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Following the Charities Directorate’s revocation of one of Canada’s largest charities, Beth Oloth in January 2019, comments were made about what took the Charities Directorate so long. #_edn1″ name=”_ednref1 [i] Expert charity lawyer Mark Blumberg commented “if abuses like these are allowed to continue it will undermine the public’s confidence in the whole charitable sector” and the government should be embarrassed the charity was allowed to operate for so long.
Canada’s current laws muzzle the Charities Directorate from informing the public. The Charities Directorate must follow due process and do exhaustive audits and investigations. In the Beth Oloth case, the investigation was dragged on by lawyers and spanned more than two years. It is alarming that in these two years under investigation, Beth Oloth tax receipted $49.9 million in donations and received an additional $53.9 million from private foundations.
Currently, the Charities Directorate cannot suspend “trading” or notify donors until it makes its final decision. In contrast, British laws allow its Charities Commission to prominently notify the public when a charity is under investigation. Canada’s laws can change to help the Charities Directorate better police the charity sector and inform the public.
Yet, rather than asking what more Ottawa can do, shouldn’t we be asking ourselves what we can do to make our charity sector what we want it to be?
Charity Intelligence believes we donors need to become more active. We need to ask charities to be financially transparent in exchange for our support. We need to raise our expectations that charities follow best practices.  
Just as our communities are kept safer by watchful neighbours, our charity sector needs us all to be vigilant. We must help prevent charity fraud or tax abuse. This job is too big for one regulator, or single organization. Canada’s charity sector will be stronger and cleaner when we all step up. Let’s start now.

• Know your rights as a donor. Rights are just platitudes unless respected. The Donor Bill of Rights, Article III states, “All donors have the right to have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.”
• Do your homework and research the charity. Check that the charities you support have posted financial statements on their website, especially with large charities with more than $1 million in annual donations. For large charities, are these financial statements audited? Contact the charity’s management team and directors to share your thoughts.
• Hold your support until your charity is financially transparent is what Charity Intelligence recommends.
• Report suspicions of charity fraud, please https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/programs/about-canada-revenue-agency-cra/suspected-tax-cheating-in-canada-overview.html contact the Charities Directorate.

 
Learn more:
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/component/content/article/613-one-of-canada-s-largest-charities-revoked-a-case-study-for-donors-to-avoid-bad-charities?catid=42&Itemid=101 Beth Oloth’s charity status revoked – one of Canada’s largest charities is a case study showing donors early warning signals February 2019
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/515-kupas-hachesed-meoroth Kupas Hachesed Meoroth revoked July 2022
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/component/content/article/614-what-about-gates-of-mercy?catid=42&Itemid=101 Gates of Mercy – Charities Directorate finds curious connections with revoked charity Beth Oloth, April 2019
https://www.charityintelligence.ca/research-and-news/ci-views/33-donor-giving/332-transparency-matters-in-canada-s-charity-sector Why charity transparency matters, March 2019
 
Sources: 
#_ednref1″ name=”_edn1 [i] Stewart Bell, “ https://globalnews.ca/news/4893430/canada-charity-jewish-group-foreig-armed-forces/ Government revokes charity status of Canadian Jewish group that supported ‘foreign armed forces’, Global News, January 28, 2019
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2019/2019-01-12/html/commis-eng.html Revocation of Beth Oloth Charitable Organization, Canadian Gazette, January 12, 2019
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Transparency matters
Transparency builds trust, and trust is the foundation of giving. Charity Intelligence measures transparency objectively by whether a charity posts its audited financial statements on its website. Yes, transparency should be more than posting a pdf. Yet, this simple step alone can show donors not only how money is spent, but also so much about a charity’s culture towards openness and respect for its donors. The Toronto Star went further, stating that financial transparency is a charity’s ethical obligation:
“Charities reaping billions of dollars each year from well-meaning Canadians aren’t legally bound to make public their full audited financial statements. But, surely, they have an ethical obligation to do so. Transparency should be paramount when capitalizing on other people’s generosity.”
text-align: right; https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2011/11/16/charitable_sector_needs_transparency.html Toronto Star Editorial, November 11, 2011
 With Beth Oloth out, World Wildlife Fund joins Charity Intelligence’s Major 100 Index.
To recap, Charity Intelligence’s Major 100 index is a list of Canada’s largest 100 charities measured by donations and support from fundraising and special events. The Major 100 Index represents the elite 0.1% of Canada’s 86,000+ registered charities. Together, Canada’s Major 100 charities received $6.2 billion in donations in their most recent reported year. This is approximately 38% of total Canadian giving (assuming total Canadian annual giving is $16 billion).
Financial transparency of Charity Intelligence’s Major 100 Index currently stands at 91%: 89 charities met “best practices” and are financially transparent with many years’ financial statements posted on the charity’s website, and two charities post only the most recent year’s financial statements.
In contrast, six charities require donors to request the financial statements. Three charities have outright refused Charity Intelligence’s requests to receive financial statements.
“Charities should include a minimum of three years of annual reports and audited financial statements online”
text-align: right; Saltiro and Legresley, https://smith.queensu.ca/_templates/documents/governance/reports/best_practices_charity_reporting_2013.pdf Best Practices in Charity Annual Reporting, Queen’s University, 2013