Canadian Charity Law
February 05, 2012
Being Good at Doing Good 2012 in Toronto - Feb 13 and 14 - you don’t want to miss this conference
There will be another Being Good at Doing Good conference on February 13 and 14, 2012 organized by the Charity Law Information Program - you don’t want to miss this conference. We will have some of the top experts from Canada, the US and the UK on governance, financial management and compliance. Here is the registration page: http://www.clipconference.wildapricot.org/ The conference is “Doing Good” at registrations with over 185 people signed up so far.
Don’t miss sessions from:
Danie Huppé-Cranford, Director of Compliance, Charities Directorate of Canada Revenue Agency
Dave Toycen, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Vision Canada
Don McCreesh, Past Chair of the Board and Chair of the Standards Council, Imagine Canada
Dr. Vic Murray, Adjunct Professor, University of Victoria
Alice Holt, Charity Commission of England and Wales
Lois Lerner, Director of Exempt Organizations, Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Ken Berger, President and Chief Executive Officer, Charity Navigator
Rev. John Pellowe, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Council of Christian Charities
And many more!
View the preliminary conference schedule here. CLIP_Preliminary_Conference_Schedule_2012.pdf
• Overcoming the Five Greatest Challenges to Non-Profit Board Effectiveness Vic Murray Ph.D., University of Victoria
• The Battle for Transparency in the Non-Profit Sector Ken Berger, Charity Navigator
• Capacity Building for Canadian Charities James Temple, PricewaterhouseCoopers
• Determining Compensation Don McCreesh, Imagine Canada
• Good Governance: 10 Habits of High Functioning Boards Patrick Johnston, Borealis Advisors
• Dancing with an Octopus: Creating Effective Collaborations Linda Mollenhauer, Heather Graham, and Cathy Lang
• 10 Charitable Receipting Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make! Mark Blumberg, Blumberg Segal LLP
• Transparency in the Canadian Charitable Sector Steven Ayer, Imagine Canada
Here is a copy of the flyer: http://www.capacitybuilders.ca/clip/documents/CharityLawConferencePreview.pdf
Toronto Star article “ORNGE paid lawyers $11 million”
The Toronto Star has been doing a number of articles on a Canadian registered charity named “ORNGE” which provides air ambulance services in Ontario. In this article Kevin Donovan, investigative reporter for the Toronto Star, is discussing amounts of legal fees paid by ORNGE and the services provided.
Here is the Toronto Star article “ORNGE paid lawyers $11 million”
http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1126222—ornge-paid-lawyers-11-million?bn=1
As an aside Kevin Donovan will be speaking to charities at the CLIP Conference. http://www.globalphilanthropy.ca/index.php/blog/comments/being_good_at_doing_good_2012_in_toronto_-_feb_13_and_14_-_you_dont_want_to/
or http://www.clipconference.wildapricot.org/
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Largest Gifts from Canadian Charities to other Qualified Donees - 2010
Here is a list of the Largest Gifts from Canadian Charities to other Qualified Donees - 2010. You might find this interesting.
Largest Gifts from Canadian Charities to other Qualified Donees - 2010
Largest Gifts from Canadian Charities to other Qualified Donees - 2010.
February 03, 2012
CRA’s New Fundraising Guidance 2012
CRA will be shortly releasing their much anticipated revised Guidance on Fundraising. Join charity lawyer Mark Blumberg as he presents a webinar on behalf of the Charity Law Information Program entitled “CRA’s New Fundraising Guidance” on Friday, February 10, 2012 at 1PM EST for approximately 1 hour.
