Fact sheet

Archived

This page has been archived on the Web.

Charities Outreach and Partnership Program

Overview

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) registers qualifying organizations as charities under the Income Tax Act, gives technical advice on operating a charity, and handles audit and compliance activities.

Charities Regulatory Reform Initiative

The Government of Canada recognizes the value of charitable giving and the important contribution that Canada's more than 83,000 registered charities make towards improving quality of life. The government reaffirmed its support and recognition of the charitable sector by providing funding to non-profit organizations and registered charities to develop and deliver innovative compliance-related education and training to charities.

Charities Partnership and Outreach Program objectives

The overall objective of the program is to increase charitable sector compliance with relevant parts of the Income Tax Act. The main objectives of the program are to:

• raise awareness among the charitable sector of regulatory obligations under the Act;
• increase the capacity of the charitable sector in meeting regulatory compliance requirements in a sustainable fashion; and
• improve the capacity of the charitable sector to develop and deliver sustainable compliance-based education and training solutions.

Funding priorities for 2009-2010

Four project areas have been identified for contribution funding consideration.

Requirements and obligations of charitable registration – Every year, approximately 4,000 charitable organizations apply for registered status. Many of these organizations are not fully aware of the requirements and obligations associated with becoming a registered charity and are intimidated by the requirements. The CRA would like to reduce the number of revocations and potentially also the volume of applications for organizations that will not be sustained. Therefore, the CRA will consider funding projects that are designed to educate organizations before they seek registration about their requirements and obligations under the Income Tax Act and the alternatives to registration, such as working with groups that are already registered.

Gifts to non-qualified donees – Registered charities may use their resources in one of two ways: 1) in support of their own charitable programs or; 2) by gifts to qualified donees. Many registered charities are not aware of the restrictions surrounding "qualified donees." Projects designed to educate registered charities about their obligations regarding gifting to qualified donees will be considered for funding.

Safeguards against terrorism – Registration under the Income Tax Act gives charities significant tax advantages that are of crucial importance to their funding and functioning. Experience around the world shows that charities — including, but not exclusively, those that transfer resources internationally for relief and aid activities — can be vulnerable to accusations of intentional or unwitting abuse by terrorist organizations seeking to exploit the inherent credibility of such officially-recognized bodies. Projects designed to conduct fact-finding research into relevant current practices within the sector, and to develop and raise awareness of educational best practices materials to enhance understanding of the challenges that the post-9/11 environment poses for the broad range of charities (including those who conduct international humanitarian operations in current or former disaster areas, conflict zones, and failed states, and those that draw their support from non-mainstream Canadian communities) will be considered for funding.

Small and rural – In 2008, projects designed to address the distinct needs of small and rural charities in meeting their obligations under the Income Tax Act were considered for contribution funding. The CRA is continuing with this theme in 2009-2010 and will consider funding projects that focus on the development of tools designed to assist small and rural charities in locating and/or accessing local, regional, and/or provincial information/resources intended to support charities in meeting their regulatory obligations under the Act.

Available funding

Funding under this program is limited to $500,000 per project, per year (April 1 to March 31). For 2009-2010 (April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010), only one-year projects will be considered for funding. Since funding is limited, it is possible that not all eligible projects will be funded.

How to apply for funding

Funding submissions must be received by March 27, 2009. Guide RC4411, Charities Partnership and Outreach Program – Funding Guide and Application, has been prepared for organizations interested in applying for project funding under the program. It contains the eligibility criteria for funding, information about the application process, an application form, a glossary of terms, and an application checklist.

For more information

For more information, contact the Charities Partnership and Outreach Program, Charities Directorate, Canada Revenue Agency, 13th Floor, Place de Ville "A", 320 Queen Street, Ottawa ON K1A 0L5, or go to www.cra.gc.ca/charities.

This document is also available for download in PDF format.

To get notification by email when news releases, fact sheets, tax tips, and tax alerts are added to our Web site, subscribe to our electronic mailing list. You can also subscribe to the Media room RSS feed.

For media information

Date modified:

2014-12-03