Non-Profit and Charities
Blumberg Segal LLP provides legal services and advice to Canadian non-profits and charities.
Blumbergs provides legal services and advice to non-profits and charities that are operating in Canada including on the following:
- Incorporation and Obtaining Registered Charitable Status
- Maintaining Charitable Status and Dealing with CRA requirements
- Assisting Clients with CRA audits
- Facilitating Foreign Charitable Activities
- Staffing issues involving employees and independent contractors
- Major Agreements with Donors and Funders
- Legal and Ethical issues with Fundraising, Fundraising Contracts, Major Gifts and Planned Giving
- Crises, Governance and By-laws
- Partnerships, Affiliations and Mergers
- Intellectual Property – Copyright, Trade Marks and their protection
- Risk Management and Informal Legal Audits
- Educational programs for boards, staff and volunteers on legal and ethical issues
We have helped non-profits and charities with issues relating to appropriate objects, trust agreements, creating and changing by-laws, disbursement quotas, planned giving and fundraising, managing volunteers, bequest and legacy provisions, amalgamations and reorganizations and mergers, setting up donor advised funds, board governance issues, and operational issues. We can assist with arranging and operating members and directors meetings. We are sometimes retained to conduct legal audits or review of client's operations.
We also advise non-profits and charities with respect to everyday business issues such as employment agreements, leases, protection of intellectual property rights such as trade marks and copyright, insurance, risk management and avoidance of litigation. We help charities understand complexities in fundraising and planned giving.
For the most up to date information from Blumbergs see our two related websites www.canadiancharitylaw.ca and globalphilanthropy.ca
The charitable sector has become highly competitive. Donors, regulators, the media, and others have increasingly high standards for charities and their operations. We increasingly assist charities of all sizes with informal legal audits to identify for the charity and their board of directors potential legal and governance concerns. We understand that legal issues are only one of many matters that a charity, its executive director and board has to deal with. We then work with the charity to prioritize action items and deal with the concerns in a way that provides the least disruption to the operation of a charity and its mission. In this way a non-profit or charity can proactively resolve issues so that donor, regulator, and media attention will remain focused on the good work of the charity and not distracted by issues that should have been resolved.
Below are some articles that may be of interest. As well you can join our Blumbergs e-mail Charity list at Blumbergs Newsletter Sign Up Page. We send out a newsletter about charity law, ethics and regulations about once a month.
Non-Profit and Charity law in Canada is both a growing area of law and also an increasingly complicated area. Our team of lawyers in Toronto is pleased to assist non-profits and charities with various legal issues whether relating to Canadian charities operating inside or outside Canada or foreign charities operating inside Canada.
If you require legal advice with respect to non-profits or charities please contact Mark Blumberg at mark@blumbergs.ca or at 416-361-1982 x. 237
Articles on Establishing, Organizing, Registering and Operating Canadian Charities
1) Should we set up a Canadian Charity?
This introductory article covers some of the issues involved in deciding whether to set up a non-profit or charity.
2) Top Ten Canadian charity law issues -HTML [PDF Version]
So much is written about legal issues relating to charities in Canada. I thought I would try and note the ten most important things you need to know about charity law in Canada.
3) Blumbergs Canadian Charity Legal Checklist.
This brief checklist reminds those involved with charities in Canada of some legal issues that they should consider.
4) Non Profit and Charity Legal Audit: Forget about it [PDF Version]
The charitable sector has become highly competitive. Donors, regulators, the media, and others have increasingly high standards for charities and their operations. In this brief article I will discuss the value of an informal legal audit or legal review for non-profits and charities and how lawyers can effectively and efficiently provide real tangible value to Canadian charities and non-profits.
5) Requirements for Canadian Federal Non-profit Corporations that do not have charitable status
This article discusses annual legal requirements for Federal non-share capital corporations that do not have registered charity status with CRA.
