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Non-profit Industry
NOTE: There were an estimated 161,000 non-profit and voluntary organizations operated in Canada in 2003, posting $112 billion in revenues. |
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Promoting hate and intolerance
OTTAWA - The CRA has revoked the charitable
status of the Ottawa Islamic Centre and Assalam
Mosque over allegations it promoted
'hate and intolerance.'
The tax agency also identified
problems with the organization's books and its failure to file an
information return. (CBC)
VANCOUVER - The CRA audit of the Islamic Society of BC alleged the charity was 'controlled or influenced' by a Qatar organization accused of supporting terrorism, although that did not result in a penalty. The Islamic Society operates the Masjid Al-Hidayah and Islamic Cultural Centre in Port Coquitlam, BC, and was formerly headed by Saadeldin Bahr, who is now serving a 3-1/2-year prison sentence for a 2013 sexual assault at the mosque. (Global)
For anyone who doesn't want their old shirts, pants or dresses to end up in a landfill, clothing donation bins sound like a win-win-win solution: the donor gets to declutter, the charity operating the bin gets to resell the clothing to fund good deeds, and a shopper on a budget gets to buy affordable clothes. But in reality, the path your worn-out jeans take isn't so straight, and doesn't always benefit the people you may think. (CBC)
Workers at a charity founded by U2 singer Bono have been subjected to a 'toxic' culture of bullying and abuse. Bosses at the ONE charity have covered up the horrific allegations for years, but a major Mail on Sunday investigation has exposed a catalogue of humiliating incidents that has now sparked a multi-million-pound lawsuit. (Daily Mail)
OTTAWA - ISNA Islamic Services of Canada was
stripped of its charitable status.
Authorities also revoked a related
charity, the Canadian Islamic Trust Foundation.
Both are former affiliates of the
Islamic Society of North
America-Canada (ISNA-Canada), and shared
its Mississauga, ON address.
(Global)
TORONTO - An internal memo from the ousted
Toronto Community Housing boss to city
staff warns of the risk of hundreds of millions of dollars in costs,
financial losses and a lack of information with the developing plans
to remake the corporation.
(Toronto Star)
Sunshine on non-profit exec pay
TORONTO - Many of the biggest charitable
organizations headquartered in Ontario pay their top executives more
than $250,000 a year.
(CBC)
Aid groups suspend UN cooperation DAMASCUS - More than 70 aid groups have suspended cooperation with the UN in Syria and have demanded an immediate and transparent investigation into its operations in the country because of concerns the Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, has gained 'significant and substantial' influence over the relief effort. (Guardian UK) UN pays aid money to Assad's regime War on Terror Bashar al-Assad
BRUSSELS - In protest at the EU's deal with Turkey aimed at stemming the flow of migrants and refugees, MSF says it will reject all funding from the EU and its member states. Under the agreement Turkey pledged to halt illegal migration through its territory in return for financial and political rewards. (Euro News)
GAZA
- Israeli security forces have arrested a senior official of one of
the world's largest Christian charities, accusing him of funneling
tens of millions of dollars to
Hamas.
Mohammad El Halabi, director of the
Gaza branch of
World Vision, is alleged to have led a
double life as a senior figure in the Islamist organization and used
his position 'to divert the humanitarian organization's funds and
resources from the needy to benefit of Hamas's terrorist and military
activities'.
(Guardian UK)
OTTAWA - Lifeline Syria announced that executive director Sheona McGraw and 5 board members resigned in protest over how the non-profit was run. Some of the now-resigned board members said they decided to walk away following a deadlock over governance of the organization. (Globe & Mail)
BRANTFORD - The man who helped build
Brantford's St
Leonard's Community Services into one of
Canada's largest such agencies is facing multiple fraud-related
charges.
(Sun Media) MORE:
Former director faces charges
Bill Sanderson retires
WASHINGTON - Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Corporation (Big Brothers) has agreed to pay the US $1.6M to resolve allegations of false claims for funds under Department of Justice grants awarded to help children at risk. (USDoJ) |
Canadian charities can now spend as many
resources as they deem necessary criticizing government policies and
decisions without worrying they may lose charitable status.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice
said the 10% cap infringed on a charity's right to freedom of
expression and ordered the CRA to immediately stop interpreting the
Income Tax Act in such a way.
(Global)
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association posting solicits applications from 'law students and law graduates' interested in a chance to 'engage in substantive legal work relating to CCLA's ongoing advocacy efforts in civil liberties and human rights.' 'As you likely know, calling an employee a 'volunteer' or an 'intern' does not allow organizations to avoid their obligations to pay workers minimum wage, provide overtime pay, provide vacation pay, etc.' said the Canadian Intern Association. (Toronto Star)
LONDON - An investigation has uncovered
rampant corruption, theft of aid, manipulation of statistics and
sexual abuse of refugees in
Uganda,
a country hailed as a model in its response to the catastrophic
crisis.
(Daily Mail)
TORONTO - The board of directors for the
Greek Community of Toronto (GCT), a non-profit charity representing
more than 150,000 Greek Canadians, filed
the lawsuit against the Greek Orthodox
Metropolis of Toronto, as well as four priests, several members of one
priest's family, and other individuals connected with the church
community.
(CBC)
REGINA -
Debra House, 64, the former executive
director of the Regina Sexual Assault Centre has received a 3-year
jail sentence for bilking hundreds of thousands of dollars from the
non-profit group.
