In this brief note, we try to suggest ten steps for a simplified contractor arrangement between a Canadian charity and a group in Canada that is not a charity (the “Intermediary”) implementing a project for the Canadian charity in Canada. …
We have just prepared a new course on Canadian Charities Working with Non-Charities in Canada. Here is information on the new course and how to register. I was quite disappointed that certain organizations have misrepresented the ability of Canadian charities…
I wrote to the BC Financial Services Authority on May 4, 2020, asking for some clarifications relating to their Information Bulletin entitled “Charitable Donation of Life Insurance Policies in British Columbia” which we covered here. On May 8, 2020, they…
The Guardian recently had an article “UK charity failed to safeguard aid worker killed in Syria – report“. The article deals with Alan Henning, a UK volunteer who went to Syria and was captured and beheaded by ISIS. Here is the…
Every year less than 1% of Canadian registered charities identify in their T3010 receiving a life insurance policy for which they issued an official donation receipt. (See Schedule 5 to the Blumbergs Canadian Charity Sector Snapshot 2017). That being said…
As we noted on April 18, 2020, we have updated CharityData.ca. There have been further recent improvements especially relating to searches/filtering of all Canadian charities and their categories Canadian charities are actually divided by the Charities Directorate of CRA into…
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) application process begins today. Non-profits and charities that meet the requirements of the CEWS may apply for up to a 75% wage subsidy. The CEWS can be applied through either the CRA’s MyBA system,…
Here is information from the Ontario government on the Ontario-Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance Program including a press release and also a background document. Please note that although it often mentions “small businesses” that “Not-for-profit organizations and charitable entities would…
Document released by CRA yesterday April 24, 2020 entitled “Questions and Answers on the Canada Emergency Response Benefit”: Canada Revenue Agency Questions and Answers on the Canada Emergency Response Benefit What is the Canada Emergency Response Benefit? The Canada Emergency…
NOTE: the comments provided are based on the information available today and further announcements or changes could impact that information. The Canadian Government announced that all eligible employers, which includes registered charities and non-profits in Canada, may apply for a…
Many groups are doing special purpose fundraising for COVID-19 in which they are specifically soliciting or accepting for COVID-19 related programs. Charities have to be careful of a number of issues when fundraising for a specific purpose. After having worked…
It has been over 4 weeks that many businesses, non-profits and charities in Canada have either been shut down or are trying hard to adjust to the frequently changing environment. The initial adrenaline has worn off, the days are melting…
[Update for OCA corporations at ] The COVID-19 crisis is forcing some non-profit organizations and registered charities to rethink the timing and manner of conducting their annual general meeting of members (AGM). Every organization is different, and a one-size-fits-all…
We have written about 2 recent notices from the Ontario Public Guardian and Trustee (“PGT”) relating to restricted funds and the pandemic. These are Ontario PGT has issued a “Statement on Accessing Restricted Purpose Trust Funds Prior to Obtaining a Court…
Below is the CRA Charities Directorate “What’s New” which discusses the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and how to apply for it. It also reminds people that the Charities Directorate Call Centre has resumed operations. Here is the text of the…
The Ontario Public Guardian and Trustees has circulated today to some charity lawyers some additional information on dealing with restricted gifts during the COVID-19 emergency. You can see the full text below. Here is our original discussion of a notice…
The CRA has announced on their webpage that their call centre is now open: The Charities Directorate call centre has resumed its operations in order to address any questions you may have. The hours of operation are Monday to Friday…
We do regular updates of the portal CharityData.ca. Recently we just added more T3010 data including updated partial 2019 data and all of 2018 data. We are now using 2018 data for searches and there are about 84,000 charities on…
With changes in May 2019 in which CRA removed about 10 years of public information from the Charities Listing, the differences between the CRA’s Charities Listing and the Blumbergs’ CharityData.ca portal have grown. This article will try to show you…
The Canadian Federal government announced today a loosening of the rules relating to journalism subsidies and also the new qualified donee category “Canadian journalism organization”. This will make it easier for some organizations to obtain subsidies. Here is the full…
Most Canadians don’t understand how diverse the Canadian charity sector is. The public sometimes has stereotypes of charities – those helping the poor are viewed as charities or registered charities. This stereotype or misunderstanding of the charity sector often benefits…
The CRA’s Charities Directorate is currently closed, however, registered charities can still access online services through what we affectionately call the CHAMP system but CRA now refers to as “Digital Services for Charities through the MyBA portal”. While registered charities…
[UPDATED ARTICLE] Here is our article COVID-19 and AGMs for Federal non-profit corporation under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act It discusses some of the factors to be considered in determining whether your organization is required to hold an AGM during…
As everyone knows the CRA Charities Directorate is currently closed. I have been getting requests for data on Canadian charities by charities, researchers and others. Typically, I just tell them to contact CRA who can send the data for free…