CRA’s Charities Partnership and Outreach Program

The Charities Partnership and Outreach Program (CPOP) is an important CRA initiative to enhance Canadian charity’s understanding of their compliance obligations.  Over the last few years there have been about 20 programs run by Canadian registered charities and funded in part by the CRA.  One of the projects that I worked on, the Charity Law Information Program of the Ontario Community Support Association, has received funding from the CRA. 

Here is a brief note from CRA on the CPOP Program from the Charities Directorate mailing called RC296E What’s the Scoop 2010 or the French version at RC296F En exclusivité 2010 Renseignements pour les organismes de bienfaisance enregistrés

“Charities Partnership and Outreach Program update

The Charities Partnership and Outreach Program is designed to provide funding to registered charities and non-profit organizations who want to develop and deliver innovative compliance-related education and training projects for the benefit of Canadian registered charities.

Since the beginning of this contribution funding program in 2005, we have signed 21 contribution agreements worth a total of nearly $9.8 million. Projects are chosen in response to proposals and are tailored to reflect different priorities that are regularly set by the CRA. Online resources, workshops, DVDs, videos, and in-person mentoring projects have all been supported by this unique contribution program. The projects have been active across Canada, in both official languages where warranted, and
are generally free to access for registered charities or organizations that are considering applying for registered status.

Under the program, the CRA will provide more than $2 million to various organizations in the 2009-2010 fiscal year. A fifth call for proposals was launched in October 2009. The CRA has been reviewing all submissions for this call, and expects to sign agreements under the call in the spring of 2010.

For more information on the projects that have been funded by the program and to access links (where available) to the resources that have been developed, visit http://www.cra.gc.ca/charities and select “Contribution Program.”