The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently released a new Guidance on Fundraising document, with the purpose of educating charities on what is considered appropriate, and legal, with regards to fundraising activities. Since the CRA will be auditing charities' fundraising activities...
For board members and executives joining the nonprofit community from other industry sectors, the issues around taxation can be quite novel. Nonprofits, for example, are exempt from paying income taxes. Yet every nonprofit has a number of important tax obligations,...
In a CharityVillage article titled "Are we trying to reach targets or clients?" by Teresa Ierullo, she wrote: "There are some organizations that chase all the money regardless of the purpose. They call it 'mission drift,' when they'll go after...
Let's say your organization is experiencing a decline in volunteerism and no matter what you try, you can't seem to stem the tide. Meanwhile, thanks to the economic downturn, your expenses are escalating, making the lack of volunteers an even...
What is governance? Most discussions about governance assume that everyone involved has the same notion of just what "governance" means. In fact, there may be substantial differences in understanding of what it does mean. So the best starting point in...
As of May 2009, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) replaced the Registered Charity Information Return with a new form, the T3010B. The new form contains far more detailed content, and because of the nature of the questions it is essential...
An employee produced a note from a doctor and requested "disability accommodation" requiring me to reassign work between several employees. I know of someone with the same disability who thinks the work is doable, and wonder if this employee is...
This is the fifth in a series of articles focusing on key steps in building a solid not-for-profit organization. As referenced in the first four articles, we have relied on the excellent information offered in the Government of Canada's Primer...
Bill C-4 is coming! In January, the government proposed a bill aimed at reforming the way nonprofits and associations incorporate. There are significant changes to how organizations incorporate initially and operate daily. Are you aware of Bill C-4's impact on...
Setting up and running a charitable organization can be a tricky business, so it's important to ensure that you're always on the right side of the law. In this podcast, Adam and Nicole discuss the question of turning a business...
