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Q. What percentage of my donation will go directly to projects?
A. We guarantee that not more than 12% of your donation will be
retained for administration. Our goal is to use less than 10%
for organizational purposes. We work very hard to keep our administrative
costs as low as humanly possible.
Q. Does the Change for Children issue tax receipts?
A. Yes, Change for Children Association is a registered charity.
You will receive a charitable tax receipt for income tax purposes
on donations of $10 or more. Our charitable registration number
is 11884 9496 RR0001.
If you make an online donation through CanadaHelps, Canada Helps
will issue your tax receipt.
Q. When can I expect my receipt?
A. You can expect your receipt for your one-time donation within
one to six weeks from the date you send it in.
If you are making monthly donations through your bank account
or credit card, your annual receipt will be sent out in January
for the previous tax year.
If you make your donation online through CanadaHelps, you will
receive your tax receipt immediately from CanadaHelps.
Q. When is the cut off to receive a charitable receipt for a particular
year?
A. Income Tax Receipt donations need to be received by us by December
31 for us to issue a charitable receipt for that year. We do take
into consideration reasonable post mail delays.
Q. How is my tax credit calculated?
A. Revenue Canada’s Tax Guide explains: In 2006, the first
$200 you donate is eligible for a federal tax credit of 15.25%
of the donation amount. After the first $200, the federal tax
credit increases to 29% of the amount over $200. Generally, you
can claim all or part of this amount up to a limit of 75% of your
net income. For gifts of certified cultural property or ecologically
sensitive land, you may be able to claim up to 100% of your net
income.
You may also be eligible for a provincial tax credit. The amount
of the provincial tax credit available varies between provinces.
You do not have to claim all of the donations you made this year
on your current-year return. You can carry forward any donations
you do not claim in the current year and claim them on your return
for any of the next five years.
For more information on claiming your charitable donations, see
the General Income Tax and Benefits Guide.
Q. I donated several months ago. Why haven't I received a receipt?
A. Please call us at 780—448-1505 or write us with as much
information about your donation as possible. It's possible we
had an incorrect address for you so when you call or write, tell
us your full name as it appeared on your donation, your address,
when you made the donation and the amount. It is also helpful
if we know how you made the donation: cheque, money order, credit
card, online, etc. Include a phone number or email address so
we can get in touch with you if we need to.
If you made your donation online through CanadaHelps, you will
need to contact help@canadahelps.org
for your receipt.
Q. I can't find my receipt. Can I have another one?
A. We can send you a copy of your receipt. Be sure to give us
your full name as it appeared on your donation, your address,
the date you made the donation and the amount. Please include
a phone number or email address so we can get in touch with you
if we need to.
Q. Can you send my receipt to someone
else?
A. The Income Tax Act obligates us to send receipts only to the
person making the donation. This means that unless we receive
signed documentation that a person gave you the money to forward
to Change for Children, we can only send a receipt to:
- the person or people whose names are on a pre-printed
cheque
- the person who signed the money order
- the person whose name is on the credit
card
Q: I'm making the donation in lieu
of a gift. Can you send the receipt to that person?
A: The Income Tax Act does not allow this. We must issue the receipt
to the person making the donation.
Q. I'm writing the cheque, but I want
the receipt to go to my partner.
A. If your cheque is pre-printed with more than one name, we can
send the receipt to anyone on the cheque. If your partner's name
is not on the cheque, you should check with the Canada Customs
and Revenue Agency about sharing your tax credit with your partner
when you file your income tax returns.
Q. I want to write a cheque to cover
cash donations I collected for Change for Children. How can the
people who donated cash get a receipt?
A. We can provide you with Donor cards that will help you collect
the information needed from a donor so that Change for Children
can issue them tax receipts. Please talk to us in advance.
Q. What is CanadaHelps and why can't I donate directly through
Change for Children’s website?
A. CanadaHelps is a secure website that provides information about
charities and allows you to make online donations to charities
of your choice. CanadaHelps provides this service to over 2500
organizations, and many thousands of donors. Using this service
Change for Children does not have to spend money processing your
credit card donations, ensuring that more of the money goes directly
to our projects.
