Imagine Canada

“If I am not for myself, who will be for me?

If I am only for myself, what am I?

And, if not now, when?”  –Hillel

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Thank you to Nadine Riopel, Bob McInnis, Derek Brechtholdt and the others who tweeted out the draft of this brief, and most especially provided valuable feedback.

This brief was developed in response to a call from the House of Commons Finance Committee as they undergo a review process of Canada's charitable sector and the tax laws that govern the sector.  Recommendations range from the creation of a government appointed Ambassador of Philanthropy, creating clearer legislation around "reasonable profit" and social enterprise, and addressing the inconsistencies in the T3010 tax filing that do not address the critical information that donors need in order to make informed charitable decisions.

For the past few days I have been in the Ottawa area attending the Imagine Canada/Volunteer Canada forum on Business & Community.  During this time I have had the opportunity to meet with social change agents in the non-profit sector and their funders (corporate and government).  While the conversations were interesting the needs of these organizations are great, there was a distinct gap in the dialogue.  I feel that missing from the table were Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (who make up approximately 80% of Canada's business market-place) and For-Profit Social Enterprises (there was representation from non-profit social enterprieses).

I recently tweeted some research that we had done by UnCommon Innovation on the state the financial services sector.  The focus on the study was on how advisors are talking with their clients about charitable giving.  What came out loud and clear is that advisors are looking for tools and resources to have deeper, more meaningful conversations with their clients about philanthropy.  These tools and resources can come from a number of places, the most knowledgeable place would be the charitable sector itself.

Once again we are facing an international humanitarian crisis - an earthquake in Japan that has tsunami ripple effects across the world.

In response to the Globe & Mail article published yesterday, "Charities see alarming trends as donors become older, fewer" I think this Paul Waldie is crying fire in a crowded theatre.  Read more »

In response to the Globe & Mail article published yesterday, "Charities see alarming trends as donors become older, fewer" I think this Paul Waldie is crying fire in a crowded theatre.  Read more »

Charity scams are alive and well in Canada.  In 2003 the Chronicle of Philanthropy released a report that in North America over $1.28B is lossed due to fraud (and that is only the fraud that is caught!).  This hit home this week when Ashley Kirilow was denied bail for her part in a cancery charity scam. Read more »

Guest Blogger: Amy Lewis is currently completing her Bachelor of Communications-Public Relations Degree at Mount Royal University with an anticipated graduation Summer 2010.  Amy has diverse range communication experience.  Including marketing, media relations and, event planning. For her first internship Amy held the position of marketing coordinator for WorldSkills Calgary 2009.  Amy enjoys exploring the variety of options that Marketing and Public Relations presents. 

Things as of late are looking pretty good, the housing market is in recovery, the economy is beginning to rebound but it wasn't that long ago that we were all crying the sky is falling. Everything appeared to be doom and gloom. Read more »

I just read a press release issued by the British Cabinet office of the Third Sector announcing the appointment of philanthropist and thought-leader, Dame Stephanie Shirley to the new post of Ambassador of Philanthropy.

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