Topics Include:
-A brief over of the Guidance and What has not changed
-Changes in format, prominence and placement of the ratio, simplifying the allocation of fundraising costs, changes to evaluation of fundraising, clarifications about gaming and disclosure, appropriate reserves and reserve fund policies, working with non-arms length fundraising firms, and other matters
To register click here:
http://t.co/nTZIQ9tD
Or below:
https://ocsa.webex.com/tc0505ld/trainingcenter/register/registerSession.do?siteurl=ocsa&backUrl=https%3A%2F%2Focsa.webex.com%2Fcmp0306ld%2Fwebcomponents%2Fcalendar%2Fcalendar.do%3Fsiteurl%3Docsa%26serviceType%3DTC%26tabType%3Dupcoming%26ownerID%3D0%26pageNum%3D1%26timezoneID%3D0%26orderBy%3DstartTime%26orderType%3Dasc%26year%3D2012%26month%3D1%26date%3D3%26showpast%3Dfalse%26showreg%3Dfalse&confID=961528006
January 31, 2012
Blumbergs submission on the importance of transparency to the charity and non-profit sector
Here is a copy of my submission to the Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance on Motion 559 dealing with transparency.
“Canadians want charitable donations to benefit legitimate charities”
http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/HOC/Committee/411/FINA/WebDoc/WD5340612/411_FINA_TIFCD_Briefs/BlumbergSegalLLPE.pdf
Here are some other submissions:
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?DocId=5340612&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=1
You can listen to the committee meetings at: http://parlvu.parl.gc.ca/ParlVu/ContentEntityDetailView.aspx?ContentEntityId=8355
January 30, 2012
Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Law List - January 2012
Here is the Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Law List - January 2012
Blumbergs Newsletter
Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Law List - January 2012
FEATURED
1) Being Good at Doing Good 2012 in Toronto - Feb 13 and 14 - you don’t want to miss this conference
We have about 185 people registered for the Being Good at Doing Good conference on February 13 and 14, 2012 organized by the Charity Law Information Program. Not surprising in light of the excellent speakers. Here is the website with information on speakers and registration: http://www.clipconference.wildapricot.org/ There will be many great presenters including Kevin Donovan of the Toronto Star, Louis Lerner, Head of the Tax Exempt Section of the IRS and representatives from CRA, the Charities Commission of England and Wales and many other experts on charity governance, financial management and compliance.
2) Receipting Kit for Canadian Registered Charities launched by the Charity Law Information Program
The Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) has just released the Receipting Kit for Canadian Registered Charities. The kit is 25 pages and provides an overview of what a registered charity needs to generally know about receipting. As well, there is an attachment which is about 115 pages long with CRA guidance on receipting and even a CRA auditor checklist on receipting.
3) Canadian Charities and Free Transparency Tools - look before you donate
There are a couple of interesting websites which allow much easier searching of information from the T3010 databases. One is CharityFocus.ca (discussed by me here). Another interesting website is http://www.opencharity.ca. Opencharity.ca allows for visitors to search not only by charity name but also directors name.
4) CRA letters to Canadian registered charities when revocation for cause
For a number of years CRA has been aggressively targeting charities that are involved with abusive tax shelter schemes or in serious non-compliance with their legal obligations under the Income Tax Act. In some cases CRA puts out a news release but that only provides a small amount of detail as to the concerns of the regulator. Anyone can request from CRA copies of letters sent by the Charities Directorate to a charity which provide a lot more detailed information. Here are copies of news releases and more importantly in some cases the letters from CRA to the charity.
THE CLIP CONFERENCE “BEING GOOD AT DOING GOOD
5) Being Good at Doing Good 2012 in Toronto - Feb 13 and 14
There will be another two day Being Good at Doing Good conference on February 13 and 14, 2012 organized by the Charity Law Information Program on charity governance, financial management and compliance. Here is the registration page: http://www.clipconference.wildapricot.org/ The conference is “Doing Good” at registrations with over 185 people signed up so far.
6) Alice Holt from Charity Commission of England and Wales will be speaking in Toronto in February
Alice Holt, the Head of Legal Services for the London office of the Charity Commission of England and Wales will be speaking at CLIP “Being Good at Doing Good” Conference in Toronto. We are delighted to have Alice join us.
7) Ken Berger, head of the US watchdog “Charity Navigator” will be speaking in Toronto
Ken Berger, the President & Chief Executive Officer, of the US charity watch dog group Charity Navigator will be speaking at the CLIP conference “Being Good at Doing Good” on the subject of “The Battle for Transparency in the Non-Profit Sector”.
