By: Arthur Drache With the golf season (finally) getting starting, hundreds of charities across the country are sponsoring golf tournaments, events which highlight social contacts with (one hopes) fun and also a chance to raise money for a good cause. In the recently issued Folio on Split Receipting[1], the CRA deals with the specifics […]
Sticking to your Knitting: and other fascinating facts about diapers
By: C. Yvonne Chenier, Q.C. Charitable food banks have been in the news lately. In Europe, the Government of France passed laws to stop supermarkets from throwing away food and instead making them donate it to charities and food banks. In California, where there is a sales tax on disposable diapers, a proposed bill […]
When an Advantage is not an Advantage
When an Advantage is not an Advantage By: Arthur Drache Everybody who raises funds in Canada for a charity presumably is aware of the fact that when a gift is made, a receipt can be issued for the full amount minus any advantage which accrues to the donor. So, for example, if a donor gives […]
The Poor are Always With us but how is the word Defined?
By Arthur B.C. Drache, CM, QC Anybody who works within the charitable world will be aware that the “relief of poverty” is one of the classic heads of charity and there are myriad cases which attempt to determine who is “poor”. But the issue can also arise very indirectly…which is what happened in a recent municipal […]
CRA ‘Control & Direction’ Rules Get Federal Court Bolster
By Alexandra Tzannidakis Anyone involved with a Canadian charity that operates internationally or sends funds abroad is probably intimately familiar with the considerable restrictions in this area. As with much of the law surrounding charities in Canada, the foreign activities rules are made up a small nucleus of actual statute law surrounded by an ever-growing […]
Reorganizing A Non-Profit/Charity to Secure Efficiency and Stability in Operations – A Current Case
By Mark S. Anshan In a series of articles here and here we discussed the importance of protecting a charity’s assets and organizing its activities to achieve maximum efficiency in operations and effectiveness in engaging with donors and volunteers. Long established charitable organizations sometimes find that they have a number of entities carrying on various […]
Loyola and the Future of Religious Charity
By Tanya Carlton On March 19, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered its verdict in the case of Loyola High School v. Quebec (Attorney General), 2015 SCC 12. Loyola High School (“Loyola”) is a private, English-speaking, Catholic high school for boys in Québec. In 2008, Québec’s Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports required that […]
Killing Two Birds with One Stone – New Budget Changes Mean Social Enterprise Opportunities
By Adam Aptowitzer Recent budget changes may herald new opportunities for social entrepreneurship. The Federal Government proposed changes in Budget 2015 to allow charities to own LP units. The change was apparently intended to resolve a technical problem involving investments by charities, but it may have a useful side benefit in allowing charities to structure […]
CRA Releases 2015 Charities Program Update
By Tanya Carlton The CRA recently released its 2015 Charities Program Update.[1] According to Cathy Hawara, the Director General of the CRA’s Charities Directorate, the purpose of the Update is to promote transparency in regards to the programs of the CRA and the diverse activities of the charitable sector. The Update focuses on five main topics: […]
Alberta Law Reform Institute Report: Reform in Alberta?
By C. Yvonne Chenier, QC Those who want to incorporate a non-profit organization in Alberta are faced with the decision whether to incorporate under the basic Societies Act or the more complex Companies Act, Part 9 (if they choose not to be created under the new federal Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act). Any non-profits who come […]