Q. What portion of my donation goes to CanadaHelps?
A. A very modest portion (3 percent) is allocated to CanadaHelps
for the cost of credit card merchant rates, per transaction charges,
banking and disbursement fees. For more details, please visit
their website: www.canadahelps.org/donor_start.aspx
Q. I tried to make a donation through
CanadaHelps but I ran into problems. How do I get help or find
out what happened to my donation?
A. If you encounter any problems with the CanadaHelps website,
please send an email to help@canadahelps.org or call 416.628.6948.
Q. I want my donation to go to people in a specific country. How
can I do this?
A. Please make your donation payable to ‘Change for Children’
and put the name of the country on the reference line. We will
designate the money to projects in the country you identify.
Q. I want my donation to go towards
a specific project. How can I do this?
A. Just indicate the project name on the reference line and we
will designate the money to that project, for example “Honduras
– HIV/AIDS “ or “Women’s Health Promotion
– Nicaragua”
Q. I want to support Change for Children’s
in Canada Development Education programs. How can I do this?
A. Many Canadians recognize the importance of our in Canada education
and public engagement efforts – just indicate “Education-Canada”
on the reference line of your cheque.
Q. How can I find out about the projects
my donation is going to?
A. Visit our 'Projects’ page for general information. Regular
updates are provided through our publication Building Bridges
Q. Does Change for Children sell, rent or trade donor information
(eg., mailing and email addresses) to other agencies?
A. Absolutely not. We have no intention of buying, selling, or
trading donor information.
Q. Can I receive a charitable receipt for a donated item?
A. Yes, but only in some situations. If you provide a recent receipt
for the item. If you require a receipt for an item that you are
donating it is best to discuss this with us before donating the
item.
Q. Can I receive a charitable receipt
for a donated service?
A. Unfortunately, the Income Tax Act does not permit the issuance
of donation receipts for services rendered except in limited situations.
Q. Can I receive a charitable receipt for a gift certificate I
donated for a silent auction?
A. Yes, as long as you are not the “issuer” of the
gift certificate i.e. Charities can issue an official receipt
for a gift certificate when the donor is NOT the issuer of the
gift certificate; and has obtained the gift certificate for valuable
consideration either from the issuer or other third party…more
information on donations of Gift Certificates at http:www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tax/charities/policy/cps/cps-018-e.html
Q. Can Change for Children issue tax
receipts to businesses or artists who have donated items for silent
auction fundraising?
A. In some cases yes and in some cases no. Change for Children
has a small and very busy staff which prevents us from having
the capacity to fulfill this request, except in specific circumstances.
It is our experience that many companies are happy to deduct the
donation as a business expense, without requiring a donation receipt.
That's because this has virtually the same effect on their corporate
tax return.
If an item (i.e. actual product) is donated by a business and
we are provided with an invoice indicating the value of the item
by the business donating the item we can provide a charitable
receipt for that item.
If a gift certificate is donated by a company we cannot unfortunately
provide a receipt.
Q. If I purchase an item in a silent
auction at a Change for Children event it will I receive a tax
receipt?
A. No, when you receive something of value in return for making
a donation, this is considered a benefit which reduces the eligible
amount of your donation for income tax purposes. In order to issue
receipts for auction purchases, Change for Children would have
to obtain valuations of the items and to obtain certified records.
This situation would create a tremendous amount of work that we
simply do not have the capacity to fulfill.
Most participants are quite happy to acquire the Auction item
without any expectation of receiving a tax receipt.
Q. I bought a ticket to a Change for Children event
for $60 but received a tax receipt for $40, why?
A. When a charity provides you with something of value in return
for making a donation, this is considered a benefit, which is
called an advantage. The advantage generally reduces the eligible
amount of your donation for income tax purposes. In this case
the meal you were provided at the event was valued at $20 and
thus your charitable donation was for $40.
Q. Why should I donate to Change for Children when there are so
many other charities doing similar work?
A. There are many organizations doing excellent and important
work. What makes Change for Children’s approach so effective
is our commitment to local ownership and self-determination. Three
decades of development work based in this philosophy (solidarity
NOT charity) has demonstrated that it is the only effective means
to create sustainable change.
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