Need donations? You'll need to become a charity

Date
1999
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Legal Resource Centre of Alberta Ltd. (LRC)
Abstract
"WHEREAS Landes Tenements Rentes Annuities Profittes Hereditamentes, Goodes Chattels Money and Stockes of Money, have bene heretofore given limitted appointed and assigned, as well by the Queenes moste excellent Majestie and her moste noble Progenitors, as by sondrie other well disposed persons, some for Releife of aged impotent and poore people, some for Maintenance of sicke and maymed Souldiers and Marriners, Schooles of Learninge, Free Schooles and Schollers in Universities, some for Repaire of Bridges Portes Havens Causwaies Churches Seabankes and Highewaies, some for Educacion and prefermente of Orphans, some for or towardes Reliefe Stocke or Maintenance for Howses for Correccion, some for Mariages of poore Maides, some for Supportacion Ayde and Helpe of younge Tradesmen, Handiecraftesmen and persons decayed, and others for reliefe or redemption of Prisoners or Captives, and for aide or ease of any poore Inhabitants concerninge paymente of Fifteenes, settinge out of Souldiers and other Taxes, Whiche Landes Tenements Rents Annuities Profitts Hereditaments Goodes Chattells Money and Stockes of Money nevertheless have not byn imployed accordinge to the charitable intente of the givers and founders thereof, by reason of Fraudes breaches of Truste and Negligence in those that shoulde pay delyver and imploy the same....." The elements that a "charitable organization" must include for registration purposes are als so defined in the Income Tax Act. All of the resources of the organization must be devoted to charitable activities and the organization must carry them out itself. Therefore, to qualify as charitable, the organization's purposes must be exclusively charitable. If charities could engage in a mixture of charitable and non-charitable purposes, there could be no certainty that donations to them would be channeled to the charitable purposes. In this way, charitable registrations can also be revoked once granted. Political purposes or objects are not charitable purposes. The rule that a charity cannot be established for political purposes does not mean that the charity cannot engage in "ancillary and incidental" political activities to further its charitable purposes. Just what ancillary political activities may be, and how much political activity may be carried out remains murky.
Description
Article deposited after permission was granted by the editor of LawNow magazine, 06/28/2010.
Keywords
Charities, Laws & regulations
Citation
Bowal, Peter, Wanke, Irene, "Need donations? You'll need to become a charity", Law Now, Jun/Jul 1999, Vol. 23, Iss. 6; pg. 11.