Global Giving

Upcoming FREE CLIP Webinars (Online internet seminars) on charity law, fundraising and receipting

Here are some of the upcoming FREE Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) webinars on appropriate receipting and fundraising with links to the registration pages that I will be delivering.  The CLIP program of Capacity Builders is supported by a contribution from the Charities Partnership and Outreach Program of the Charities Directorate. There is no charge for these sessions at this time.  You can register for any session by clicking the link.  The short link for this page is:  http://ow.ly/3jsBh

Gadhafi charity in Canada linked to terrorism - CRA revokes status of World Islamic Call Society

According to an article in the Ottawa Citizen on May 8, 2011 a Canadian charity that was recently revoked, was revoked because of involvement with terrorism.  On globalphilanthropy.ca we noted on April 21, 2011 that the WORLD ISLAMIC CALL SOCIETY had been revoked although there was almost no details available as to why http://www.globalphilanthropy.ca/images/uploads/Canadian_Charities_Recently_Revoked_by_CRA_for_cause_-_April_2011.pdf  The Ottawa Citizen article sheds quite a bit of light on the organization.

Another article on Vancouver charity lawyer Blake Bromley and how his clients are being audited

Reporter David Baines of the Vancouver Sun has written another article on Blake Bromley entitled “Vancouver ‘expert’ in charity law says CRA is targeting his clients”. 

Osama Bin Laden is dead - how will this affect Canadian charities and avoiding terrorist abuse?

President Obama announced on TV tonight that Osama Bin Laden is dead.  With the death of the most high-profile terrorist it could result in a further decline in Al Qaeda’s fortunes or it could result in a resurgence of retaliatory attacks.  What impact will this have on Canadian charities, if any?  Well coincidentally about two weeks ago the CRA busted what appears to be probably the biggest Canadian charity funding a listed terrorist organization from Canada. Here is more information on that deregistration http://ow.ly/4KUol  Canadian charities need to be vigilant, not obsessive, complacent or complicit.  Canadian charities should review CRA’s brief checklist on avoiding terrorist abuse. 

Blumbergs Canadian Charity Law List - April 2011 - scams, terrorism, international work + election

Here is the Blumbergs Canadian Charity Law List for April 2011 - lots of interesting legal and ethical issues in the Canada charity sector and elsewhere.

Canadian Charities Recently Revoked for cause by the Charities Directorate of CRA.- April 2011

Here is a list of Canadian Charities Recently Revoked by CRA for cause -April 2011.  The list also has the names of the directors of those charities.  Charities that are concerned about their reputations may want to think twice before having any of these people sit on their boards of directors or be involved in their organizations. 

International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy Canada (IRFAN-Canada) has status revoked

The International Relief Fund for the Afflicted and Needy Canada (IRFAN-Canada) has had its registered charity status revoked for failing to keep adequate books and records of its foreign activities.  They had their receipting privileges suspended last year because according to CRA they “Failed to maintain books and records in Canada in accordance with subsection 230(2), to provide records for audit in accordance with subsection 231.1(1), and to comply with a Requirement to provide documents in accordance with subsection 231.2(1)”.  Well it appears that there may have been more here than just sloppy record keeping.  According to CRA’s lengthy letter “IRFAN-Canada also transferred gifts-in-kind to non-qualified donees valued at more than $17 million. ... We have been able to establish that $13 million transferred to other organizations in the form of gifts-in-kind was provided to organizations which we have been able to document from public records as having ties to Hamas.”  Here are the CRA documents to IRFAN-Canada including various schedules:

Foreign Activities by Canadian Charities - Free Archived Webinars from CLIP and Mark Blumberg

Here are some free archived webinars - each approximately 1 hour in length on Canadian charities and foreign activities.  If your charity conducts foreign activities these webinars will help in understanding some of the compliance issues.