6) Ontario Audit Exemption Increased to Non-Profit Corporations with up to $100,000 in annual income
This article reviews the on the raising of the annual income limit allowed for audit exemption from $10,000.00 to $100,000.00 for Ontario non-profit corporations whose members all agree in writing. This change will dramatically increase the number of Ontario non-profits eligible for audit exemption and save substantial accounting fees for some smaller non-profits.
7) Submission on MGS Modernization of the Legal Framework Governing Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations
[PDF Version]
The Ontario Ministry of Government Services is conducting a consultation on how to improve or replace the Ontario Corporations Act. Here is my submission to that consultation. I focus on my concerns that restrictions on ostensibly "for-profit" or "commercial activities" could shut down a large number of charities or could significantly affect the operation of Ontario non-profits. After all, almost any activity can be conducted as a commercial activity by a for-profit corporation. I also express concerns about the unnecessary overlap between the Ontario Public Guardian and Trustee and the Charities Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency.
8) Top Ten Canada Revenue Agency Charity Compliance Issues by Terry de March, former Director General of the CRA, Charities Directorate.
This excellent slide presentation by Terry de March covers the most important compliance problems that CRA registered charities face. Many charities could avoid problems by reading this article and ensuring compliance with the issues raised.
9) Is Kevin Donovan, Toronto Star reporter, a hero or villain?
Kevin Donovan is a reporter for the Toronto Star. He has written a number of stories over the last year about the charitable sector for the Toronto Star. As we are in the busiest time of year for most charities, this article discusses whether his writings are good or bad for the sector.
10) Good Governance for Canadian Non-profits and Charities
In a few pages I try to deal with the often confusing issue of "Good Governance" and try to in a practical way encourage charities to consider some simple steps to improve governance.
11) Does a Canadian charity need a Charity lawyer?
With so much legal information available some may think that a Canadian charity does not need a charity lawyer or a lawyer who is knowledgeable about non-profit and charity law. In this article I discuss some of the reasons that a charity should have a charity lawyer and also how to cost-effectively obtain appropriate legal services.
12) Imagine Canada's new Ethics Code: Imagining a more ethical sector
Imagine has revised its Code of Ethics and in this article I review the changes and provide a critique of the strengths and weaknesses of the Imagine Canada's Code of Ethics.
13)Highlights of the New Proposed Canadian Not-For-Profit Corporations Act (NFPC)
Industry Canada on June 13, 2008 has introduced Bill C-62 - a new Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act (NFPC) to replace the Canada Corporations Act (CCA). This bill will be of particular interest to Canadian charities that are incorporated federally under the Canada Corporations Act. In this article I discuss 12 highlights including one significant concern for Canadian charities that operate abroad.
14)CRA Fundraising Consultation - One giant leap forward in guidance for Canadian registered charities
In April 2008, CRA released a Consultation on proposed policy regarding fundraising by Registered Charities (RC4456-e) (“Fundraising Consultation”). This document is a relatively short six page overview, and CRA has recently provided charities with a more detailed document entitled “Background information for proposed policy on fundraising by Registered Charities” which is 29 pages (“Background Document”). The background document provides greater detail, further definitions of terminology and CRA’s positions on various points. In this article I will discuss the content of the Fundraising Consultation and Background Document, discuss and analyze the criticisms from others of these documents, and provide my own comments.
Articles on Canadian Charities Operating Outside of Canada and Foreign Charities Operating inside Canada
Blumbergs has recently launched www.globalphilanthropy.ca a website aimed as assisting Canadian individuals, non-profits and charities that are conducting, or interested in conducting, foreign activities including international development, humanitarian assistance, and education. The website will focus on Canadian legal, ethical and practical issues in global philanthropy.
As well GlobalPhilanthropy.ca will also provide insights to foreign charities interested in fundraising in Canada, especially those involved with international development and humanitarian assistance activities outside of Canada. We welcome any comments or suggestions.
