Why the Canadian Peace Alliance is not
a Registered Charity
The Canadian Peace Alliance is a legally incorporated non-profit organization (incorporation number 332882-1-R) but not a registered charity. This means that we are unable to provide receipts for tax purposes.
According to Revenue Canada rules, the activities of a registered charity must fall within one or more of the following categories: relief of poverty; advancement of education; advancement of religion; certain other purposes that benefit the community in a way the courts have said are charitable. For more information, see their publication (in pdf format) Registering a Charity for Income Tax Purposes T4063(E) Rev.01.
Aspects of the work of the Canadian Peace Alliance might fall under the category "advancement of education" in that it "improves a useful branch of human knowledge." But a significant portion of our educational work would be considered "advocacy" rather than simply "education" by Revenue Canada and we do try to lobby Canada's political leaders - and encourage others to do so as well - to change policy. Few peace organizations have been able to successfully register as official charitable organizations in Canada as a result of the relatively narrow interpretation of "educational purposes" taken by Revenue Canada over the past two decades and those that are successful can be very much restricted in their activities.
Canadian Peace Alliance operations generally conform to the technical requiresments laid out by Revenue Canada for Registered Charities. We spend about 80 percent of our annual revenue on program activities - campaigns, public education, networking and information-sharing. About ten percent of our annual revenue is spend on fundraising, the remainder on administrative and infrastructure requirements. We are audited annually and can provide a copy of the most recent audited statements on request. In accordance with our constitution, these statements are reviewed and adopted annually at our Annual General Meeting.
Although legally incorporated non-profit organizations cannot issue receipts for income tax purposes and follow somewhat different requirements than registered charities, their activities are nonetheless also regulated by the Government of Canada. To learn more, see their bulletin (in pdf) It-496R, Income Tax Act: Non-Profit Organizations.