Canadian Election 2011 - will there be an effect on Canadian registered charities

Like many Canadians I will be watching the election.  I will be blogging on whether there are implications for the charitable sector and whether any of the parties have anything particularly interesting to say about the charitable sector.  Also, a quick reminder to registered charities, that they cannot be involved with partisan political activities and there are restrictions on the scope and resources that registered charities can use on political activities.  Here is an article on legal requirements for Canadian charities wanting to conduct political activities in the 2011 Canadian Federal Election.

New York Times discusses Madonna and Kabbalah Centre debacle in Malawi

The New York Times, in an article entitled “Madonna’s Charity Fails in Bid to Finance School”, discusses how Madonna has abandoned her efforts to build an expensive school in Malawi after investing 4 million in the prepatory work to the project.

CIVICUS World Assembly 2011 in Montreal - worldwide gathering of NGOS in Canada

The Civicus World Assembly 2011 will be held in Montreal around September 8-12, 2012.  This is a great worldwide gathering of NGOs.  For those interested in development as well as civil society this is a great conference to network and learn and also a great value in terms of cost.  Here is further information is the flyer in English, French and Spanish.

Humanitarian Coalition Release on “All aid dollars raised support survivors of disaster in Japan”

Here is an interesting press release from the Humanitarian Coalition on “All aid dollars raised support survivors of disaster in Japan”. 

Globe and Mail article “Are charities taking advantage of the urge to help Japan?” - my thoughts.

There was an article in the Globe and Mail entitled “Are charities taking advantage of the urge to help Japan?”  I think that this article misses a number of very important points.  I am not sure why the Globe and Mail decided to interview former hedge fund people who are in New York as to whether there was need in Japan for donations and to give their views greater prominence than some of the best charities in this country who have affiliates in Japan that are directly involved with the disaster. 

Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust of New Zealand is added to IC84-3R and is now qualified donee

The CRA has just revised the attachment to IC84-3R, Gifts to Certain Charitable Organizations Outside Canada, to include Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust of New Zealand.

Christchurch Earthquake Appeal Trust of New Zealand is added to IC84-3R and is now qualified donee

Japan earthquake - what can Canadian charities do?

The massive earthquake in Japan, apparently the biggest earthquake ever recorded in Japan, and the subsequent tsunami, have caused tremendous destruction. The problems with the nuclear reactors have cause further dislocation.  The Humanitarian Coalition is fundraising for Japan - you can find out more about them at http://humanitariancoalition.ca/ They are a Coalition of Care Canada, Save the Children Canada, Oxfam Quebec and Oxfam Canada. Some Canadian charities may wish to raise funds and provide relief to those affected and here are some suggestions to keep in mind in dealing with international disasters.

Webinar “Responding to International Disasters: Fundraising and Coordination with Nicolas Moyer”

On February 28, 2011 I did a webinar with the Coordinator of the Humanitarian Coalition, Nic Moyer, entitled “Responding to International Disasters: Fundraising and Coordination with Nicolas Moyer”.  You can watch the 1 hour webinar at: https://ocsa.webex.com/ocsa/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=TC&rID=3061432&act=pb&rKey=dcef805e9eec9dae  It is free of charge and was prepared as part of the Charity Law Information Program (CLIP) which is supported in part by a contribution from the Charity Partnership Outreach Program of the Charities Directorate of CRA.

Charity Sector Watchdogs: An Intelligent Development? in Charity Village by Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf

Andy Levy-Ajzenkopf wrote an interesting article on Charity Sector Watchdogs in Canada.  He quotes Cathy Barr (Imagine Canada), Anderson Charters, owner of CharityCan.ca (a great database), Ken Berger (Charity Navigator), Kate Bahen (Charity Intelligence) and myself.

Blumbergs Canadian Charity Law List - February 2011

Here is the Blumbergs Canadian Charity Law List for February 2011.  To sign up to this free newsletter visit: http://www.globalphilanthropy.ca/index.php/pages/subscribe/

Changes to IC84-3R in February 2011 to add South African group “Education Africa”

Here is a copy of the IC84-3R Attachment published in February 2011.  The list covers a small category of qualified donees which are organizations outside of Canada to which the Canadian government has made a gift to in the last couple of years.  There are only a few organizations on the list and now “Education Africa” has been added to that list.