8) IRS is coming to Toronto - head of IRS Tax Exempt division will be speaking in Toronto
Lois G. Lerner, the Director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the Internal Revenue Service will be speaking at the CLIP Conference. http://www.clipconference.wildapricot.org/ As head of the Exempt Organizations Division she is responsible for the regulation of US charities or exempt organizations including registration, education, and compliance. She will be giving two presentations - one focusing on why regulators care about governance and the second on top compliance issues for US charities. We will also have speakers from the CRA and Charity Commission of England and Wales and other experts in charity governance, financial controls and compliance.
9) Investigative Reporter Kevin Donovan of the Toronto Star to Speak at CLIP Conference
The Toronto Star’s Investigative Reporter Kevin Donovan, who frequently covers the charitable sector, will be presenting at the CLIP conference. Increasingly the media has been focusing on charities and certain hot button issues. Those involved with charity governance, financial management and communications will find his comments very useful.
COMPLIANCE AND MISUSE OF CHARITY RESOURCES
10) Natalie Worsfold Blog on GLGI very interesting with copies of court documents
Ontario tax litigator, Natalie Worsfold, has an interesting blog called “Trouble with Taxes”. She has a page on the GLGI gifting arrangement. Of particular note is the lengthy PDF of court documents.
11) CRA revokes two more charities for involvement in charity tax schemes
The CRA has revoked for cause “Word of Christ Ministry” and “Hope Church of God Deliverance Ministries” for involvement in promoted charity schemes.
12) National Post article “Judge OKs suit against charity tax ‘scheme’”
On January 23, 2012 the National Post published an article entitled “Judge OKs suit against charity tax ‘scheme’” by Joseph Brean which discusses a class action lawsuit against various parties relating to the “Donations for Canada Gift Program”.
13) Banyan Tree Class Action Lawsuit Receives court approval - defendants pay 11+ million
The first class action lawsuit involving what CRA terms an “abusive charity gifting tax scheme” has settled at a Settlement and Class Counsel Fee Approval Hearing that was held on January 17, 2012 in Toronto. The material for that hearing is on the Scarfone Hawkins website and is quite interesting reading providing lots of interesting details about the scheme.
WHAT’S NEW FROM FINANCE AND CRA
14) 2011 Canadian Federal Budget passes - new provisions affecting charities and RCAAAs in force
The 2011 Federal Budget received Royal Assent on December 16, 2011. There were a number of changes that affect charities, RCAAAs and other types of qualified donees that were in the budget.
15) CRA releases Charity Connection No. 11 - January 2012 - Special Edition: Budget 2011
The CRA has published Charity Connection No. 11 on the 2011 Federal Budget. The publication highlights some of the major changes for registered charities, RCAAAs and other qualified donees. There will be more information on certain other budgetary provisions in the near future such as the “ineligible individual” provisions.
16) CRA revises Pamphlet “Gifts and Income Tax P113(E) Rev. 11” to reflect recent budget changes
The CRA has revised its Pamphlet “Gifts and Income Tax P113(E) Rev. 11” to reflect recent budget changes including reducing the incentives for packaged flow through donation schemes and other provisions from the 2011 Federal Budget.
17) Municipal and public bodies performing a function of government in Canada - will need to apply
The CRA will be preparing a list of “Municipal and public bodies performing a function of government in Canada” which are essentially certain First Nations bands or groups who perform certain government functions. These “Municipal and public bodies performing a function of government in Canada” are qualified donees and can issue official donation receipts for gifts to them. CRA has noted on their website: “As a result of Budget 2011, municipal and public bodies performing a function of government in Canada must apply to be added to a list maintained by the CRA to become or continue to be qualified donees. We are currently developing the process by which these bodies must apply. Meanwhile, municipal and public bodies performing a function of government continue to be qualified donees until the application process is finalized. At that time, these bodies will
have to apply to maintain this status.” As new information becomes available we will post it on our website.