(CTV)
RED DEER - The investigation started in 2016, after the non-profit Christian Motorcycle Association reported irregularities in their finances and banking activity. Police said the accused worked as an office administrator for the organization from Sept 2013 to June 2015. It's estimated more than $100,000 was stolen. As a result of the investigation, Kenneth Van Someren, 53, is facing a number of charges. (CTV)
VANCOUVER - Fareed Mohammed Raza, 42, and
Saheem Mohammed Raza, 35, have been sentenced to 51 months each after
being found guilty of using a real charity as a vehicle to help their
clients avoid paying nearly $5M in taxes.
(CBC) MORE:
Brothers get 4 years
TORONTO - The Centre for Addiction and
Mental Health (CAMH)
has lost a $1M donation due to 'issues of accountability.'
(Toronto Star)
Failure was anything but sudden TORONTO - While the organization's closing was abrupt, a Globe and Mail analysis of Goodwill's operations shows that its decline was long in the making. (Globe & Mail) MORE: Workers will get their pay Rent, union blamed for closing Goodwill Toronto shutdown
TORONTO - A private members' bill that seeks
to extend more generous tax credits to charitable donations would cost
the government an extra $1.7B this fiscal year, a new report has
found.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer
released the results of its cost assessment
on the proposed changes finding that extending the same tax credits
that exist for political donations to charitable ones would set
federal coffers back significantly.
(Global)
MONTREAL - Montreal Impact striker Didier
Drogba is suing England's Daily Mail newspaper.
A
report in the Daily Mail says that that
Didier Drogba's charitable foundation provides very little money to
its intended beneficiaries.
(CTV)
MORE:
Drogba faces probe
Didier
Drogba
HOUSTON - A Texas grand jury indicted David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt for tampering with a governmental record. Daleiden is the founder of the group, the Center for Medical Progress - that filmed and released a series of sting videos edited so they appeared to show Planned Parenthood employees selling fetal tissue. (Guardian UK)
LONDON - A report, released today the True and Fair Foundation, alleges a fifth of Britain's best-known charities are putting less than 50% of income toward 'charitable activities'. (Daily Mail) REPORT: Review of charitable spending by UK charities .pdf MORE: Charities spending
HAMILTON -
Gospel for
Asia Canada's filings with the CRA show
$93.5M was transferred to India between 2007 and 2014, but Indian
government documents show that no money from Canada was received by
the charity's Indian affiliates during the same period.
(Toronto Star)
KP Yohannan |
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VANCOUVER - Pull Together, a project of the Sierra Club of BC, the Raven Trust and First Nations against Enbridge, begins its 'Week to End Enbridge.' This is the latest move in The Tar Sands Campaign, the funding juggernaut behind the scenes of the movement against pipelines and tankers. (Vivian Krause) |
Who gets the most foreign cash Vivian Krause rethink campaigns |
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Raincoast Conservation Society 'Radical' federal remarks boost support |
Billionaire takes aim at Harper Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency Campaign against Keystone by foundation |
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OTTAWA - Some 54 charities were caught by CRA's political-activities audits, and 5 were given notice they would lose their charitable registrations. Current rules allow charities to devote up to 10% of their resources to political activities. (CBC) |
Lobbying Non-profit organization Charitable organization Transparency 'Preventing poverty' not a valid goal Pen Canada under investigation |
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CIDA exec broke rules OTTAWA - An investigation into wrongdoing at the agency responsible for billions in overseas aid has found a senior executive was using taxpayers' time and money to conduct private business. The public integrity commissioner says the director general at the Canadian International Development Agency also had civil servants doing personal work. |
Aid agency not getting into mining |
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GENEVA - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says 21 members of staff have left their jobs for sexual misconduct in the last 3 years. Plan International, a children's aid agency, confirmed 6 cases of sexual abuse and child exploitation by staff or associates. On Friday, 22 aid organizations said they were 'truly sorry' for the sector's failings in the wake of allegations of sexual misconduct by workers. (BBC) |
Oxfam releases internal 2011 report New allegation from South Sudan International Rescue Committee Department for International Development |
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DETROIT - As the UAW, Fiat Chrysler and federal investigators unravel a scandal over the misappropriation of millions of dollars meant for worker training, federal records show that embezzling from union offices is endemic around the country. (Detroit Free Press) |
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LONDON - Kids Company, the London youth work charity, is said to have told ministers it will be shutting its services in the light of new concerns about its financial management. The charity, which received $4.7M in a government rescue package a week ago, used part of its government grant to pay overdue staff wages. (Guardian UK) |
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LONDON, ON - Nearly $8M raised for hungry school kids and to fight HIV/AIDs went into the pockets of London Mayor Joe Fontana and fellow directors of his charity, the tax man says. (London Free Press) |
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TORONTO - The overwhelming
generosity of Salvation Army donors was evident in the warehouses.
Except these donations weren't going to the shelters, food
banks and needy children supported by the Salvation Army. They were
being sold for profit.
The scheme to siphon off and sell 'vast amounts' of donations
was masterminded by
David Rennie,
the former executive director of the Salvation Army donation storage
and distribution centre, according to a court decision.