A + B = C - Actions and Behaviors lead to Consequences - Do No Harm Project

Here is a nice simplification of the Do No Harm model.  You can read about it at http://www.cdainc.com/cdawww/pdf/issue/dnh_abcspaper_2011_Pdf.pdf

InterAction Launches Aid Buzz Blog

InterAction is the “largest alliance of U.S.-based international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) focused on the world’s poor and most vulnerable people.” They have just launched a blog.  It will be interesting to see the information and discussions that take place.

Charity Navigator to revamp rating system to emphasize transparency and accountability

The US organization Charity Navigator is in the process of revamping its rating system of charities to provide more information and weight to the issues of accountability and transparency.  Although Charity Navigator does not rate Canadian charities, the issue of transparency and accountability is as big here as in the US and Canadian charities should ensure that they are improving in this area. 

Charity Transparency improved in Israel With Launch Of GuideStar Israel - search in 3 languages

GuideStar Israel is being beta tested.  It will provide a combination of government and NPO information on non-profits in Israel.  It is only a beta test but it is an important step forward for donors and those interested in the non-profit sector in Israel.  There are obviously gaps that hopefully will be filled by the organizations themselves.

We get the charity regulation we fund - Jack Siegel’s comment on US charity regulation

Here is an interesting note dealing with US charity regulation and how less charity regulation and oversight can result in greater misuse of charities by admittedly a small number of people.

“Warning: If you donate to a gifting tax shelter, expect to be audited” - Tax Alert from CRA

The Canada Revenue Agency has issued a “Tax Alert” entitled “Warning: If you donate to a gifting tax shelter, expect to be audited.”  I know that the Tax Alert came out December 23, 2010 but if you are considering investing in one of these schemes consider that CRA’s warning is about the closest thing to a Christmas present you are ever going to get from CRA!  After all they will have just saved you ten years of legal fees, emotional distress, and payment of the foregone taxes plus penalties and interest that can in the end be so staggering that you go bankrupt.  That must be worth something.  In case you did not understand the title I will try to translate it to my version of Canadian pig Latin:  “Warningeh: Ifeh youeh donateh toeh giftingeh taxeh shelterey, expecteh toeh be’eh problemeh.”  For those pig Latin purists, who I know will bombard me with comments along with the promoters of these schemes, here is the proper Pig Latin translation “Arningway ifway youway onateday otay away iftinggay axtay eltershay expectway otay ebay auditedway”.  These schemes don’t make sense in any language!

Remittances and the high cost of giving for the poor - consider this Avaaz petition

Canadians are ostensibly a generous people.  They give on average about 1 billion per year in donations to registered charities for internationally philanthropy that targets the poor around the world.  On the other hand remittances from Canada to developing countries are approximately 9 billion per year.  Remittances tend to come from new immigrants, migrant workers etc. that often have far less financial resources than the average Canadian.  There are no tax incentives for remittances but very high tax incentives for donations to charity.  Avaaz is concerned that some companies like Western Union are gouging unsuspecting people who make remittances.  Here is the Avaaz petition:

Department of Finance Launches Public Consultation on International Aid

Here is a press release from the Department of Finance: “The Department of Finance today launched a public consultation on the international assistance payments it administers. The consultation is a requirement under the Official Development Assistance Accountability Act for all federal departments and agencies with foreign aid responsibilities. The feedback from the consultation will help make future assistance more effective by providing the public with an opportunity to comment on the Department’s contribution to global poverty reduction, its consideration of the perspectives of those who live in poverty, and its adherence to international standards on human rights.”  The consultation period will end on February 18, 2011.

Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Law List - December 2010

Here is a copy of the Blumbergs’ Canadian Charity Law List for December 2010.

OCIC Principles of Financial Management Workshop with Eric Plato Jan 25-26 in Toronto

Here is an interesting workshop taught by Eric Plato on Financial Management.

CIDA Launches Two Calls for Proposals under the new Partners for Development Program Dec 1, 2010

There are now 3 CIDA calls for Proposals under the new Partners for Development Program.