March 4, 2010. Imagine Canada Responds to Budget 2010. Today’s federal budget provided greater flexibility for charities as they seek to meet the increasing and changing needs of Canadians in the wake of the recession and in the face of longer-term trends like the aging of Canadian society.

March 3, 2010. Standards Forum:  Launch of Ensuring Excellence – A Standards Initiative for Canadian Charities and Nonprofits.  If you are an executive leader of a charity or nonprofit organization in Canada please join Imagine Canada, Volunteer Canada, the HR Council, and your colleagues from across the country and across the sector in the establishment of a new Standards Program for Canada's charities and nonprofits.  Space is limited at the in-person and live webcast event.  Senior leaders in the sector are invited to register for this event as soon as possible.

February 1, 2010. Imagine Canada and Maclean’s magazine continue their partnership for the fourth consecutive year. In 2010 Imagine Canada and Maclean’s will once again produce three special supplements designed to engage Canadians in the work of the charitable sector and those who support it. Advertising rates are being extended at a minimum 30% discount to Imagine Canada’s supplement advertisers. For more information download the supplement information document that includes the 2010 schedule and ad rates.

January 26, 2010. Imagine Canada launches Charity Tax Tools website! New Tool for Canada’s Charities makes CRA Reporting less Taxing. Charity Tax Tools (http://charitytax.imaginecanada.ca) is a free comprehensive information website with easy-to-understand content developed by Imagine Canada that will provide Canadian charities with timely information and tools to ensure they have the resources to meet Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requirements.

November 13, 2009. Read about Imagine Canada’s proposed Stretch Tax Credit for Charitable Giving in the Philanthropy in Action insert in today’s Globe and Mail. See our opinion editorial and advertisement made possible in part with the generous support of The Muttart Foundation. The purpose of the Stretch Tax Credit for Charitable Giving is to encourage more Canadians to give and to support those who do give to give more. Read more about the Stretch Tax Credit

September 25, 2009. The 2009 Thanks & Giving supplement featured in Maclean's magazine is now on newsstands (October 5 issue date). Building upon the success of the 2008 Thanks & Giving supplement, it continues to focus on our individual giving research and bring to life the data presented in the recently released 2007 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating. The supplement showcases inspirational stories on individual donors and their favourite causes as well as profiles regular Canadians' unique giving practices and their motivations for doing so. It is aimed to encourage Canadians to pause and consider the importance of charities and nonprofits in their day-to-day lives. In partnership with CanadaHelps.org, the online giving portal, readers can donate to any of Canada's 84,000 plus charities.

September 21, 2009. Canada's charities and nonprofits provide critical services to communities across Canada: What if they are not adequately prepared for an H1N1 outbreak? Imagine Canada president and CEO, Marcel Lauzière, recently penned an opinion editorial about H1N1 and the charitable and nonprofit sector that appeared in Montreal’s La Presse, the Halifax Chronicle Herald, the Edmonton Journal, Winnipeg Free Press and Maclean's website. We really don’t know if there is going to be an H1N1 outbreak but it is essential to be prepared, especially for the many charities and nonprofits who are on the front-line delivering essential services to Canadians.

September 10, 2009. Perspectives on Fundraising: What Charities Report to the Canada Revenue Agency. A new report prepared by Imagine Canada was released by The Muttart Foundation on September 10th about the fundraising costs of Canadian charities. The report looks at data from charities’ 2007 public information returns (the T3010) and calculated various indicators related to fundraising, including examining revenues, costs, methods of fundraising used, usage of contract fundraisers, and fundraising cost ratios. This data is examined by province, organization type, revenue size, age of organization, employees, as well as by several other key demographics. Costs are compared from 2003 to 2007 to see if there were any significant shifts in patterns. The report provides some reassurance, but raises troubling questions about the accuracy of reported information.

August 27, 2009. H1N1: Are You Ready? Charities and nonprofit organizations provide support to Canadians in every community across the country and many provide essential services. It is important for us to be prepared for events that could hinder our ability to be there for Canadians in difficult times. The H1N1 (Human Swine Flu) pandemic is such an event. Although there are conflicting opinions about how serious the pandemic is likely to be, it makes sense for organizations to be prepared.

• Ready for Crisis: Health Emergencies and the Voluntary Sector
• Useful Checklists for Small- and Medium-sized Organizations
• Job Task Template - Making Sure Critical Tasks Keep Getting Done (PDF)
• Business Emergency Sample Plan
• H1N1 Information from Public Health Canada
• H1N1 information from U.S. Government
• Excellent article written for nonprofits during avian flu
• USA Employer and employee guidance from U.S. government
• Teleworking preparedness
• Pandémie de grippe aviaire : préparez-vous maintenant ! Centre patronal de santé et sécurité du travail du Québec
• Getting Started on Business Continuity Planning for an Influenza Pandemic from the City of Ottawa
• Non-Profit Sector Mitigation, Preparedness, Relief and Recovery Planning for Pandemics and Disasters by the Voluntary and Non-Profit Sector Organization of Manitoba Inc.