(Toronto Star) |
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Campaign backlash SAN DIEGO - A group aimed at bringing elusive African rebel leader Joseph Kony to justice is being praised for its ability to spread its message so quickly and effectively, but it's also being harshly criticized for misleading the public. The KONY 2012 campaign, orchestrated by non-profit group Invisible Children, calls for the arrest of Joseph Kony. |
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TORONTO - Fewer Canadians are donating to registered charities - and those who do are giving less. According to the 2013 Generosity Index compiled by the Fraser Institute, 23% of Canadian tax filers claimed a charitable donation in 2011 compared to 25% who donated in 2005, Canada’s peak charitable year. (Global) |
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MOGADISHU - A much-delayed African Union summit held to raise money to tackle famine in Somalia and drought in the Horn of Africa raised $351M officials said, but activists questioned the figure. (Reuters) |
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PORT-AU-PRINCE - The UN said that in total $13.34B has been earmarked for the crisis through 2020, though 2 years after the quake, less than half of that amount had actually been released. (NBC) 'Saddened' by Ottawa's aid review How aid increased poverty and corruption |
Impossible to follow the money Center for Economic and Policy Research 500,000+ need Immediate Food Assistance Shell Game of Haiti's Reconstruction |
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BRUSSELS - More than half of EU projects aimed at bringing stability to the DRC have failed to deliver any results, spending watchdogs say. (Daily Mail) EU support for governance in the DRC .pdf |
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis How to help without getting scammed Are charities taking advantage of urge to help? |
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TORONTO - Yes, Ontario overpaid $4.77M for Italian helicopters and that money flowed back to a Chris Mazza-controlled private company. The Star exposed that in 2012, which prompted the Liberal government to call in the cops. No, the OPP would not be laying charges against Mazza or anyone else. (Toronto Star) Review of Ornge transport related deaths |
Arrested execs' visit to Toronto Mazza declared unfit to testify Web of questionable financial deals Execs refuse to cooperate with AG Non-profit has been good to me |
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Charities sever ties with group LONDON - Charities have agreed to no longer fund the controversial advocacy group Cage, which has faced questions over its links to Mohammed Emwazi, the Briton identified as Islamic State killer 'Jihadi John'. (Guardian UK)
Charity going to terror groups |
Audit
'clears Islamic Relief' of terror funding
Islamic Society of North America Holy Land Foundation for Relief Islamic Association of Palestine |
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An independent review of the
Canadian Olympic Committee's workplace
has found that the majority of staff interviewed 'experienced or
witnessed harassment both sexual and personal' during
former president Marcel Aubut's tenure.
(Toronto Star)
MORE:
Staff exposed to harassment |
TORONTO -
Indigo's Love
of Reading Foundation,
which is registered as a charity with the CRA, gives about $1.5M to
Canadian schools each year in the form of grants to help libraries buy
books.
Selected schools receive grants in
the form of credit, which they must spend at
Indigo
and other stores in the Indigo chain, which includes Chapters and
Coles.
(CBC) |
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TORONTO - Michael O'Sullivan has raised millions of dollars from animal-loving Canadians for his Toronto-based animal welfare charity. Though O'Sullivan has vowed to spend donors' hard-earned money to save animals and nature, he has at times used charity coffers as a personal piggy bank. (Toronto Star) PREVIOUS: 2015 FCA 178 Human Society of Canada Ark Angel Fund |
TORONTO - Any non-profit organization that
is launching a capital campaign needs clear policies about how it will
recognize donors and what it will do if donors fail to pay pledges.
The
Royal Ontario
Museum
is still owed $23M in unpaid pledges left over from its 2003-2010
capital campaign to renovate its historic building and erect the
Michael Lee-Chin Crystal.
(Globe & Mail)
MORE:
Behind the
ROM's philanthropic facade
Minister
believes ROM will pay off loan by 2027 |
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Human rights organizations and campaign groups are facing their biggest crackdown in a generation as a wave of countries pass restrictive laws and curtail activity. Almost half the world's states have implemented controls that affect tens of thousands of organizations across the globe. (Guardian UK) |
Charity sales for profit You've seen them in shopping malls and retail outlets across Canada - young people selling toys, cosmetics and other products to raise money for charity. The sellers work for private, for-profit companies who keep the lion's share of the proceeds for themselves, something the customers and host retailers may be unaware of. (CBC) |
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TORONTO - Steven Sokolowski, 65, was living large. Problem is, Sokolowski was not using his own money. Sokolowski is one of the founders of Coast to Coast Against Cancer, a registered Toronto foundation that aims to raise money to support childhood cancer charities and hosts several cycling and other activities every year. (Toronto Star) |
EDMONTON - Northlands issued a statement, alleging several of the cashiers in its parking booths engaged in systemic theft. Northlands said it would cost too much money - more than $400,000 - 'to accurately find the sources of the theft.' (Edmonton Journal) MORE: Cashiers fired $1M annually stolen Reputations Tim Reid |
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Charity award
The
radiator awards recognize the best in foreign aid videos, and poke fun
at celebrity-driven campaigns.
(Toronto Star) |
Charitable giving 2013
In 2013, the total amount of donations that
Canadians made to charitable and non-profit organizations was $12.8B,
an increase of 23% over 2004.
(Stat Can) |
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NEW YORK - A non-profit funded by the Coca-Cola Co. to combat obesity is disbanding following revelations about the beverage maker's involvement with the group. (CP) |
Little spent on charitable works TORONTO - Much of the $30M the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada raised in this time period through walks, runs and bottle drives covered fundraising and administrative costs. (Toronto Star) |
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Church finances overseen by monitor
EDMONTON - The finances of the
ABC district
of
Lutheran
Church-Canada
are now being overseen by a court-appointed monitor.
The district was granted an order
from under the federal Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act.
(CBC) |
TORONTO - The Housing Services Corporation will be investigated after a number of questionable expenses were flagged. Lindsey Reed resigned as the head of HSC in April 2013. The chair of HSC's board, Roger Maloney, suddenly resigned. (CTV) |
TORONTO - A 50-year-old property manager for
March of Dimes has been charged with defrauding the charity of
$800,000.
Toronto police say Karima Manji was a
longstanding employee of the non-profit housing corporation and
defrauded March of Dimes through 'various means.'
