Resources

Making Informed Charitable Decisions

Karma & Cents

• How we evaluate charities
• List of charities we have reviewed
• Donor Bill of Rights (AFP)
• Code of Ethical Fundraising and Financial Accountability (Imagine Canada)
• Starting a foundation (Philanthropic Foundations Canada - PFC)
• Charity Intelligence Canada (Recommended Charities)
• Canada Revenue Agency Policy on Fundraising (CRA)
• Place2Give.com
• Tools for Philanthropy - Comparison Chart
• Types of Charities (CRA)

The Alberta Government is trying to encourage more Albertans to make charitable contributions.  In an effort to support this they have restructured the charitable tax benefits.  As a result, Albertans can receive approximately 50% tax deduction on donations claimed (combination of provincial and federal benefits).  Attached is a chart and example of how this tax savings can be applied. Please note, it is for donations over $200.

For more information please click here.

This pull out from the Non-Profit Times, an America publication, highlights the 2008 individuals and the organizations they represent who have most positively impacted the non-profit sector.

Here are some documents released by the CRA in order to help you with your charitable giving.  For more information please contact the CRA directly.  If you have questions about how you can apply this information to your own circumstances please email Gena Rotstein at .

Some research on the role that small and medium sized businesses have on the economy was conducted by Corporate Citizen:

First, the State of Corporate Citizenship survey, unique in tracking the views and actions of companies of all sizes, reminds us that small and mid-sized firms are driving forces in the U.S. economy and must not be overlooked by the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) field.

The trouble is that they are all but lost in media coverage and in our field-building institutions. It is easy to assume that the only change agents are large companies like Microsoft, Sun, HP, McAfee, LL Bean. When Vesela Veleva points out that the public expects businesses to assume "a greater share in solving many social and environmental problems as they have enjoyed many of the benefits brought by the globalization, and have accumulated an unprecedented wealth" the public tends to focus on large multi-national firms.

Less apparent is how the actions of small and mid-sized businesses impact society and the challenges they face in managing by the principles of CSR. Despite the common misperception that small businesses have little impact, Erick Ajax offered a lesson that managing a small business by these principles is not only possible, it's also beneficial.

Phil Mirvis chimed in with White Dog Cafe and Lusty Wrench as further evidence of how small businesses can do well by doing good. Perhaps it has something to do with how often and how personally we interact with the diner on the corner, the neighborhood bank, or the local mill. These small businesses are the fabric of our communities and, maybe, we simply never consider whether they're being good corporate citizens. Regardless of the reason, the rhetoric vs. reality gap is present for all companies and the smaller ones may need more support from the field in order to act on their aspirations.