Canadian charities must file a copy of their financial statement along with the T3010 Registered Charity Information Return.  In the past CRA was not as strict about this requirement but now they are following up on it more as people can ask CRA for a copy of a charities financial statement and CRA needs to make it available.  Make sure you file your financial statements along with the T3010 or you will get a notice like this …

This notice is to advise that the Registered Charity Information Return (Form T301OA) recently filed on behalf of the charity for its fiscal period ending …. , did not include a copy of the charity’s own financial statements. To comply with the filing requirements, you must send in a copy of these financial statements within 30 days from the date of this notice.

Mail them to:
Charities Directorate
Canada Revenue Agency
Ottawa ON K1 A OL5

You can also send them by fax to 613-957-8925.

FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES, PLEASE ATTACH THIS NOTICE IN YOUR REPLY.

At a minimum, financial statements consist of a statement of assets and liabilities, and a statement of revenue and expenditures for the fiscal period. They should show the different sources of a registered charity’s revenue and how it spent its money.

By law, the Canada Revenue Agency can now make these financial statements available to the public upon request.

If you have questions about this notice, please write to the Charities Directorate at the address given above. You can also reach the Directorate by calling:
613-954-0410 for local Ottawa calls (English)
613-954-6215 for local Ottawa calls (bilingual)
1-800-267-2384 for toll-free, long-distance calls (English)
1-888-892-5667 for toll-free, long-distance calls (bilingual)
1-800-665-0354 for toll-free TTY service for persons with a hearing or speech impairment.
Visit our Web site at www.cra.gc.calcharities.
–
Director General, Charities Directorate

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. To find out more about legal services that Blumbergs provides to Canadian charities and non-profits please visit www.canadiancharitylaw.ca or www.globalphilanthropy.ca

This article is for information purposes only. It is not intended to be legal advice. You should not act or abstain from acting based upon such information without first consulting a legal professional.