Attachment to IC84-3R5, Gifts to Certain Charitable Organizations Outside Canada. There are only about 5 organizations left on the list and perhaps this policy commentary will encourage the…
This article entitled The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle discusses “overhead” or “indirect expenses” and how various factors play in to charities not investing enough in infrastructure which results in less efficient organizations that cannot effectively serve their beneficiaries. About a year…
This CRA letter deals with “whether a charity’s status is at risk where the charity holds shares of a subsidiary corporation carrying on a business involving rental and sale of real estate” LANGIND E DOCNUM 2009-0306691E5 AUTHOR Demeter, Robert DESCKEY…
It used to be that if a registered charity was non-compliant CRA either revoked the charity or could do little about the non-compliance. The times have changed. With the introduction of “intermediate sanctions” CRA now has lots more flexibility in…
Here are the 2008/2009 web statistics for the English part of the CRA website sorted by most visited pages. Mark Blumberg is a lawyer at Blumberg Segal LLP in Toronto, Ontario. He can be contacted at mark@blumbergs.ca or at 416-361-1982.…
It was with sadness that I read that Terry de March will be stepping down as Director General of the Charities Directorate. Thankfully he is not going far. While Terry de March is leaving his position of Director General, Charities…
The CRA in June released their “Consultation on the Proposed Guidance on Activities Outside of Canada for Canadian Registered Charities”. The Consultation is at Here is a copy of an earlier paper that I delivered to the 2009…
Here is a copy of an article I wrote for the Canadian Bar Association (CBA) National Charities and Not-for-Profit Law Section newsletter Charity Talk– A busy year: CRA consultations and guidance documents for 2008-2009 Mark Blumberg is a lawyer at…
A list of some of my upcoming workshops for CapacityBuilders. In September, October and November I will be delivering workshops in a number of different cities across Canada. Mark Blumberg is a lawyer at Blumberg Segal LLP in Toronto, Ontario. …
I am the program chair for a conference organized by Insight that will be held November 23 – 24, 2009 at the St. Andrew’s Club and Conference Centre at 150 King Street West, Toronto. The Conference is called NON-PROFIT and…
Here is a copy of the flyer for a presentation that I will be delivering to Philanthropic Foundations Canada on September 15, 2009 as part of their 2009 Professional Development Sessions Here is the text of the flyer: Giving Beyond…
The CRA has begun announcing their free 2009 Charities Information Sessions (formerly Roadshows).
It depends. The Charities Directorate Information Circular IC 75-23 (Tuition Fees and Charitable Donations paid to privately supported secular and religious schools) sets out the CRA administrative policy with respect to when and how Canadian charities that have religious schools…
Mango (Management Accounting for Non Governmental Organizations) is a UK registered charity that works to strengthen the financial management of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs). It has a very good reputation for providing training and resources to international development organizations. They…
Here are the Ontario Public Guardian and Trustee’s Tips for Managing Fundraising Risks. Tips for Managing Fundraising Risks Directors and trustees who wish to avoid complaints about a charity’s fundraising practices and the use of charitable property should follow the…