Orchestras Canada

The Canada Revenue Agency has released updated, written guidelines for fundraising by registered charities – something of equal interest to fundraisers, chief financial officers and board treasurers. Among other things, the new guidance includes a substantially simplified suggested method of allocation, gives less prominence to the ratio of fundraising expenses to overall revenue, discusses the importance of reserve fund policies, and outlines how to work with non-arms length fundraising firms. For more information visit cra-arc.gc.ca.

The Charities Division of the Canada Revenue Agency has just posted dates, times and locations for their invaluable Charities Information Sessions, offered as a free service to all registered charities in all 10 Canadian provinces. They’re an excellent opportunity for your treasurer, new board members, or volunteers to learn about your charity’s legal obligations, and topics include:
• Fundraising
• Receipting
• Books and Records
• Financial Statements
• Form T3010-1, Registered Charity Information Return
• Provincial presentations (in some cities)
You must register on-line as seating is limited. For more information – and to register, please visit http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca.

The Conseil Québécois de la musique has announced its fall/winter training and professional development program for musicians and administrators. Prices are reasonable and the topics essential, ranging from injury prevention to contract law to social media – and details are available via the CQM’s website at http://www.cqm.qc.ca.

Ketchum Canada has released the latest in its quarterly Philanthropic Trends e-newsletter, with the most recent issue dedicated to new technology use by
Canadian charities. You can find it here.

Charitable organizations in BC and Ontario wrestling with the implications of the new Harmonized Sales Tax now have access to new resources developed by the Canada Revenue Agency. They include:
A webinar on the application of the GST/HST to charities
A GST/HST checklist for charities

Finally, an absolutely vital (and provocative!) speech from the opening session of the League of American Orchestras‘ 2010 conference, by Russell Willis Taylor. Here’s how National Arts Strategies describes the speech: “There are no crises in the arts – there are crises in arts organizations as they are currently constructed. Audiences are not shrinking, they are growing, but they are not necessarily interested in consuming all the art our member organizations produce. Between 1970 and 2010, the number of arts organizations grew from 2,700 to 27,000 but the number of people funding them, and attending their events, did not grow at all. In this keynote address delivered at the joint annual conferences of  Chorus America and The League of American Orchestras, Russell Willis Taylor, President and CEO of National Arts Strategies, explores the extraordinary opportunities that arts organizations have today.” You can find it here.

The Canada Revenue Agency has launched its latest initiative to support Canada’s donors and charitable sector: the Giving to Registered Charities 101 videocast series. The goal of this series is to inform young Canadians about how charities are regulated in Canada and how to donate wisely.

“By educating donors, we build confidence in the charitable sector as well as an appreciation for the work they do,” said Minister Ashfield. “It is important that donors of all ages be able to access the information they need to make informed donation decisions in a format they can understand. I invite you to view these videocasts by visiting ourdonors Web site or the CRA’s YouTube channel.”

The videocast series includes three individual videos:
“What’s it all about?” introduces individuals to how charities become registered in Canada.
“What’s in it for me?” shows individuals the important role that charities play in Canada and the tax incentives available to taxpayers.
“Where do I begin?” gives individuals the basic information they should know before donating to registered charities.

You can view the videos here.

Imagine Canada is presenting three Charity Tax Tools webinars this spring, designed to provide charities with the information they need to meet Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requirements. The webinars are free, they deal with issues often raised by charities – and we highly recommend them to you! (Although they are in English only.)

Webinar 1 – Tuesday, June 1, 2010 1:00pm EST: Fundraising Activities and CRA Guidelines

Presented by Terrance Carter, Managing Partner, Carters Professional Corporation

This Webinar will provide an overview of CRA’s new Guidance on Fundraising (CPS-028) and highlight how it impacts fundraising by charitable organizations. This presentation will provide practical information for use by Boards and staff on:
Background to the Guidance
Definitions of fundraising and charitable purposes
An overview of prohibited conduct
Guidelines for the allocation of fundraising expenses on the T3010B
A framework for the evaluation of your fundraising activities

Webinar 2 – Tuesday, June 15, 2010 1:00pm EST: Reporting: Filing the T3010B

Registered Charity Information Return, presented by Theresa L.M. Man, Partner, Carters Professional Corporation

Every registered charity must file Form T3010B with the CRA within 6 months of its year-end. If your charity does not file the return on time you may lose your charitable registration and incur penalties upon reapplying. This session reviews the various filing requirements, the information to be included with the return and related considerations. This session, however, is not a line-by-line review of the form itself.

Webinar 3 – Tuesday, June 22, 2010 1:00pm EST: Tax Receipting: Special Events and Split-receipting

Presented by Loris Giusto and James Johnston, KPMG Nonprofit Practice

When a donor makes a gift to your charity and receives something in return (for example, attendance at an event, or a gift recognition item), you may not be able to issue a receipt for the full amount, but can sometimes provide what is known as a “split receipt”. This session reviews the rules around split receipting, with a special focus on their application to special events. A number of practical examples will be discussed to illustrate these rules and common issues.