18) CRA’s Annual Report to Parliament for 2010-2011
Here is the CRA’s Annual Report to Parliament for 2010-2011. It is 173 pages long. There are a number of references to charities which I have highlighted.
CROSS-BORDER CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
19) Recent CRA’s Foreign Activity Guidance Presentation by Mark Blumberg
Here is a copy of a recent presentation on CRA’s Foreign Activity Guidance that I presented to World Vision’s Law Day.
20) So how much do Canadian charities receive from foreign sources according to the T3010 Returns?
There has been a little political firestorm recently over US foundations funding of certain Canadian environmental charities. So how much revenue actually comes to Canada from foreign countries including the US? The answer seems to be about $831 million. That is from Line 4575 “Total revenue received from all sources outside Canada”. If you are interested in who got what then read on.
21) “Foes of Northern Gateway pipeline fear revocation of charitable status” - Globe and Mail article
In a Globe and Mail article entitled “Foes of Northern Gateway pipeline fear revocation of charitable status” there is a discussion of recent issues raised about foreign funding on Canadian charities and political activities of Canadian charities.
22) CRA letters to Canadian Foundation for Tamil Refugee Rehabilitation before revocation
Here are copies of the letters from the Charities Directorate of the CRA to the Canadian Foundation for Tamil Refugee Rehabilitation.
23) CIDA announces funding for 53 Canadian partnerships in international development - $142 million
Minister of International Cooperation, Bev Oda, announced on December 23, 2011 the results of the Call for Proposals process of the Partnerships with Canadian branch. 53 organizations received about $142 million in total commitments.
24) CRA releases list of prescribed universities outside Canada in easy to find format
There are a few hundred foreign universities (ie. universities outside of Canada) that can issue Canadian official donation receipts and are therefore “qualified donees” similar to registered charities. The list of these universities was hidden on page 1550 of a regulation to the Income Tax Act. Now the list will be more easy to access on the Charities Directorate’s website.
TRANSPARENCY
25) Charity Focus from Imagine Canada - a helpful tool to analyze Canadian charities
Imagine Canada will be officially launching its Charity Focus website soon. You can review the website at http://www.charityfocus.ca/ Charity Focus presents the T3010 information in a more user friendly fashion than the current CRA website and it will also include other information uploaded by charities.
26) ‘Charity rankings often don’t tell the full story’ - by Katherine Van Kooy in the Calgary Herald
Here is a great piece by Katherine Van Kooy in the Calgary Herald entitled ‘Charity rankings often don’t tell the full story’. Katherine van Kooy is the president and CEO of the Calgary Chamber of Voluntary Organizations (CCVO).
27) CRA releases list of Canadian municipalities that are qualified donees + can issue donation receipts
Canadian municipalities can issue official donation receipts similar to registered charities. Sometimes it is not clear whether a group is considered to be a municipality. In the past you would have to call CRA or write to them to verify whether a township, town, county, etc. was a municipality. As a result of changes in the 2011 Federal Budget, CRA was allowed to release a list of municipalities. The list is prepared by province. Currently the municipalities are all listed as of 2012-01-01. If a municipality is involved with inappropriate conduct like issuing incorrect receipts they can be suspended or delisted. Municipalities need to be careful about how they issue receipts.
28) Article “Greater transparency needed in China’s charity sector”
Here is an interesting article on transparency in the Chinese charitable sector. “Charities will lose public credibility without transparency,” said one researcher. It is interesting to note that in one scandal involving the Red Cross Society of China (RCSC), the ” the scandal led to an 86.6-percent drop in donations to national charity organizations over the following six months”. It appears that the Chinese government is taking steps to bring in greater transparency.
29) Who and what are Registered National Arts Services Organization (RNASO) in Canada?
There are 24 Registered National Arts Services Organization (RNASO) in Canada and here is the list from the CRA Charities Listing database.
