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Why is it important to honour donors’ and prospective donors’ requests to limit the frequency or means of contact or to discontinue contact if requested? Alberta’s Charitable Fundraising Act (Section 50) states that if a person requests to not receive further solicitations or to be removed from...
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Why is it important for financial statements to be received and approved by the board within 6 months of year end? Nonprofit and charitable boards of directors are responsible for overseeing their organization’s financial affairs. While directors do not need to have a lot of expertise related to...
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What is risk? Risk is anything that could prevent a nonprofit from achieving its mission.1 An organization’s risks can be considered in terms of its four primary assets:1
People (board members, volunteers, staff, clients/participants, donors, etc.)
Property (buildings, facilities, equipment,...
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Why does the board need to review its performance? Evaluating its own performance is a way for the board to build capacity and to demonstrate its commitment to ongoing learning and improvement. Although not a requirement for this standard, good practice suggests that time should be allocated during...
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Charities and nonprofits are community trusts and as such should not be seen as “owned” or “operated” by any individual or group of individuals other than the members / community stakeholders who are passionate about the mission of the organization. As such, volunteer board directors should...
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Why is it important to acknowledge the contributions of volunteers? Recognizing the efforts of volunteers is one of the most important ways for your organization to retain current volunteers and attract new ones.1 Recognition demonstrates your organization’s gratitude for the work of its volunteers...
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Why should organizations refrain from selling their donor lists? PIPEDA, the Personal Information Protection and Electronics Documents Act, allows for the selling, bartering, or sharing of fundraising or donor lists as long as consent is obtained from all individuals prior to the lists changing...
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Definition: Registered Charity Information Return (T3010)1The annual information form required by Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) annually by all charities.
Why is it important to file the T3010 on time? Filing the T3010 is required by law for all Canadian charities. The board of directors must make...
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Why is it important to review insurance coverages? Insurance protects your organization’s people and property from injury, loss, or damage incurred in the course of your organization’s operations. This standard seeks to ensure that nonprofit and charitable organizations possess adequate insurance...
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In the following hypothetical examples, the charity is called Healthy Retirement and was formed to promote the health of seniors in Canada. It has received a lot of media attention on its recently released, well-reasoned position on the hazards for seniors of using marked crosswalks. It concludes...
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