We’ve got a couple of recommendations for you this week:

The Canada Revenue Agency has just released the most recent issue of its reformatted Charities Connection electronic newsletter.  The current issue features articles on current activities at the Charities Directorate, and helpful advice for registered charities in Canada.  While it’s not exactly a page-turner, we believe it’s invaluable reading for all Canadian registered charities, and we commend it to you highly! You can read it here.

Thanks to a column by Cynthia J. Armour in the most recent issue of Charity Village‘s newsletter earlier this week, we were directed to a helpful, realistic, entertaining and informed guide to running fundraising special events.  And even though it was written in 1989, 98% of its content is as relevant today as it was then.  The resource, available as a free download, is the “Guide to Special Event Fundraising”, and it was written by fundraising guru Ken Wyman for the Voluntary Action Program at the Department of Canadian Heritage.  It covers the field, from ethical considerations to event design and management – and it even includes an “event ability quiz” where you can score your organization’s capacity to take on (and sustain) a special fundraising event. You can find this marvelous document here.

The Canada Revenue Agency has announced that on-line registration is now available for its charity webinars.  Topics covered during the free sessions include these perennial favourites:
T3010B: Line by Line Review;
Gifting and Receipting;
Payroll;
Disbursement Quota and Capital Gain;
Financial Statements, Books and Records and the Registered Charity Information Return Summary;
Goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST); and
Fundraising Guidance.

To learn more, or to register, please visit here.

CanadaHelps has announced the dates for this year’s MyCharityConnects Conference:  June 7 & 8, 2010 at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto.  Topics include “social media, community building, mobile giving … and so much more.  You will learn all about using the internet to fulfill your mission. Whether you’re a fundraiser, marketer, program developer, Executive Director (or maybe all of them!), MyCharityConnects 2010 will get you familiar with the stuff you don’t know, moving on the stuff you do, and correctly evaluating the stuff you’ve done.  This conference is by the sector for the sector; it’s just you and the experts, including charities that have done it right.”

Registration opens March 29 – and you can learn more here.

Imagine Canada has recently launched a new, fully-bilingual Charity Tax Tools website, to provide Canadian charities with the information they need to meet Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requirements in the areas of  receipting, maintaining books and records, and reporting to the CRA. The website is particularly recommended for small and medium-sized charities, as well as the many legal and accounting advisers/practitioners who do not specialize in the sector, but nevertheless support charities.

You can find the website here.

The Canada Revenue Agency is continuing to offer webinars on topics of interest to registered charities, including
• T3010B: Line by Line Review;
• Fundraising, Gifting and Receipting (level I);
• Gifting and Receipting (level II);
• Payroll;
• Registered Charity Information Return Summary, Disbursement Quota and Capital Gain;
• Financial Statements, Books and Records and Foreign Activities; and
• Fundraising Guidance.
Registration is free, and you can learn more and sign up on-line here.

The Toronto-based Maytree Foundation has just announced topics for its winter/spring series of Five Good Ideas free lunch and learn lectures.  Upcoming topics include Employment and Labour Law, Impacting Public Policy, Talking to the Media, and Copyright & Intellectual Property Law.  To learn more and to register, please visit the Maytree Foundation’s on-line registration portal here.

Regular visitors to OC’s website may have noted a brand new tab on our homepage this week.  It’s called “Conference”, and we have posted the first of many updates on the National Orchestras Meeting, scheduled to take place in Winnipeg MB from June 21-23, with a pre-session scheduled for June 20.  You’ll find information about the program, our host hotel, and the arrangements we’ve made for discounted air travel.  Online registration will be up and running by February 28:  check it out, and watch for regular updates, too!

www.orchestrascanada.org

The Canadian Symposium for Arts and Learning will be held at the Royal Conservatory, December 2-4, 2009.  According to event organizers, the event is expected to feature plenary speakers addressing the principal themes of research, networking and advocacy, along with abstract/poster presentations on research and best practices in arts and learning from across Canada.  One focus of the symposium will be the preparation of a Canadian contribution to the 2010 UNESCO World Conference which will be held in Seoul, Republic of Korea.  For more information about the symposium, please visit the website here.

The Canada Revenue Agency has opened on-line registration for a series of webinars designed for Canadian registered charities.  Topics include:

• The Registered Charity Information Return: Introducing the new T3010B;
• T3010B: Line by Line Review;
• Gifting and Receipting;
• Fundraising, Gifting and Receipting (level I);
• Gifting and Receipting (level II);
• Payroll;
• Registered Charity Information Return Summary, Disbursement Quota and Capital Gain;
• Financial Statements, Books and Records and Foreign Activities; and
• Fundraising Guidance.

For more information, and to register, please visit here.