Federal Election #nonprofitsvote Campaign Launches Today!
It’s back! CCVO has launched #nonprofitsvote for the federal election coming up on October 21. We received positive feedback on the inaugural #nonprofitsvote campaign from the recent Alberta provincial election, and you all had so much fun participating, that we’ve decided to do it all again for the federal election!
#nonprofitsvote: Tips on Voter Engagement
With the federal election set for October 21, and the campaign period officially underway, nonprofits have an important role to play in voter engagement. As trusted sources of information, nonprofits hold unique positions in communities, and can help inform and empower the people that they serve to exercise their right to vote. This blog post serves as a guide on tips to increase voter engagement.
Government of Alberta’s Public Inquiry into Environmental Groups
Last month, Premier Jason Kenney announced that the government will launch a public inquiry into the foreign funding sources of environmental groups who are critical of Alberta’s energy sector policies. Before that, Premier Kenney promised to establish an ‘Energy War Room’ to respond to campaigns directed at Alberta's oil and gas sector. Here is what we know and how we think it might impact the nonprofit sector, particularly organizations that hold charitable status designation through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Alberta Government Fiscal Update
The Alberta government provided a fiscal update yesterday, the first one from this government since assuming office a little more than four months ago. The update was given by Finance Minister, Travis Toews. Nonprofits, as many others, were likely looking to the update to provide some clarity and certainty after the many funding challenges that we’ve been hearing from nonprofits in the last few months, some of which have been reported in media.
A Charity’s Guide to the Canada Revenue Agency
In order to become a registered charity, you must apply for such status with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), which can be a time consuming process. This may be an important step to securing funding as only registered charities can issue receipts that make the donations eligible for a tax credit on an individual donor’s personal income tax return. This blog post serves as a nonprofit guide to navigating the CRA, covering tax reporting, rules to follow, and audits.
3 Ways Nonprofits Can Create a Meaningful Internship Experience
As policy intern, Vivian Mak’s, summer internship at CCVO comes to an end, she reflects upon her time with the organization. In this blog post, she shares three ways that nonprofits can create a meaningful internship experience that personally enhanced hers. She also draws upon the perspectives and insights she gained from other summer students during the Kahanoff Summer Student Lunch in June.
Social Innovation and Social Finance: An Introduction for Nonprofits
Social innovation is the use of different strategies and ideas to address existing social and/or environmental issues. These innovations can take many forms, from community-centered planning to international labour standards to fair trade. Social finance, a form of social innovation, is the use of investments (loans, equity finance, bonds, etc.) to further a social and/or environmental impact while also generating financial returns for investors. This blog post introduces Social Innovation and Social Finance to nonprofits to help prepare and inform the sector in light of the Government of Canada’s new initiative.