30) CRA publishes list of registered Canadian amateur athletic associations (RCAAAs)
The CRA has published a list of registered Canadian amateur athletic associations (RCAAAs). Very interesting to see the names of RCAAAs and also those that were deregistered over the last few years. There are currently about 119 RCAAAs. CRA was only allowed to publish this list after changes introduced in the 2011 Federal budget to increase transparency in the charity/qualified donee sector.
GENERAL
31) Consultation on Strengthening Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti Terrorist Financing Regime
On December 21, 2011 the Department of Finance announced a consultation on “updating Canada’s regime for combating money laundering and terrorist financing.” They also put out a consultation paper, “Strengthening Canada’s Anti-Money Laundering and Anti Terrorist Financing Regime,” which contains a number of proposals, a couple of which relate to charities. The deadline for submitting comments is March 1, 2012. The two proposals relating to charities are pretty minor - first for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to share information with CRA Charities Directorate on seizure reports when they seize forfeited currency. Second, the Financial Transactions Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (“Fintrac”) already provides disclosure to CRA but such disclosure may be more proactive. These recommendations will facilitate the Charities
Directorate having greater awareness of potential money laundering or terrorist activities that could potentially involve charities.
32) StatsCan stats on charity sector interesting - but notes even more interesting
StatsCan recently published some statistics on charitable donations. They noted “Canadian taxfilers reported making charitable donations of just under $8.3 billion in 2010, up 6.5% from 2009. At the same time, the number of donors increased 2.2% to just over 5.7 million. Data are based on income tax returns filed for 2010.” That is a bit of a good news story and shows that many Canadians who have jobs feel quite lucky and are generally digging into their pockets more. What is more interesting than the statistics are the caveats and notes.
Notes
Upcoming Events
On February 13 and 14, 2012 I will be chairing the upcoming CLIP Conference ‘Being Good at Doing Good’ http://www.clipconference.wildapricot.org
On February 9, 2012, I will be delivering a webinar on “Successfully funding First Nations communities in Canada in compliance with CRA guidance” with The Circle on Philanthropy and Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, Canadian Environmental Grantmakers’ Network and the Charity Law Information Program.
I will be lecturing and co-leading the Federated Press conference on “Tax-Effective Planning for Insurance & Investments Course” on February 28 & 29, 2012. I will be presenting on “Tax Effective Giving and the Use of Private Foundations” including factors to consider before establishing a private foundations and alternatives to private foundations and the process, requirements and costs of establishing a private foundation. The conference registration information is at: http://www.federatedpress.com/pdf/CEC/TEPT1202-E.pdf
In early April I will be co-presenting o the AFP International Conference in Vancouver on “Fundraising Compliance and Ethical Issues for Canadian Registered Charities”.
Past Events
I delivered CLIP seminars in recently in London and Mississauga. For a full list of places CLIP did seminars see: http://ow.ly/6xnJu
I also did a number of workshops on charity compliance and recent legal developments for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ontario as well as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Alberta.
OTHER LINKS
Here are some recent links:
SMARTGIVING.CA - in time for the holiday season
List of Canadian Charities Revoked for Cause over the last five years
Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA) Suitcase
Draft receipting kit for Canadian charities that issue receipts along with CRA receipting policies
Budget 2011 and new “ineligible individual” category: How this can affect your charity
Blumbergs Charity Checklist
I hope that you found the above material helpful and please feel free to forward the e-mail newsletter to anyone you think may be interested. They can also sign up for the BLUMBERGS non-profit and charities law newsletter at http://www.canadiancharitylaw.ca/index.php/pages/subscribe/
For further information on legal resources for Canadian Non-Profits and Charities please visit www.canadiancharitylaw.ca or www.globalphilanthropy.ca
If you use Twitter you might want to follow me at: http://twitter.com/canadiancharity
If you want general information on registered charities in Canada you might find the archived webinars that were prepared for the Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) of Capacity Builders helpful http://www.globalphilanthropy.ca/index.php/blog/comments/webinars_on_canadian_charity_law_-_charity_law_information_program_clip_by_/
If you would like to retain our law firm for legal services or legal advice with respect to non-profits or charities, please contact me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or at 416-361-1982.