(CBC) |
Tough fundraising rules
LONDON - Britain's top charities have
pledged support for proposed tough new rules aimed at preventing the
use of aggressive fundraising techniques to target vulnerable and
elderly donors after a series of scandals over the summer.
(Guardian UK) MORE:
Victory over
cold-calling sharks
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Banks sitting on charity money
LONDON - Charities working in crisis-hit
regions are failing to receive millions of pounds in funding because
of banks' fears of incurring tough penalties for failing to stop the
flow of terrorist funds and money laundering, according to a report.
(Guardian UK)
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OTTAWA - The federal government is stripping Dying with Dignity Canada of its charitable tax status following a political activity audit by the CRA. Dying with Dignity says its conversion to a non-profit agency will allow it to conduct political advocacy without constraints. (CP) MORE: 'Registered in error' |
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LONDON - An investigation has begun into the use of taxpayer-funded grants by the charity set up to lead David Cameron's Big Society initiative. (Guardian UK) MORE: Misuse allegations Investigation into grants from Big Lottery Fund .pdf |
Non-profit loses federal funding WINNIPEG - The Manitoba Association of Native Firefighters is in default of their agreement and 'has not proven they can competently deliver the services Manitoba First Nations deserve.' (CBC) Canadians want nonprofit transparency .pdf |
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TORONTO - More than 500 workers in Toronto planned to launch a
strike to support wage and benefits demands.
WoodGreen Community Services
has 32 locations in the city employing childcare staff, housing
workers, ESL instructors and others.
(CTV)
PREVIOUS:
Charity
Intelligence: Woodgreen Community Services
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Crowdfunding raises new questions TORONTO - Within 24 hours of Elijah Marsh’s distressing death, $120,000 had been given to an online fundraiser launched by a stranger to pay for his funeral. Within days, thousands of donors had pushed the total to more than $173,000. (Toronto Star) PREVIOUS: Missing boy found dead Boy dies Death a reminder of unpredictability of children |
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LONDON -
A
trawl of documents reveals how Tony Blair used donations from wealthy
friends - as well as the US taxpayer and the Swedish lottery - to
bankroll his charities.
(Telegraph UK)
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To help people choose, the BBB Wise Giving Alliance, the national charity monitoring association, has developed a set of 20 Standards for Charity Accountability. (CTV) PREVIOUS: Less trustful World of giving |
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ST JOSEPH - When patients receive care at Mosaic Life Care and don't or can't pay, their bills often end up at Northwest Financial Services. And if those patients don't meet Northwest's demands, their debts can make another, final stop: the Buchanan County Courthouse. (Epoch Times) |
THUNDER BAY - The inaugural Run or Dye, which took place last Saturday at Boulevard Lake, raised $5,000 for the Children’s Centre Foundation. However, more than 2,000 people signed up for the event and each paid at least $30, which meant the organization received 12 times more than it gave to the charity. (CBC) |
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WASHINGTON - Greenpeace is warning children the world over Santa Claus might not be bringing gifts to them because of global warming. (CBS) COMMENT: Bah! Humbug |
Audit handed to police
HALIFAX - NS's education minister says preliminary results of a
financial audit of the
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TORONTO - A quarter of a century later, Marinela Piedrahita managed to return to Canada, her birthplace, and is now suing the Catholic Children’s Aid Society of Toronto for negligence in removing her and her brother to Colombia and for causing them hardship living in conflict and warfare in their parents’ homeland. (Toronto Star) |
ATLANTA - Though Jane Fonda’s private foundation has nearly $800,000 in assets, the group has not made a charitable contribution during the last 5 years for which it has filed federal tax returns, an apparent violation of Internal Revenue Service rules. (Smoking Gun) MORE: Fonda hits back over claim Jane Fonda |
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LONDON, ON - The Ontario Court of Appeal left it open for the cash-strapped Children's Aid Society of London and Middlesex to ask to appeal the $1.4M legal tab slapped against it after a mammoth trial that ran for 154 days. (QMI) |
OTTAWA - The Commissionaires work force on federal contracts must be 60% veterans - which can include former RCMP members - but it also provides guards to the private sector, which has no such requirement. (Globe & Mail) |
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TORONTO - For the Canadian Centre for Diversity, the end came around a board table. The directors of the body formerly known as the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews, created in 1947 to fight anti-Semitism, decided it was time to wind down their programs in diversity education. (Globe & Mail) PREVIOUS: Why Toronto is saying goodbye to galas |
WASHINGTON - A Washington Post analysis of filings from 2008 to 2012 found that American Legacy Foundation is one of more than 1,000 nonprofit organizations that checked the box indicating that they had discovered a “significant diversion” of assets, disclosing losses attributed to theft, investment fraud, embezzlement and other unauthorized uses of funds. (Washington Post) |
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TORONTO - Ontario officials are in talks with the Peel Children's Aid Society after a leaked memo suggested staff not close ongoing files to inflate the number of child protection cases during the month of March. (Toronto Star) MORE: Funding model set to change |
A Newfoundland charity is facing questions about its corporate governance and financial oversight as it continues to take donations from the public 18 months after closing its flagship horse sanctuary. (CBC) |
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GENEVA - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria said it had sacked its chief auditor after finding his performance "unsatisfactory", in the latest in a series of leadership changes at the Geneva-based organization. (Reuters) |
LONDON - Trustees of Britain’s hundreds of thousands of charities are to be issued with new code of conduct about setting appropriate levels of pay. (Telegraph UK) PREVIOUS: Charity has been good to us Disasters Emergency Committee Charities defend salaries NCVO |
