In a Christian ministry, everything about the organization should align with its Christian faith, including how it develops its strategy. That means, as ministry leaders, we need to think theologically about the way we develop strategy. Here are four theological truths that can form the basis of a theology of strategy development. Feel free to add additional truths you find meaningful and relevant to strategy formation. 1. Christ Continues to Work in the World Today Luke says his gospel concerns only what Jesus “began to do and teach,”1 and yet his gospel and its sequel, Acts, show that Jesus ..read more

CRA Charities Directorate has rescheduled its webinars about Books and Records. The webinars are free to all registered charities and other qualified donees. Both English and French language sessions are available. Space is limited, so be sure to sign up asap if you’re interested! The rescheduled webinars are being offered on the following dates: English June 7, 2023 10am-11am EST June 7, 2023 1pm-2pm EST June 8, 2023 10am-11 EST Français Le 8 juin 2023, 13h-14h, heure de l’Est If you’re looking for more about maintaining books and records, check out the Books and Records section of our Knowle ..read more

Recap From The Untapped Power of Your “Mission” Statement Just as I did in the previous post in this series, I refer to mission statements throughout this post, but I’m not necessarily referring to the traditional mission statement that describes how your ministry will fulfill its purpose; in other words, its activities. That is ‘mission’ in its narrow sense. ‘Mission’ in its broad sense is about what a ministry exists to accomplish, and the vision (or end statement) is the better description of what your mission is. Think of the vision/end statement as a top-level mission statement. If a mini ..read more

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has updated the T3010, Registered Charity Information Return and issued a new Form T1441 for qualifying disbursements. The T3010 requires charities to report grants made to non-qualified donees. The T1441 requires charities to report detailed information about grants made to non-qualified donees. *UPDATED* T3010 Registered Charity Information Return Section C relates to your charity’s programs and general information. New section C16 addresses qualifying disbursements. You must answer: Whether your charity made qualifying disbursements by way of grants to non ..read more

In November 2021, we let you know about changes to the BC Societies Act, including some changes that weren’t effective at the time. Well, that time has arrived! Background On October 28, 2021 BC’s Societies Amendment Act, 2021 (Amendment Act) received Royal Assent. Royal Assent means a bill becomes law. But it doesn’t always mean that the whole law is in effect. With the Amendment Act, a number of sections did come into effect; however, many other sections came into effect on May 4, 2023, by way of Order-in-Council. You can see the full listing at the bottom of this post. What are the changes ..read more

On March 27, the Federal Office of the Taxpayers’ Ombudsperson (Ombuds Office) released a report, Charity Begins with Fairness: More to Explore about the Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) audit process for charities. Report in Brief The Ombuds Office examined CRA’s audit practices as a result of concerns from Muslim-led charities about their experiences with CRA and in accordance with direction from the Minister of National Revenue. The Report’s conclusions are mixed – there were information-gathering challenges due to legislation and national security considerations. This meant that the Ombuds Of ..read more

In February, the Special Joint Committee on Medical Assistance in Dying (AMAD) issued its final report, Medical Assistance in Dying in Canada: Choices for Canadians. The report recommends significant and unprecedented expansion of medical assistance in dying (euthanasia and assisted suicide; “MAID”), including for children, by advance directive, and in support of MAID for incarcerated persons. As others have noted, if the Committee’s recommendations are followed, it would make Canada’s euthanasia laws “among the broadest in the world.”          &nb ..read more

The CRA Charities Directorate is hosting upcoming webinars about Books and Records. The webinars are free to all registered charities and other qualified donees. Both English and French language sessions are available. Space is limited, so be sure to sign up asap if you’re interested! English: April 19, 2023 10-11am EST April 19, 2023, 1-2pm EST April 20, 2023, 10-11am EST French: Le 20 avril 2023, 13-14h heure de l’Est If you’re looking for more about maintaining books and records, check out the Books and Records section of our Knowledge Base or ask your question in The Green! The post CRA Bo ..read more

In the Federal Budget 2023, released last week, where were charities to be found amidst the more than $40 billion in spending? Unlike Budget 2022, which brought significant changes to the disbursement quota and allowed charities to fund non-charities through qualifying disbursements, Budget 2023 is quiet on the charitable front. If you simply search for words like “charity,” “charitable” or “non-profit” there is little to find. Digging a bit deeper through the funding announcements, there are some programs for which charities may be eligible and proposed changes to anti-terror rules that could ..read more

NSIRA Review of CRA The National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) will review the national security activities conducted by Canada Revenue Agency’s (CRA) Review and Analysis Division (RAD). As described by the CRA Commissioner, RAD’s role is to support the government’s “counter terrorism efforts and to build on” the CRA’s responsibility to ensure charities meet regulatory and administrative requirements under the Income Tax Act (ITA). What Is This Review? This review will essentially pick up where the Ombudsperson’s Investigation into CRA’s audit practices ended (which was promp ..read more