Fundraising from Canada: A course for groups outside of Canada
If you are a group outside of Canada wanting to understand options for fundraising in Canada then this course is for you.
Enroll in Course
Are you a group outside of Canada considering fundraising initiatives in Canada or a group outside of Canada that has supporters in Canada? Are you wondering how to deal with Canadian supporters? The presentation will briefly introduce participants to the Canadian charitable sector which has total revenue of over $250 billion including fundraising revenue of about $16 billion. Canadian charities spend over $4 billion outside of Canada each year and this presentation will address the following topics:
- Fundraising in Canada by US, European and other foreign charities
- Options available to foreign charities for fundraising in Canada including a very generous system for certain foreign universities fundraising in Canada
- Establishing a Canadian registered charity that can issue tax receipts to Canadian donors
- Obligations of foreign charities in Canada, specifically, compliance requirements with the regulation of fundraising in Canada and funding activities outside of Canada
The overview of the course is:
- Introduction to Canadian Charity Sector
- Considerations when fundraising in Canada
- Options for structuring a fundraising entity in Canada
- Should we establish a Canadian registered charity and if so how?
- Fundraising Rules
- Spending Funds in Canada and Abroad
- Receipting, Reporting and Compliance
This course is FOR:
- Foreign non-profits and charities that may wish to fundraise, receive grants, or carry out charity operations in Canada
- People in Canada who may wish to affiliate with a foreign organization and use their intellectual property - this course allows them to understand the greater complexity of that relationship compared to a Canadian individual just establishing a standalone Canadian charity in Canada
- Lawyers and other professionals advising charities outside of Canada on establishing themselves in Canada
This course is NOT for:
- foreign universities who typically have at least 2 Canadian students studying at the university as they can be a registered foreign university
- Not for the UN and its agencies who are qualified donees and can issue official donation receipts without establishing a Canadian charity
- those who don’t have any organization and want to setup a Canadian entity (whether you live in Canada or elsewhere) you might find our course "Should We Establish a Canadian Non-Profit or Charity and How to Do It?" more helpful.
Your Instructor
Mark Blumberg is a lawyer at the law firm Blumbergs Professional Corporation (Blumbergs) in Toronto and works almost exclusively advising non-profits and registered charities on their work in Canada and abroad. Mark has written numerous articles, is a frequent speaker on legal issues involving charity and not-for-profit law. He is the editor of a blog, www.CanadianCharityLaw.ca, and created the largest portal of data on the Canadian charity sector, www.CharityData.ca Mark also edits www.SmartGiving.ca, which provides information on due diligence when selecting charities.
Mark is particularly interested in the regulation of non-profits and charities in Canada, philanthropy, transparency requirements for the voluntary sector, providing accessible information on regulatory issues, and the use of data to make more informed decisions on the charity sector.
Mark is quoted regularly in print media and frequently appears on radio and television on topics relating to philanthropy and the regulation of charities in Canada. Mark has also appeared on a number of occasions in front of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance on topics such as charity regulation, transparency, accountability and tax incentives for philanthropy. Mark has testified at the Special Senate Committee on the Charitable Sector, the Standing Senate Committee on National Finance and the House Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.
Mark has also made presentations to the Charities Directorate Annual All Staff Meeting as well the Annual Divisional Staff Meeting of the Determinations Section of Charities Directorate. Mark presented to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) when the FATF conducted an evaluation of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism in Canada in 2015.
Mark sat for 4 years on the Charities Directorate Technical Issues Working Group, which is a bi-annual meeting between the Charities Directorate, the Department of Finance and the charity sector to discuss technical and policy issues pertaining to registered charities and the Income Tax Act (Canada). Mark is a member of the Exempt Organizations Committee of the American Bar Association. Mark spent 6 years on the Advisory Committee for the Master of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership (MPNL) at Carleton University. Mark is on the Board of the Canadian Charity Law Association.
Mark has co-authored 20 Questions Directors of Not-for-Profit Organizations Should Ask About Mergers (Published by CPA Canada) and co-wrote a chapter on International Trends in Government-Nonprofit Relations: Constancy, Change, and Contradictions in Non-profits and Government: Collaboration and Conflict in Non-profits and government: collaboration and conflict (Edited by Elizabeth T Boris and C Eugene Steuerle)
Mark frequently lectures to various industry and professional groups on charity compliance issues including the Chartered Professional Accountants Canada (CPA Canada), as well as CPA Ontario, BC and Alberta, the Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Bar Association, Canadian Association of Gift Planners, Association of Fundraising Professionals, Ontario Hospital Association, Ontario Non-profit Network, and many other organizations.
Mark has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Toronto, an LLB from the University of British Columbia and an LLM from Osgoode Hall Law School in Tax Law.