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TORONTO - The Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario won’t allow the use of electronic devices for charitable 50/50 draws held at Toronto Maple Leafs games and in arenas across the province on the advice of the crown agency’s legal counsel. (Toronto Star) |
TORONTO - A City of Toronto accounting services employee responsible for raising money for a United Way campaign at city hall has been charged with pocketing “tens of thousands” of donation dollars. (Toronto Star) |
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TAMPA BAY - Across the nation, hundreds of charities take your donations in the name of cancer patients, dying children and homeless veterans. But the real beneficiaries are the charity founders themselves and the for-profit companies they pay to run boiler rooms that dial for dollars. (Tampa Bay Times) |
OTTAWA - The government is providing $544,813 in funding for Crossroads Christian Communications - an Ontario-based evangelical group that produces television programming - to help dig wells, build latrines and promote hygiene awareness in Uganda through 2014. (CP) MORE: Review of funding Aid group rejects allegations Uganda Anti-Homosexuality |
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VICTORIA - The Land Conservancy of BC holds the title to 300 properties worth an estimated $32M across the province The charity's financial problems came to light 3 years ago, when it was revealed it took out second mortgages for operating costs and to finance more land purchases. (CBC) |
TORONTO - The Latitude Foundation is losing its designation for not using its resources exclusively for charitable activities. Toronto-based Universal Community Help is having its status revoked for improper bookkeeping, the CRA said. (Toronto Star) MORE: Charity loses status Entertainment One |
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HALIFAX - Nova Scotia's Ombudsman has called for a forensic audit of the Cumberland Regional Development Authority in a draft report, and for that audit to be handed over to police. (CBC) MORE: NS AG to probe crown corps |
VANCOUVER - An accountant has been charged with embezzling more than $1M from a Vancouver non-profit organization that promotes justice and democratic principles. Janet Mercedes Bayda worked on a contract basis for 18 years for the ICCLR. (CTV) |
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WINNIPEG - The agency in charge of disbursing federal money to 2011 flood evacuees paid thousands of dollars in overtime and mileage expenses - in some cases, to a senior official or the children of senior officials. (CBC) |
Aid going to private companies A new report by the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad) has examined around $30B of private sector investments in the world’s poorest countries. (BIJ) REPORT: Private profit for public good .pdf Somalia has not accounted for funds |
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LONDON - High street charity fundraisers, known as "Chuggers", are facing questions over their use of increasingly aggressive, intimidatory and potentially unlawful tactics. (Telegraph UK) |
SAN DIEGO - One of the creators of the viral "Kony 2012" video campaign has been detained for allegedly vandalizing cars and masturbating in public. (CTV) MORE: Naked meltdown |
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HELENA - 60 Minutes questioned the accuracy of some of the most dramatic tales in Mortenson's book, Three Cups of Tea which has helped him raise millions for his charity and attain a cult-like status on the lucrative lecture circuit. (CBC) Greg Mortenson CAI Findings of investigation .pdf |
Watchdog loses charitable status TORONTO - A Toronto-based charity watchdog has lost its charitable status after failing to file an annual financial report with the CRA. Charity Intelligence, a foundation that rates Canadian charities and provides advice on where to donate, blamed the problem on “a series of unfortunate events” that led to an administrative oversight. (Toronto Star) |
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TORONTO - One of Ontario's big hospital charities has fired its CEO and called in the police after forensic accountants turned up serious money and charity management problems. (Toronto Star) PREVIOUS: Boss hires own firm |
VAUGHAN - Doreen Tennina is a fugitive without a face. It’s a face that authorities would rather we didn’t see, even though a judge has asked them to step up efforts to find the Vaughan tax preparer charged with masterminding a multi-million dollar fraud involving charities. (Toronto Star) |
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TORONTO - The business of collecting donated clothes, selling them in local thrift stores and shipping them overseas has become so lucrative it has created a cut-throat turf war in Ontario (CBC) |
Charities' records 'falsified' TORONTO - The Canada Revenue Agency revoked the status of Daniel Mokwe's charities, Revival Time Ministries International and Operation Save Canada's Teenagers. (CBC) MORE: Charities have status revoked |
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The level of charitable giving in Canada remained steady through the uneven economic recovery, with about 84% of the population donating to a charity or non-profit organization. (Globe & Mail) REPORT: Caring Canadians 2010 |
VANCOUVER - Concerns that a Surrey sexual health centre mixed questionable science about abortion with its advice to young women will be probed by a national organization of pregnancy counselling services. (CTV) MORE: Schools suspend centre's sex ed classes Dangerous abortions 'on the rise' |
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Philanthropy in Canada is in the midst of unprecedented upheaval. (Globe & Mail) MORE: Special interest groups Corporate giving coming with more strings attached Globe life: giving Rewriting rules |
NEW YORK - The Coalition Against Breast Cancer (CABC) solicited $9.1M from the public over the past 5 years. Almost all of it was spent on fundraiser fees, salaries and benefits packages and personal purchases. (Fox) |
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While a new report praises Canada for its international aid program, it also says Canada should boost its overall aid allotment and offer greater transparency in schemes to match funds raised by registered charities for major crises. The compliments and criticism came in a peer review paper released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (Toronto Star) |
19 of Canada’s 100 largest charities do not release their full audited financial statements to the public and refused to provide them to an independent agency that evaluates charities. The website, charityintelligence, breaks down revenue, program costs and fundraising expenses in reports on each of Canada’s 100 richest charities, measured by annual revenue. (Toronto Star) MORE: Charity goes from $0 to $60M in a year |
