Does CRA’s Charities Directorate have an Islamophobia problem?
The Under Layered Suspicion report examines three Muslim charities that had their tax-exempt status revoked after audits by the Canada Revenue Agency. The details of the audits paint a picture of a community that is deeply anxious about its relationship with the system’s overseers and is constantly under pressure to prove it is not a threat.
Confronting audit chill: The third report of the Advisory Committee on the Charitable Sector
The final report by the ACCS, which marks the culmination of a year’s work between the sector and the federal government, reveals that many charities “fear” the Canada Revenue Agency.
Policy advocacy with the regulatory shackles off: Mixed results
As Canadians prepared to vote, questions were being asked about whether a risk-averse charitable sector had missed an opportunity to help shape public policy.
How to repair long-term care in Canada
The preventable tragedy that unfolded in long-term care during the pandemic added urgency to longstanding calls for improvements and higher care standards, as well as new demands for transparency about how public money is spent.
Featured
Analysis
Worried about your charity? Why WE Charity’s practice is atypical
When the WE Charity controversy exploded during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many wondered whether the scandal would taint the entire charitable sector and put a damper on potential donors’ and volunteers’ enthusiasm.
Charities require urgent digital transformation
Earlier this year, CanadaHelps conducted a Digital Skills Survey of approximately 1,400 registered charities, which found that 54% of charities that use CanadaHelps believe they’ll soon find it harder to continue their work if they don’t improve their digital capabilities.
Diversity and Inclusion
Pulse-check with sector leaders on mental health
The pandemic has put pressure on all levels of the non-profit workforce, leading to rising levels of burnout, compassion fatigue, and stress. We talked to sector leaders about their mental health, their leadership outlook, and how they’re supporting their teams through this period.
The Philanthropist Journal interview: Mona-Lisa Prosper
Mona-Lisa Prosper is the director of the Black Entrepreneur Startup Program, recently launched by Futurpreneur Canada to address systemic barriers faced by Black entrepreneurs.
Arts and Culture
Traditional Techniques: Helping Indigenous northern artists become self-determined business owners
This is the second in a series of profiles about past winners – “laureates” – of the Arctic Inspiration Prize.
On Board: The Insider’s Guide to Surviving Life in the Boardroom
John Tusa, the author of On Board, has a breadth and depth of arts board experience on both sides of the Atlantic that would be hard to match. What he gleaned from these experiences fills the pages of this detailed, honest, mostly modest, wise, and fascinating book.
First Person
Over-scrutinized, underfunded, and unsupported: How systemic anti-Blackness affects who gets grants and sector workers’ well-being
While many charities and foundations have made commitments to anti-racism, this insider’s look at the sector tells a different story of how systemic anti-Blackness, along with gender, religious, and other forms of discrimination, affects who gets funded and the well-being of the sector’s workers.
The Philanthropist Interview: Janice Stein
Janice Stein was the founding director of the Munk School at the University of Toronto (1998 to 2014). She is currently the university’s Belzberg Professor of Conflict Management in the Department of Political Science, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of Ontario.
Series on Arctic Inspiration Prize
Northern light: The Arctic Inspiration Prize invites southerners to shift their gaze northward – with a few conditions
Every year, AIP laureates receive original artwork. The piece pictured at right – Once the Darkness Is Realized by Blake Lepine, an artist from Carcross Tagish First Nation in the Yukon – is one of the pieces from 2019.
For the North, by the North: How the Arctic Inspiration Prize supports northern innovation
For the North and by the North. Six little words that mean so much. Since 2012, when the Arctic Inspiration Prize (AIP) was established, these
Sector News Digest
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Angela Long
This week: Calls to revoke Catholic charities’ tax exempt status; Indigenous approaches to climate action; doubling down on the carbon benefits of conservation; and the Alberta inquiry on foreign influence stumbles to the finish line.
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Catherine Phillips
Mary Simon named Governor General; using radio to share residential school stories; new ONN survey; fresh StatsCan data on the sector’s performance; a case for funding community infrastructure; and a US court ruling on donor privacy.
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Angela Long
This week: Sector responses to residential school discoveries in Kamloops, anti-Muslim terror in London, and anti-Asian hate crimes in Vancouver; progress on S-222; new findings
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Rachel Chen
This week: A decolonization report, suspected CRA anti-Muslim bias, digital development, university donor dumpster fires, and a Digital Publishing Awards nomination! “Restitution from the perspective
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Personalities & Interviews
The Philanthropist Journal interview: Susan Phillips and Bob Wyatt
Susan Phillips, a professor in Carleton University’s School of Public Policy and Administration, and Bob Wyatt, executive director of The Muttart Foundation, are the editors of the comprehensive Intersections and Innovations: Change for Canada’s Voluntary and Nonprofit Sector, a free online resource published by Muttart.
Next-gen leaders
In this interview with Leslie Woo (CivicAction) and Adwoa K. Buahene (TRIEC), the two CEOs ask what “build back better” means – and for whom?
Shelley Price: Storytelling the philanthropic landscape – Collective restorying of giving and sharing through Indigenous perspectives
This Q&A is part of a series of interviews with six PhiLab researchers about their areas of study.
Jacqueline Colting-Stol: Foundations and climate action
This Q&A is part of a series of interviews with six PhiLab researchers about their areas of study.
More articles From the Archives
Charities and the rule against perpetuities
Charitable status is a legally privileged status. The law in numerous ways, ranging from the trivial to the noteworthy, confers legal advantages upon charities. These legal advantages are often misunderstood.
A short history of voluntary sector–government relations in Canada
The purpose of this article is to present an overview of the history of voluntary sector-government relations in Canada. This is a rich history, which is often overlooked and chronically underappreciated.
Charity and public welfare in history: A look at Ontario, 1830–1950
Several historical works have described 19th-century Ontario as lacking a conception of public welfare, where the poor were largely left to the benevolence of religious charities. This assumption, however, ignores the complex web of relationships that characterized the delivery of social services in Ontario and in many English-speaking regions across Canada.
Art, after virus: Seven questions for a sector on the edge
In 1999, the Metcalf Foundation collaborated with The Philanthropist to curate a series on the public value of arts and culture in Canada. Now, in the midst of the pandemic, there is a new urgency to the challenges facing the arts.
Featured Contributors
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Rachel Chen
Rachel Chen is an audience strategist for Indiegraf; a master of information student at the University of Toronto, and a freelance writer
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Angela Long
Angela Long is a freelance writer currently working on a book about rural journalism in Canada.
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Kareem Shaheen
Kareem Shaheen is a journalist based in Montreal. Previously, he was Middle East correspondent for The Guardian, based in Beirut and Istanbul.
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Christina Palassio
Christina Palassio is a non-profit communications professional and freelance writer. When she tweets, she does so at @mcpalassio.
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