Mark Blumberg
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Mark Blumberg, B.A., LL.B., LL.M., TEP
Blumberg Segal LLP
Barristers & Solicitors
390 Bay Street, Suite 1202
Toronto, Ontario, M5H2Y2
Tel. (416) 361-1982 ext. 237
Toll Free 1-866-961-1982
Fax. (416) 363-8451
Email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
www.canadiancharitylaw.ca
www.globalphilanthropy.ca
You can follow me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/canadiancharity
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January 28, 2012
CRA letters to Canadian registered charities when revocation for cause
For a number of years CRA has been aggressively targeting charities that are involved with abusive tax shelter schemes or in serious non-compliance with their legal obligations under the Income Tax Act. In some cases CRA puts out a news release but that only provides a small amount of detail as to the concerns of the regulator. Anyone can request from CRA copies of letters sent by the Charities Directorate to a charity which provide a lot more detailed information. Here are copies of news releases and more importantly in some cases the letters from CRA to the charity.
Here is a list of the charities revoked over the last five years by CRA. http://www.globalphilanthropy.ca/index.php/blog/comments/canadian_charities_recently_revoked_by_cra_for_cause/
Here are some press releases from CRA on some of the charities that they have deregistered just in the last few years along with copies of some of the letters sent by CRA to the charities:
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the registration of Hope Church of God Deliverance Ministries as a charity (January 24, 2012)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2012/m01/nr120120b-eng.html
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the registration of Word of Christ Ministry as a charity (January 24, 2012)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2012/m01/nr120120-eng.html
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of the Canadian Foundation for Tamil Refugee Rehabilitation (December 9, 2011)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2011/m12/nr111209-eng.html
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the registration of Malvern Rouge Valley Youth Services as a charity (November 15, 2011)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2011/m11/nr111115-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent by CRA to The Malvern Rouge Valley Youth Services
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the registration of The Organ Donation & Transplant Association of Canada as a charity (Feb 25, 2011)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2011/m02/nr110225b-eng.html
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the registration of Pediatric AIDS Canada/USA as a charity (Feb 18, 2011)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2011/m02/nr110218-eng.html
CRA letter to Pediatric AIDS Canada/USA
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the registration of Operation Save Canada’s Teenagers as a charity (January 18, 2011)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2011/m01/nr110114-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Operation Save Canada’s Teenagers.
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the registration of Revival Time Ministries International as a charity (January 12, 2011)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2011/m01/nr110107-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent by CRA to Revival Time Ministries International
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the registration of Metro Street Focus Organization as a charity (December 10, 2010)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2010/m12/nr101210-eng.html
The CRA revokes the registered status of Biathlon Canada (November 2, 2010)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2010/m10/nr101029-eng.html
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of Christ Apostolic Church International - Canada (August 24, 2010)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2010/m08/nr100820-eng.html
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of Tamil (Sri Lanka) Refugee-Aid Society of Ottawa (July 17, 2010)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2010/m07/nr100717-eng.html
The CRA revokes the registered status of the Canadian Lacrosse Association (June 7, 2010)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2010/m06/nr100607-eng.html
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of Henvey Inlet First Nation Community Support Organization (May 10, 2010)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2010/m05/nr100510c-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Henvey Inlet First Nation Community Support Organization
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of The Orion Foundation (May 10, 2010)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2010/m05/nr100510b-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to The Orion Foundation by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of Liberty Wellness Initiative (April 19, 2010)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2010/m04/nr100419-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Liberty Wellness Initiative by the Charities Directorate of CRA
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of Destiny Health and Wellness Foundation (April 19, 2010)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2010/m04/nr100419b-eng.html
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of Alberta Distribution Relief Agency Aid Society International
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m09/nr090908-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Alberta Distribution Relief Agency Aid Society International by the Charities Directorate of CRA
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of New Hope Ministries Institute
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m09/nr090908-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to New Hope Ministries Institute by the Charities Directorate of CRA