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GENEVA - The global economic crisis has claimed a new victim: a $22B health fund that has saved millions of lives in low-income regions during the past decade. Wealthy donors in Europe and elsewhere are drastically cutting back on contributions to the Global Fund. (Globe & Mail) MORE: Global Fund halts funding |
MONCTON - Beverly Lumsden, who now goes by Beverly Mitchell, is wanted on fraud charges in Alberta in connection with the Canadian Progress Club and the Rotary Club. Moncton-area police have not received any complaints about Mitchell or the charity she founded in Riverview in May, called The Grasshopper Foundation. (CBC) |
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The Oshawa Hospital Foundation's chief executive officer is using his own company to run fundraising events for the foundation, including lotteries and gala concerts. Jim Szeman, the supercharged, quick-talking boss of the foundation, said his company Uncommon Results - registered in BC but doing work in Oshawa - provides great service for the foundation he runs. (Toronto Star) |
REGINA - The Kids First program was being administered by the Regina Circle Project, but at the end of this month it is losing over $400,000 in funding. Low income parents will still have access to supports, just not at the Circle Project. The numbers show that the program was receiving $442,000 a year, yet providing support for only 32 families. That works out to just under $14,000 per family. (CTV) |
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Wholesale 'charitable donations' According to CRA, more than 65,000 Canadians had been reassessed as of December 2008. As a matter of policy, CRA reviews all donation arrangements where donors receive tax receipts in an amount greater than the amount actually paid.(QMI) PREVIOUS: Giving |
Charity abuse The CRA documents reveal that the charity, Canadian Ptach Society Inc., was "endeavouring to make peoples’ illnesses fit the criteria” of a special tax credit intended for disabled Canadians with taxable income. DOCUMENT: National Benefit Authority |
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LUSAKA - More than $300M of health funding to Zambia is being suspended by the Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria. It said it was concerned about alleged corruption in connection with one or more grants to the health ministry. (BBC) MORE: Zambia dismisses fears of health crisis |
CHARLOTTETOWN - A 38-year-old Charlottetown woman faces four charges in connection with money missing from two non-profit groups - the PEI Federation of Agriculture and the PEI Agriculture Sector Council. (CBC) |
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More than half the money raised in the name of charity by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment was spent on fundraising and administration last year. And the story is much the same at many professional sports foundations across Canada. (Toronto Star) MORE: High costs trip up sports charities |
WASHINGTON - When the poor need legal services but cannot afford them, they turn to Legal Services Corp. (LSC), a federally funded program that provides the poor with legal services (AP) REPORT: Federal Legal Aid vulnerable to fraud |
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TORONTO - A bogus AIDS charity that claimed it was curing disease in Africa with more than $200M in life-saving drugs has been shut down by the CRA. The Orion Foundation, whose boss had a sideline business involving high class escort agencies, was operated for the “private gain” of the boss and fellow directors, a federal audit concluded. (Toronto Star) |
VICTORIA - An environmental group that released half a dozen chickens in MLA Ida Chong's constituency office earlier this week has apologized for its actions. Will Horter, executive director of Victoria-based Dogwood Initiative, says his group didn't technically hatch the plan, but the activists who carried it out are associated with Dogwood. (CTV) |
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Boys & Girls have been good for us WASHINGTON - A group of Republican senators is questioning high salaries and expensive travel bills for executives at the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), raising issues that could jeopardize millions in federal funding for the national charity. The four senators said they were concerned that the chief executive of a charity that has been closing local clubs for lack of funding was compensated nearly $1M in 2008. (AP) |
Appointed pension board members flee LOS ANGELES - The president of Los Angeles' largest employee retirement system has resigned, becoming the 6th pension appointee to quit over the last six months. Eric Holoman stepped down last week from the Los Angeles City Employees' Retirement System board after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law placing new limits on private financial work performed by publicly appointed pension board members. (LA Times) |
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TORONTO - A Canadian charity has lost its licence after auditors found most of the $184M it recorded during one year as charitable donations had gone offshore to a Bermuda company. (Toronto Star) MORE: CRA revokes status of 2 charities |
While people worry about fraud or wasteful spending at big charities, abuse often occurs much closer to home - at the trusted local PTA or soccer club. (MSNBC) REPORT: An investigation of fraud in non-profit organizations .pdf |
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Non-profit has been good for us LOS ANGELES - Theirs is a classic tale of entrepreneurial success - except their wealth comes from running a non-profit that is sustained by taxpayer dollars. Federal law says that executive pay must be "reasonable" - a vague standard that regulators and watchdogs say essentially allows nonprofits to set their own limits. (LA Times) |
Ottawa targets rogue charities OTTAWA - Charities that use the bulk of their donations on high-priced fundraisers, or lie to donors to get money, face tough new rules making it easier for the government to suspend or revoke their charitable status. MORE: Recession hurting charities across Canada |
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TORONTO - The SickKids Foundation gave former president Michael O'Mahoney a $2.7M golden parachute when they showed him the door early this year, documents reveal. . (Toronto Star) MORE: SickKids loses top-paid fundraisers |
CALGARY - The battle over Parkinson's disease
is more than a race to find a cure: it is also a jurisdictional spat
that has pitted Parkinson Canada against Parkinson Alberta over
revenue sharing and a possible trademark infringement.
