 
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 $20 or more within 6 weeks
to when we receive the donation. 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 we receive it.
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.
Remember Albertans now have increased benefits for charitable
donations: Combined federal and provincial income tax credits
on charitable gifts made by Albertans are now 25.5% on the
first $200 and 50% on gifts above the $200 threshold.
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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