City Council approved the 2020 adjustments to the City Budget on Friday, November 29. The decision was made to approve the municipal tax rate increase scenario of 1.5%. Although this is lower than the pre-approved 3.03% tax scenario, the 1.5% increase helped the city maintain a number of services that may have otherwise been cut. This CCVO Blog post looks at the highlights of the 2020 adjustments to the budget.
Read MoreThe Not-for-Profit team at Catalyst is passionate about ensuring the organizations they work with are set up for success, so they can spend their time really focusing on the impact they set out to create in the world. In this guest blog, Paige Shaw from the Catalyst Group discusses Board governance and how to ensure that your Board is comprised of passionate and capable individuals who believe in your mission and want to see your organization grow and succeed.
Read MoreOn October 21st, 2019, Canadians will head to the polls and vote in the country’s 43rd federal election. All parties have released their platforms and have had their say on the public stage during the federal leaders debates. After examination of the platforms of four of the major political parties (Liberal Party of Canada, the Conservative Party of Canada, the New Democratic Party of Canada, and the Green Party of Canada), very little is mentioned about the nonprofit sector as a whole. This blog post provides a brief summary of the party platforms in relation to the nonprofit sector as well as further resources to help nonprofits make informed decisions in this upcoming election.
Read MoreIt’s back! CCVO has launched #nonprofitsvote for the federal election coming up on October 21. We received positive feedback on the inaugural #nonprofitsvote campaign from the recent Alberta provincial election, and you all had so much fun participating, that we’ve decided to do it all again for the federal election!
Read MoreWith the federal election set for October 21, and the campaign period officially underway, nonprofits have an important role to play in voter engagement. As trusted sources of information, nonprofits hold unique positions in communities, and can help inform and empower the people that they serve to exercise their right to vote. This blog post serves as a guide on tips to increase voter engagement.
Read MoreLast month, Premier Jason Kenney announced that the government will launch a public inquiry into the foreign funding sources of environmental groups who are critical of Alberta’s energy sector policies. Before that, Premier Kenney promised to establish an ‘Energy War Room’ to respond to campaigns directed at Alberta's oil and gas sector. Here is what we know and how we think it might impact the nonprofit sector, particularly organizations that hold charitable status designation through the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
Read MoreThe Alberta government provided a fiscal update yesterday, the first one from this government since assuming office a little more than four months ago. The update was given by Finance Minister, Travis Toews. Nonprofits, as many others, were likely looking to the update to provide some clarity and certainty after the many funding challenges that we’ve been hearing from nonprofits in the last few months, some of which have been reported in media.
Read MoreIn order to become a registered charity, you must apply for such status with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), which can be a time consuming process. This may be an important step to securing funding as only registered charities can issue receipts that make the donations eligible for a tax credit on an individual donor’s personal income tax return. This blog post serves as a nonprofit guide to navigating the CRA, covering tax reporting, rules to follow, and audits.
Read MoreIf your nonprofit has been following the news or social media, you’ve likely seen some rumours of looming provincial cuts starting to swirl. The new provincial government is expected to release a budget in late October and speculation as to what it will hold has already begun. We have heard in traditional media, on social media, and directly from some organizations, that they are experiencing a “funding freeze”, ranging across sectors and issues, and is likely related to the fact that there is only an interim supply budget currently in place. This blog post provides an update on provincial spending in the midst of the UCP’s transition period and prior to their budget being finalized in October.
Read MoreOn Monday July 22, Calgary City Council will meet to review Administration’s proposal on cutting $60 million in the City’s operational spending. The City has been asked to make these cuts to make way for property tax relief for business owners in Calgary. In this blog post, CCVO responds to these budget cuts in the context of the nonprofit community, and discusses our recommendations to the City of Calgary.
Read MoreThe first sitting of the new government began on May 22 with a Speech from the Throne and just concluded on July 4 with 13 bills passed relating to 55 of the UCP platform commitments. The House will not sit again until October when a budget is expected to be tabled. To give nonprofits an easy reference to all the legislation, this blog post provides a brief summary of each bill.
Read MorePart of the purpose of CCVO’s annual Alberta Nonprofit Survey (ANS) is to understand the adaptive capacity of the nonprofit sector. This includes the capacity for nonprofits to be technology savvy to meet the challenges of a fast-paced information age. We need this local data to tell the story of nonprofits in Alberta. This story helps inform government policies and can help give the push to self-organize around issues that matter to the nonprofit sector. Read more about how this year’s Alberta Nonprofit Survey will contribute to building an accurate picture of the sector.
Read MoreOn June 12, the Calgary City Council SPC on Community and Protective Services met to discuss funding and support for a Mental Health and Addiction Strategic Framework, approval of a Gender Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, and review of the Multilingual Communications and Engagement Policy Report. This blog post discusses the outcomes of these discussions and what Calgarians can expect moving forward.
Read MoreBill 2: An Act to Make Alberta Open for Business is set to implement critical and strategic changes affecting the Alberta labour force. The bill covers a range of subsections including the Alberta Employment Standards Code, the Labour Relations Code and changes in the minimum wage. This blog post will break down Bill 2 and help you understand how your nonprofit will be affected by the new legislation, if it is passed in its current form.
Read MoreLast Wednesday, the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, Lois Mitchell, delivered the speech from the throne, marking the start of a new legislative session in Alberta and an outline of the government’s priority areas. This blog highlights key pieces of legislation and areas where Government has committed to act during this spring session, and beyond.
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