Glossary:

Why is it important to evaluate the impact and contributions of your organization’s volunteers and volunteer program? Evaluating your organization’s volunteer program allows you to measure the impact of volunteers within your organization and to determine whether you are meeting the program’s goals.¹ It also helps you to track the quality of volunteers’ experiences and to uncover aspects of your volunteer program that may need improvement.¹ Evaluating your volunteer program provides for informed decision making and facilitates the growth and development of your program.¹

Evaluations of volunteer programs should review the program’s goals and objectives, collect feedback from volunteers and clients, and use qualitative and quantitative data to review the impact of volunteer involvement in your organization.²

From "Accreditation Preparation Workbook Section E: Volunteer Involvement,"  Katharine Zywert, Social Prosperity Wood Buffalo at the University of Waterloo, 2013.

1. 62 “Evaluating Your Volunteer Programme,” Volunteering Good Practice Guide, Volunteer Center, Brighton and Hove, 2009.
2. 65 “The Canadian Code for Volunteer Involvement: Values, Guiding Principles, and Standards of Practice,” Volunteer Canada, 2012.

When a donor gives the use of property (for example, provides the use of one's cottage or car) to a charity, this is not a transfer of property and is therefore not a gift. No tax receipt may be issued.

When a charity gives the use of property in return for a gift, however (for example, use of a charity's boardroom in return for a cash donation), this is an advantage. Assuming this advantage can be valued, the split receipting rules apply. If the advantage cannot be valued, then no receipt can be issued for the gift.

Example 1: Use of property as a donation
An individual wants to donate a week at his cottage as a silent auction gift. Since there is no transfer of property, no tax receipt may be issued. However, the charity could "rent" the use of the cottage for a week at its fair market value. The individual could then make a cash donation to the charity equal to the amount of the rent payment and receive a tax receipt in return. (In doing this, the individual may have to include the amount of rent as income, deduct appropriate expenses, and then claim the donation in the usual fashion when filing his or her tax return.)

Example 2: Use of property as an advantage to the donor
A business makes a $1,000 cash donation to a charity. In return, the charity wants to give the business use of its meeting room for a business meeting. If the fair market value of the use of the meeting room was $200, then the charity can issue a tax receipt for $800. As well, the business can likely treat the $200 paid for renting a meeting room as a deductible business expense.

The use of a property is not the same as the transfer of a property. However, if the charity pays for the use of the property and the owner of the property donates that money back to the charity, the charity can issue a tax receipt for the donation (known as a cheque swap).

Example 1: Jane and Paul Proudfoot have a cottage in the Gatineau Hills. They donate a week at the cottage to a silent auction run by their favourite charity. Because the donation of use of the cottage is not a transfer of property, a tax receipt cannot be issued. However, if the charity paid for a week at the cottage and the Proudfoot's donated the payment back to the charity, a charitable tax receipt could be issued. Of course, the Proudfoot's would have to declare this as income, and so there may not be any net benefit to them.

• is established as a corporation, a trust, or under a constitution;
• has exclusively charitable purposes;
• primarily carries on its own charitable activities, but may also gift funds to other qualified donees, (e.g., registered charities);
• more than 50% of its governing officials must be at arm's length with each other;
• generally receives its funding from a variety of arm's length donors; and
• its income cannot be used for the personal benefit of any of its members, shareholders, or governing officials.

(CRA : Charities Glossary)