August 26, 2009. Connect with Imagine Canada. This website is just one of the many ways to stay connected online with Imagine Canada and the charitable and nonprofit community. We’re also on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, FriendFeed, YouTube and Delicious. We also host Nonprofit Newswire where you can read Canadian news and press releases from on-line media outlets, news services, and nonprofit organizations.

June 12, 2009. The Canada Revenue Agency recently released a revised and final version of its Guidance on Fundraising by Registered Charities. Many stakeholders were consulted in creating this policy, including Imagine Canada, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) and the Health Charities Coalition of Canada (HCCC). We share a strong desire to make the sector more accountable and applaud the CRA for their responsiveness to feedback from small and large stakeholders impacted by the policy. The revised policy reflects some of this input and we are pleased that the policy is an improvement on earlier drafts. Read more.

June 11, 2009. In Charity We Trust: A Year in Review featured in Maclean's on newsstands today! Read more.

June 8, 2009. Growth in Charitable Giving outpaced Volunteering prior to Economic Downturn. Latest Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating Data Released. Read more.

June 4, 2009. Latest Canadian Giving and Volunteering Data to be Released. New data from the largest Canadian study on giving and volunteering to be released on Monday June 8. Findings from the 2007 Canada Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating (CSGVP) provide a portrait of activities that are integral to the Canadian social fabric and allow us to understand how and why Canadians contribute to their communities either through donations, volunteering or helping fellow Canadians. Read more.

May 25, 2009. Imagine Canada and the Ontario Nonprofit Network invite charities and nonprofits to comment on proposals put forth in the Financial Reporting by Not-For-Profit Organizations position paper. This document proposes a number of alternatives to the current accounting standard regime used by the nonprofit sector. The Accounting Standards Board is soliciting input on a number of matters that could have a significant impact on the way the sector does business. Charities and nonprofits have an opportunity to provide comment until June 30, 2009. Read more.

May 4, 2009. Imagine Canada’s Annual General Meeting will be held May 28, 2009 in Toronto. Information on the meeting, and on Board elections and nominations is now available. Read more.

April 7, 2009. Imagine Canada’s Ethical Code Program Exceeds Year One Targets! Member Charities Embrace Program to Solidify Donor Trust. Leaders and pioneers of the Ethical Code Program community movement gathered today to celebrate the first year of Imagine Canada’s re-launched Ethical Code Program as the first official report back to the community was released. Read more.

March 26, 2009. The Nonprofit Sector and the Economy. Imagine Canada’s Nonprofit Library Commons adds Economy Specific Newsfeed to the Nonprofit Newswire Service. In order keep you informed on current news, as it pertains to the nonprofit sector and the economy, we’ve created a Nonprofits and the Economy newsfeed to complement our regular Nonprofit Newswire service. Read more.

March 25, 2009. Call for Board Nominations. Imagine Canada is inviting the nomination of candidates for its Board of Directors.

March 10, 2009. Representatives of the National Nonprofit Sector Task Force on the Modernization of Federal Not-for-Profit Corporations Law appeared today before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology. Read the brief.

March 5, 2009. It’s Win-Win when Business Partners with Charities and Nonprofits! Imagine Canada Announces Winners of the 12th Annual Canadian Business & Community Partnership Awards 

January 30, 2009. Imagine Canada's 2009 Canadian Business & Community Partnership Forum & Awards. New Approaches for New Economic Times. Two days of breakthrough thinking, networking and dialogue on the future of business and community partnerships. Elevate your programs to a new level of excellence! Download the Forum Program Brochure (pdf) or visit the event registration section of our store for further program details. See you in Vancouver March 4 & 5, 2009. Register Today!

January 27, 2009. Impact of Federal Budget on Canada’s Charities & Nonprofits: Canada’s Charities and Nonprofits are extremely disappointed that the Budget fails to acknowledge the role they play in helping vulnerable Canadians. more...(PDF)

January 16, 2009. The 2009 Federal Budget and Canada’s Charities & Nonprofits. Short-Term Stimulus Measures for Assisting Canadians and Communities during the Economic Downturn. Imagine Canada submitted a Brief to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance on Short-Term Stimulus Measures for Assisting Canadians and Communities during the Economic Downturn. The Brief is an outcome of consultations with a Task Force struck by Imagine Canada to provide further detail to the measures called for in an Open Letter to Stephen Harper published in newspapers on November 21, 2008. more...(PDF)

January 15, 2009. Imagine Canada’s Caring Company members — a broad representation of Canadian companies that formally commit to donating 1% of their earnings to community causes and organizations — added their voice to a call for stimulative measures to assist Canada’s vulnerable populations and the organizations that support them in a full-page statement published in the Globe & Mail on January 15, 2009.