Registered charities, except charities designated as private foundations, may run related businesses; however, the Income Tax Act does not define what a related business is – except to state that a volunteer-run business is to be considered a related business even if there is no link between the business and the objects of a charity. […]
This article provides information on holding meetings of members under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (CNCA). It will be updated for Ontario no-share corporations once Ontario’s Not-for-profit Corporations Act, 2010 comes into force. 1. Calling Annual Meetings Newly incorporated federal no-share corporations must hold their first annual meeting of members within eighteen (18) months of […]
In the business world, name recognition and protection are well-understood concepts. Companies know the importance of protecting their “brand” and its earning potential. Non-profits may be fundraising instead of selling, and their motivations for collecting money may be different than those of for-profit companies, but ultimately name recognition is just as important to them for […]
By Arthur B.C. Drache, CM, QC Most readers of this newsletter are well aware of the limitations which are placed on political activities by charities and in recent issues we have run a couple of articles on various aspects of this subject. The best explanation of what is or is not allowed will be found in the […]
By Adam Aptowitzer One of the questions that directors ask (or should ask) prior to taking on the role is the extent to which they may be personally liable for the debts of a charity. Directors almost never ask about the personal liabilities which could arise should the charity be revoked. And, while there are […]
By Adam Aptowitzer The current media interest in the application of the political activities test for charities is indicative of the lack of nuance in our charity regulatory system. As we have written before on the history of the political activities test as it applies to charities, the provision in question, which allows charities to contribute up to […]
Charities and not-for-profits wishing to carry on activities in provinces other than that in which they were incorporated need to be aware of their obligations as extra-provincial corporations. This is especially true for corporations incorporated federally under the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (“CNCA”), as a determination must be made on whether or not an extra-provincial […]
A rare potential conservation donation in Georgian Bay, Ontario, with a common potential environmental conservation tax barrier recently produced a successful gift and good news for taxpayers and land conservation organizations. The Georgian Bay Land Trust (GBLT) had an opportunity to protect an undeveloped island featuring undisturbed stands of White Pine and Red Oak, open […]
In an era of spending cuts, federal support for the Canada Council for the Arts has remained steadfast. In fact, in our Budget 2014 Update, we reported that the Government of Canada had made permanent the $25 million supplements to the Parliamentary appropriation, which in recent years has been $181 million1 (previously, it had been […]
The internet seems to constantly be evolving new uses, not to mention new additions to the lexicon. A popular concept recently has been ‘crowdfunding’, in which people bypass traditional methods of accessing funding for a project by using the internet to make a direct appeal to the public. This strategy has been put to use […]