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of Jesus El Buen Pastor Spanish Pentecostal Church of Toronto
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m08/nr090810-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Jesus El Buen Pastor Spanish Pentecostal Church of Toronto by the Charities Directorate of CRA
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of Funds for Canada Foundation (August 10, 2009)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m08/nr090810b-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Funds for Canada Foundation by the Charities Directorate of CRA
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of The Mission Against Poverty Shelter (July 27, 2009)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m07/nr090727-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Mission Against Poverty Shelter by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of Living Waters Ministry Trust (June 8, 2009)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m06/nr090608b-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Living Waters Ministry Trust by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of Healing and Assistance Not Dependence Canada (June 8, 2009)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m06/nr090608-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Healing and Assistance not Dependence Canada by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of The Children’s Emergency Foundation (May 11, 2009)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m05/nr090511-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to the Children’s Emergency Foundation by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of Universal Aide Society (April 27, 2009)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m04/nr090427-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Universal Aide Society by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of the Dominion Christian Centre of Canada (February 17, 2009)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m02/nr090217-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Dominion Christian Centre of Canada by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
The Canada Revenue Agency annuls the charitable status of the Phoenix Community Works Foundation (February 9, 2009)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m02/nr090209-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Phoenix Community Works Foundation by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of The Millennium Charitable Foundation (January 12, 2009)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m01/nr090112-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to The Millennium Charitable Foundation by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
CRA revokes the registered status of Little League Baseball Canada (January 12, 2009)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2009/m01/nr090112b-eng.html
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of the Fondation des Arts H.B. Ltée/H.B. Arts Foundation Ltd. (December 8, 2008)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2008/m12/nr081208-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Fondation des Arts H.B. Ltée/H.B. Arts Foundation Ltd. by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of the Pinnacle Foundation (November 17, 2008)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2008/m11/nr081117b-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Pinnacle Foundation by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of the Choson Kallah Fund of Toronto (November 3, 2008)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2008/m11/nr081103b-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to Choson Kallah Fund of Toronto by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of The Banyan Tree Foundation (October 20, 2008)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2008/m10/nr081020-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to The Banyan Tree Foundation by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the registered status of the Canadian Amateur Football Association (September 3, 2008)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2008/m09/nr080903-eng.html
The Canada Revenue Agency revokes the charitable status of International Charity Association Network (August 11, 2008)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2008/m08/nr080811-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to the International Charity Association Network by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
CRA revokes charitable status of the Francis Jude Wilson Foundation (March 5, 2008)
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/nwsrm/rlss/2008/m03/nr080305-eng.html
Here is a copy of the letter or letters sent to the Francis Jude Wilson Foundation by the Charities Directorate of CRA.
Here are some other letters from CRA to charities that were revoked for cause:
CRA letter to Canadian Ptach Society
CRA letter to Give2Asia
CRA letter to Children’s Leukemia Research Association Canada
CRA letter to Rich Wilkerson Ministries
CRA letter to ASL Charity Foundation
CRA letter to Essential Grace Foundation
CRA letter to Malachi_3_10_Foundation
CRA letter to The Gateway Benevolent Society
CRA letter to Prescient Foundation
Toronto Abundant Life Fellowship Assemblies
M & RM Training Centre & Workshop Toronto
Grace Christians Assembly
Empowering Youth.
It is important to note that CRA has stated on dozens of occasions that:
“The CRA is reviewing all tax shelter-related donation arrangements (for example, schemes that typically promise donors tax receipts worth more than the actual amount of the donation), and it plans to audit every participating charity, promoter, and investor. For more information about tax shelters, go to the CRA’s Tax alert Web page at http://www.cra.gc.ca/alert.”
Documents that have been scanned above were requested from CRA and sent to us by them. Anyone can request copies of CRA letters after the revocation of a charity. The scanned copies are not an “official version of the materials” and the provision of such material has not been made in affiliation with, or with the endorsement of, the CRA.