(Globe & Mail) |
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Pink ribbon overkill Walk into almost any store this month, and you'll be hit with a wash of pink products - pink clogs, pink vegetable peelers, pink cleaning products, even pink food - sold in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. MORE: Think before you pink Buying pink Pink ribbon Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation Shop for the Cure |
Non-profit lobbying group political force WASHINGTON - The US Chamber of Commerce (USCC) is building a large-scale grass-roots political operation that has begun to rival those of the major political parties, funded by record-setting amounts of money raised from corporations and wealthy individuals. (LA Times) |
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Student loan charity under fire WASHINGTON - For 20 years, Catherine Reynolds has guided the non-profit student loan charity Educap as it's lent billions of dollars to hundreds of thousands of college students. (CBS) |
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Kids' charity has licence yanked TORONTO - The Children's Emergency Foundation was exposed by the Toronto Star in 2007 as one of six health charities that raised tens of millions of dollars in Canada but spent 70% of the money on telemarketers and other expenses. (Toronto Star) PREVIOUS: Charitable empire has high costs |
No church cash in alleged scheme TORONTO - The Canadian ministry behind 100 Huntley Street said that church money was not misappropriated by two of the TV show's hosts who have been suspended over alleged links to a $14.1M Ponzi scheme. (CP) |
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MARDAN - A banned jihadi charity accused of links to November's Mumbai attacks has resurfaced in north-western Pakistan, where it is running an extensive aid programme for people fleeing fighting in Swat. (Guardian UK) MORE: Displacement camps: a study in contrasts |
TORONTO - Want to have sex with a high-priced call girl without your wife or boss knowing? Or, how about actually earning money by making charitable donations? James Arion, formerly James Aryan, formerly Eleftherios "Terry" Kambouris, is your man. (Toronto Star) |
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NANAIMO - The employees of a charity that said it was sending boatloads of medical supplies and other aid overseas have been caught using donations to fly between their summer home on a BC island and their winter getaway in Nice, France. The audit of the Universal Aide Society also slammed the charity's relief shipment brokering scheme and it named other charities that participated but are still operating. (Toronto Star) |
Charity stripped of its status OTTAWA - A charity has been stripped of its status after issuing more than $169 million in income tax receipts, but paying out just $2,200 to a qualified cause. The Canada Revenue Agency stripped The Millennium Charitable Foundation of its charitable status, saying the group was operating for the private benefit of tax shelter promoters. PREVIOUS: Charity suspension |
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Next chapter in battle of the non-profits TORONTO - A prominent animal cruelty investigator with the Toronto Humane Society was arrested and paraded out in handcuffs before the media, and another OSCPA agent was fired from his job and arrested for allegedly tipping off the THS that they'd be targeted for investigation. |
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Fraud charges WATERLOO - Waterloo Regional Police and the RCMP say Imagine Adoption agency founder Susan Hayhow and general manager Rick Hayhow were arrested. (CP) |
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KABUL - Corruption in Afghanistan has doubled in the 2 years since 2007, according to a survey by anti-corruption charity Integrity Watch. Afghans paid nearly $1B in bribes in 2009, with almost a third of those surveyed saying they had had to pay a bribe to obtain a public service. More than half said state corruption was fuelling the Taliban's growth. (BBC) |
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Fund's charitable status revoked TORONTO - Just $1 out of every $100 donated to the Choson Kallah Fund of Toronto in certain years went to relieve poverty, an audit by the federal charity regulator concluded. (Toronto Star) RELATED: Fewer, but larger, donations in 2007: StatsCan |
Tsunami funds diverted to tourism KERALA - According to a report by the London-based Tourism Concern, the Kerala state government has allocated almost £10 million of the central government’s Tsunami Rehabilitation Programme money to the state tourism board, Kerala Tourism. (Telegraph UK) |
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Orphans' Fund sale harpooned by red tape VANCOUVER - CKNW planned to hold its annual Orphans' Fund herring sale in New Westminster on Sunday. But last week Department of Fisheries and Oceans officials canned the event because of a 2006 ruling in the federal Court of Appeal. MORE: Noah's Ark Retold: 2007 Canadian version |
Nonprofit spends $0 on its charitable purpose LOS ANGELES - The charity, launched by a scandal-ridden Los Angeles chapter of the Service Employees International Union, had total expenses of about $165,000 for 2005 and 2006, and all of the money went to consulting fees, insurance costs and other overhead, according to its Internal Revenue Service filings. (Los Angeles Times) |
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The International Charity Association Network embellished the amount of donations it received over a three-year period as well as the amount of good work it did in the community, says the federal charity regulator. (Toronto Star) |
Job training: taxpayers taken for a ride VICTORIA - At least one company that helps people on welfare find jobs was billing the government for services it never provided, billed more than once when it did provide services and charged an administration fee of as much as $18 to distribute a $6.40 bus ticket. (Tyee) |
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Charitable foundations NEW YORK - US president-elect Donald Trump said he will dissolve his charitable foundation (Donald J Trump Foundation), amid efforts to eliminate any conflicts of interest before he takes office next month. More than half the people outside the government who met with Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money - either personally or through companies or groups - to the Clinton Foundation.
