As many philanthropists have found giving money away can be pleasurable or painful.  It is often more difficult to donate effectively than it is to earn the money in the first place.  Canadian individuals and foundations donate about $30 billion per year – how can one conduct effective due diligence on charities and how easy is it to find relevant information on charities in Canada?

This presentation will discuss: 

• All charities are not equal
• Bad ways to pick a charity
• Many important elements in understanding a good, effective, reliable and sustainable charity
• Red flags with charities and how they can avoid embarrassment and involvement with a scam or problematic charity
• Charity ratings and ratios – how you can be confidently wrong in picking charities
• Ideas and resources for due diligence
• How professional advisors can assist clients in making informed charitable decisions
• Information gleaned by donors and reporters from public filings and why public filings are not always accessible to the public

Presenter:

Mark Blumberg is a lawyer at the law firm Blumbergs Professional Corporation (Blumbergs) in Toronto and works almost exclusively advising non-profits and registered charities on their work in Canada and abroad. Mark has written numerous articles, is a frequent speaker on legal issues involving charity and not-for-profit law and is quoted extensively by the media.  He is the editor of a blog, www.CanadianCharityLaw.ca, and created the largest portal of data on the Canadian charity sector, www.CharityData.ca Mark also edits www.SmartGiving.ca, which provides information on due diligence when selecting charities.

Mark is particularly interested in the regulation of non-profits and charities in Canada, philanthropy, transparency requirements for the voluntary sector, providing accessible information on regulatory issues, and the use of data to make more informed decisions on the charity sector. 

Mark has a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Toronto, an LLB from the University of British Columbia and an LLM from Osgoode Hall Law School in Tax Law. 

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Registration $30

No charge for Estate Planning Council of Canada Members

Guests are welcome - this event is for Professional Advisors only.

Membership Information