Here is a short link to this page: http://ow.ly/8Kt4M
January 27, 2012
Canadian Charities and Free Transparency Tools - look before you donate your time or money
There are a couple of interesting websites which allow much easier searching of information from the T3010 databases. One is CharityFocus.ca (discussed at http://www.globalphilanthropy.ca/index.php/blog/comments/charity_focus_from_imagine_canada_-_a_helpful_tool_to_analyze_canadian_char/ ). Another interesting website is http://www.opencharity.ca Opencharity.ca allows for visitors to search not only by charity name but also directors name.
Why would these tools be useful for a charity or donor?
1) Search on http://www.opencharity.ca to see if you are listed as a director of a charity - some people are surprised that they are listed when they thought they had resigned years before or they had never consented to be a director. Also when you read in the paper that someone has been involved with malfeasance you might be interested in knowing which other charities the person is involved with. http://www.opencharity.ca/search
2) The charityfocus.ca interface is much easier to use than the CRA website in terms of accessing information on a registered charity both for the last year and historically over the last 10 or so years..
3) These tools will make it easier for charities to see mistakes in their previous filings which could be corrected.
4) The improved user interface will also make easier to see what is captured on the T3010 and show the limits of the information collected on the T3010. There is little collected on the T3010 about volunteer contribution, public benefit and impact.
5) There are also other paid subscriptions who have different information or user interface such as CharityCan and Ajah.
In terms of questions one may want to think about in donating to charity I have created along with the Charity Law Information Program a micro-site - http://www.smartgiving.ca which might also be of assistance.
January 26, 2012
Alice Holt from Charity Commission of England and Wales will be speaking in Toronto in February
Alice Holt, the Head of Legal Services for the London office of the Charity Commission of England and Wales will be speaking at CLIP “Being Good at Doing Good” Conference in Toronto, which is being held February 13 and 14. We are delighted to have Alice join us.
For more information on the conference and the many wonderful speakers covering governance, financial management and internal controls see:
http://www.clipconference.wildapricot.org/
January 25, 2012
Charity Focus from Imagine Canada - a helpful tool to analyze Canadian charities
Imagine Canada will be officially launching its Charity Focus website soon. You can review the website at http://www.charityfocus.ca/
At CharityFocus.ca you can:
-review up to 10 years financial information for any Canadian registered charity in one chart rather than going into 10 seperate T3010 Registered Charity Information Returns.
-make a donation directly from the website through CanadaHelps to the charity
-see additional information uploaded directly by the charity.
-see on a map the location of a charity.
-search by amount of revenue and location ( want to see who are small charities in Saskatoon or big charities in Montreal)
-search by type of charity - eg. synagogue, mosque, church, temple or hospital or university and combine it with other searches.
-search “All of these words” and you get a list of charities containing a word. (eg. search Uganda and it brings up first many charities that have the word Uganda in their title - but more importantly it brings up charities that don’t have Uganda in the title but only have the word in the description - very helpful if you are thinking of operating in Uganda and want to learn from other charities.)
-search multiple categories to find a list of charities that you want to volunteer with or donate to.
CharityFocus also has an interesting feature called T3010 QuickPrep which is an interactive T3010 form which will help Canadian charities to complete their T3010. When completing the T3010 with QuickPrep it points out some of the most common mistakes and hopefully will improve the accuracy of the information filed.
Why should a charity care about this site? First this site gives a charity the opportunity to upload certain information. Secondly charities should check their financial information to make sure that when they filed their T3010 the information provided was correct (or CRA did not input the information incorrectly). It is far easier on a site like this to do so when you are looking at historical information side by side. If there is a mistake in the information you can let CRA know. If you made a mistake in filing your T3010 then you can file an adjustment - alternatively if CRA made an inputting mistake just give them a call.
Check out how your charity looks at http://www.charityfocus.ca/
Don’t be too quick to judge a charity based on the T3010 information - at http://www.smartgiving.ca we discuss some of the difficulties of “rating” charities or using the T3010 information to determine whether a charity is worthy of support.
