The cycle of a non-profit’s year often builds towards a frenetic year-end fundraising push. But as veterans of the sector know, there is also plenty of activity leading up to and following the fiscal year end, culminating with the Annual General Meeting (AGM). This includes the sometimes intimidating but definitely-necessary-for-compliance Annual Report.  To help you prepare for your own Annual Report, we’ve put together a calendar template outlining the key dates and milestones leading up to your filing deadline. Please note that these dates are designed for a BC Society, rather than a F ..read more

Now that you’ve put a plan in place to complete the annual government reports for your BC Society, it’s time to turn your focus to reporting to your donors. Impact Reports—the kind that you make available to your donors and supporters—are the perfect way to shed some light on the impact your organization has had over the past fiscal year. It’s good stewardship to share an Impact Report with your constituency, and this public-facing report will look a lot different than your legal Annual Report.  Here are some things to consider when building an Impact Report for your donors: 1. Start with ..read more

The cycle of a non-profit’s year often builds towards a frenetic year-end fundraising push. But as veterans of the sector know, there is also plenty of activity leading up to and following the fiscal year end, culminating with the Annual General Meeting (AGM). This includes the sometimes intimidating but definitely-necessary-for-compliance Annual Report.  To help you prepare for your own Annual Report, we’ve put together a calendar template of the key dates and milestones leading up to your filing date. Please note that these dates are designed for a BC Society, rather than a Federal one ..read more

The CRA’s draft guidance on granting to non-qualified donees could open the door for a host of collaborations between charities and non-charitable organizations and, for most charities, this is great news! Changes to the Income Tax Act allowing charities to make grants to non-qualified donees were announced last fall. Prior to this change, a charity could only gift funds to qualified donees (i.e., registered charities and other organizations that can issue official donation receipts) or carry out its own charitable activities using intermediaries, provided it could demonstrate direction and co ..read more

We recently talked about what you could do for Giving Season if you’re a brand-new charity staring down your first fall fundraising push.  If you’ve been at it a while though, you likely have a Giving Season game plan. You know the telltale feeling of dread mixed with excitement that starts to creep up on you at the end of summer holidays. You have a few tried-and-true tactics to engage your donors and share your stories. Maybe you already have an idea for #GivingTuesday or you’ve secured a matching gift for your holiday campaign.  That doesn’t mean the season isn’t still overwhelmin ..read more

If you have been operating a non-profit for a while, you might be wondering if it is time to change your organization’s status and become a full-fledged charity.  As we’ve written about before, there are pros and cons to gaining charitable status – the biggest pro being that you can issue tax receipts for donations. The downside, of course, is the paperwork: charities are much more heavily regulated than non-profits, which means there are more rules to follow and more filings to complete.  But if you have considered the costs and benefits and are ready to change your organization’s s ..read more

Here in Canada, it’s Thanksgiving season! On top of all the turkey and gratitude, it’s also the unofficial start of Giving Season. That’s right: we Canadians have an extra month and a half on our southern neighbors to get into the giving spirit in the lead-up to the end of the year. But for new charities, Giving Season can feel overwhelming. That’s because, in the world of philanthropy, the last three months of the year are a certifiable big deal. The vast majority of charitable donations are made in October, November, and especially December. CanadaHelps reports that it gets more than 5% of i ..read more

We admire the scrappy, do-it-yourself spirit that permeates many nonprofits and charities. However, not fully understanding (or following) all the many rules and regulations of the Canadian benevolent sector is one of the top mistakes new charities make – so it’s not always wise to apply your DIY mindset to paperwork. To get your compliance house in order, you might need to call in some help. But don’t despair! Working with an expert will save you time, money, and a lot of headaches in the long run. Here are some signs it might be time to ask for help with your compliance filings: 1. Your inbo ..read more

You’ve decided to start a nonprofit or charity – Yay! Now it’s time to build a killer board. This is no easy task, but it is essential. A good board ensures you stay accountable to your donors and your mission. They make strategic decisions that will move your organization forward, provide critical support for volunteers and staff, and bear the responsibility of fulfilling the organization’s mission for all stakeholders. And yet. Many nonprofits struggle when it comes to building effective boards. But fear not: we’ve worked with hundreds of benevolent organizations over the years, and have gle ..read more

Sometimes, a situation comes up for a charity or non-charity to do good, but they don’t quite have the resources, capacity, or charitable status to make the most of the opportunity. Maybe a non-profit has a donor who wants to support them, but that donor wants a tax receipt (remember, non-profits aren’t able to issue those). Maybe a charity needs a bit of help to fulfill its charitable mission by offering activities a bit different from those that it normally runs. What then?  Time to work together! Charities and non-charities can work together in ways that give each half of the partnersh ..read more