Clinton Foundation witness dead |
Clinton Giustra Enterprise Partnership 208,000 contributors on 2,922 pages |
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Charities being held to account TORONTO - A total of 120 charities have signed a new code of ethics that promises donors honesty and more bang for their buck. "These charities are aspiring to be the best in the way they conduct fundraising. They want to be ethical and they want to be known to be ethical," said Georgina Steinsky-Schwartz, president of Imagine Canada. (Toronto Star) PREVIOUS: Watchdog sets charity rules List of 'ethical' charities Learning from Madoff |
3 years WINNIPEG - The former head of a Manitoba addictions treatment centre was sentenced to three years in prison for an elaborate fraud scheme that robbed the federal government of several million dollars. Perry Fontaine was also ordered to pay a restitution order of $2.36M, which is the amount he personally received through the scam. MORE: Virginia Fontaine Memorial Treatment Centre Controversy |
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Fundraiser dogged by controversy TORONTO - Red Fridays Foundation is a registered business founded by Brian Muntz, but it accepts - and, indeed, solicits - donations. Muntz has not applied to the Canada Revenue Agency to be a registered charity, but says he intends to. (Toronto Star) |
BBC sorry for keeping charity cash LONDON - The BBC today apologized for keeping £106,000 made from premium-rate phone calls on about two dozen shows that should have been given to charity. The issue involved the BBC Worldwide subsidiary Audiocall, which provides premium-rate phone lines to many BBC shows. (Guardian UK) |
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Hard to see which programs help Ottawa and Ontario have implemented myriad programs from language training to mentoring to help newcomers integrate into the Canadian labour market, but are they working? (Toronto Star) |
TORONTO - The federal charity regulator has taken the rare step of suspending a Toronto charity that claims to have given $244M in aid to the poor - but hasn't provided the proof to back that up. (Toronto Star) |
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Sikh Temple terror links alleged VANCOUVER - More than 5 years after a Surrey Sikh temple was denied charitable status for alleged terrorist links, it is still raising funds, holding weekly prayer services and hosting community events. The groups running the temple are both registered non-profit societies in BC, despite a secret Canada Revenue Agency report that said they "may be functioning as part of a support network" for the terrorist International Sikh Youth Federation. PREVIOUS: Sikh Terrorists |
Charitable empire has high costs The pleas for cash are delivered by charities whose names alone could soften even the most callous into making a donation. Cancer Recovery Foundation. Childhood Asthma Foundation. Children's Emergency Foundation. Starting from addresses around Toronto and now from his new, three-storey lakefront house in Muskoka, 57-year-old fundraising consultant Craig Copland has helped create an empire of health charities that has taken tens of millions of dollars from Canadians. (Toronto Star) |
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Charity status revoked OTTAWA - The North American Missing Children's Association, a national organization that solicits donations door to door, has had its registered charity status revoked after an investigation by the Citizen into the group's finances. |
United Way chair fined for Livent misconduct TORONTO - The head of the United Way in Canada and two other auditors face fines and legal costs totalling $1.55M for professional misconduct in the Livent Inc. accounting scandal. (Toronto Star) |
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UN turns blind eye to aid fraud UN - Tsunami reconstruction funds worth $500 million (US) are being lost to fraud and corruption because of the failure by the UN to implement its own anti-fraud measures. (SMH) |
Canada's coffers have been cheated of more than $1.4 billion by scams that provided taxpayers with inflated charitable receipts they used to reduce their income tax. (Toronto Star) |
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Few Canadian charities audited OTTAWA - Fewer than 1% of charities are audited in Canada, despite a post-9/11 crackdown on terrorist financing, the Air India inquiry heard Thursday. University of Toronto law professor David Duff testified that the Canada Revenue Agency was auditing more charities in the mid-1990s when concerns arose because the terrorist Babbar Khalsa had been given tax-exempt status. |
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Funding scandal claims minister TORONTO A scandal over $32 million in grants to multicultural groups has cost Ontario Immigration and Citizenship Minister Michael Colle his job and jolted Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government. (Toronto Star) |
Colle aide's group tied to 'slush funds' Website exposes dodgy daycares Dirty little secrets: abuse in daycare |
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Guilty until proven innocent VICTORIA - BC drivers who have their licences suspended under new drunk-driving prohibitions can't return to the road while they appeal their penalties. Even if an appeal is successful through the 21-day process - say, because a blood-alcohol reader malfunctioned or the police officer made a mistake - the driver would have lost his or her licence for that time, with no way to reverse the penalty. |
When failure to police yourself is a crime MADD disputes donations charge MADD's outspoken founder punished |
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MISSISSAUGA - For 30 minutes, a World Vision Canada TV program shifts between destitute children - their wide eyes glassy, their faces and hair dirty and matted - as host Fred Penner coaxes viewers to reach for their wallets. (Toronto Star) |
Charities admit fundraising mess Charitable sector needs policing |
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Charity Navigator: World Vision rating Charity tax dodge entangles parish Charities sue OPM over exclusion Tsunami aid 'went to the richest' Corruption's take: $148 Billion $425M for tsunami victims never arrived |
EU reveals increase in aid fraud G8 reaches deal for world's poor Aid groups wearing out welcome Charity's bingo licence on ice For small donors, charity a matter of trust Federal fund gives millions to charity tax cheats Asian Tsunami: Where's the Canadian Aid? Charities exert political influence Charities not always what they portray Congress probes tax-exempt group actions |
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WASHINGTON - President Trump signed an executive order aimed at making it easier for churches to participate in politics. The order, Trump said, removes the financial threat faced by tax-exempt churches from the IRS when pastors speak out on behalf of political candidates. The provision is written in the tax code and would require an act of Congress to repeal fully. (Washington Post) |
As mistrust grows, loyalty goes National Center for Charitable Statistics Studies fault charities for veterans American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP)
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Non-profit assets seized TORONTO - A pair of Canadian non-profit organizations the RCMP says raised millions of dollars for Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers rebels have been ordered to forfeit all their belongings to the federal government. |
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Canada brands Tamil group as terrorist front |
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NEW YORK - Want to influence a casino bid? Polish your corporate image? Not be labeled a racist? Then you need to pay Al Sharpton. (NY Post) |
Rev. Al soaks up boycott bucks |
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Ask your non-profit organization if they spend more than 20% of their income on their own care and feeding. If yes then they are a business and not a non-profit no matter what the Canadian laws and the volunteers assume is taking place. – Chris |
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