1) Canadian Charities and Foreign Activities
This 28 page article will attempt to assist Canadian charities who are conducting or interested in conducting programs outside of Canada with some of the legal issues that they may face. It will discuss the statutory and regulatory framework for Canadian charities operating abroad, describe the permissible structured relationship and agreements; review a number of cases dealing with Canadian charities operating abroad and highlight some challenges facing Canadian charities that have foreign activities.
2) Foreign Charities Operating in and From Canada
A discussion of various options for U.S. and European charities interested in operating in Canada
3) Canadian Charities Operating Abroad -Canada Revenue Agency Information Letters
The Canada Revenue Agency publishes information letters which provide the CRA views on different legal issues. Here are a few of the information letters that discuss Canadian charities operations outside of Canada and they are useful in that they provide concrete examples and also they add to RC4106 dealing with Canadian charities that operate abroad.
4) Canadian Federal Court of Appeal Cases dealing with Canadian Registered Charities operating outside of Canada
These Federal Court of Appeal Cases all deal with Canadian charities operating internationally and they are placed together in one document for convenience.
5) Global Philanthropy - Legal Requirements for Canadian Organizations and Charities Operating Abroad a presentation by Mark Blumberg to McLean Budden November 1, 2006
6) Canadian Charities Operating Abroad and Public Trust
Discussion of ways that Canadian charities operating outside of Canada can enhance public trust
7) Planned Giving Internationally
This article discusses a Canadian legal perspective on Planned Giving Internationally. It was written by Mark Blumberg and recently appeared in "Your Guide to Charitable Giving and Estate Planning", a supplement that appeared in the Globe and Mail on Friday May 11, 2007
8) The Top Canadian Charities Operating Abroad 2004
This article lists the 204 Canadian charities that spent over 1 million Canadian dollars abroad.
9) Top Canadian Charities Operating Outside of Canada (2005) - Another dramatic increase
In year 2005, 80,304 charities filed their T3010A Registered Charity Information Return of the 82,773 registered charities. Of those charities, 12,320 identified themselves as carrying on programs, directly or indirectly, outside of Canada for the fiscal 2005 year (compared to 11,969 in 2004). This reflects approximately 15.34% of the 80,304 Canadian registered charities that filed their T3010A in 2005.(15.17% in 2004). In 2002, the total amount spent by all charities outside of Canada was $1.4 billion dollars. In 2004 it had risen to $1.8 billion dollars which was a significant rise. In 2005 it was $2.1 billion which is a substantial increase over 2004. ($2,128,863,092.00.) For those interested I have attached a list of the Canadian Registered Charities that according to their 2005 T3010 Registered Charity Information Return spent at least $1 million Canadian dollars outside of Canada. There are 232 Canadian charities on the list. This compares to 204 'millionaires' in 2004.
10) Canadian International Charities by Country of Operation
This brief article looks at how many Canadian Charities operate in each foreign country. The Top Five countries of operation are the United State (964), Mexico (423), India (356), Haiti(285) and the Philippines (191). It is no surprise that the US with United States (964) is number 1 although some of the other rankings are interesting.
11) List of Foreign Countries and the Canadian Charities that operate in those countries
In this articles and three schedules I provide a list of Foreign Countries and the Canadian Charities that operate in those countries from the 2004 T3010 data.
12) Abusive 'Charitable' Tax Schemes
This article discusses certain 'charitable' gifting schemes which threaten to undermine confidence in the charitable sector from the public and regulators.
13) Canadian Charities Operating Abroad - a presentation (June 4, 2007
Here is a copy of my presentation on Canadian Charities Operating Abroad delivered on June 4, 2007.
14) Canada Revenue Agency Documents and Cases involving Canadian Registered Charities Operating Abroad and International Development
Here is a list of essential CRA documents relevant to Canadian Charities Operating Abroad and Canadian charities conducting International Development Activities.
15) U.S. and foreign Universities fundraising in Canada [PDF Version]
There are many options for foreign universities who are interested in fundraising in Canada and I have discussed 6 different options. It is time to think of your alma mater or your parent's alma mater and how Canadians can support these universities.
16) RC4106 Legal Audits - Trying to bring Canadian charities that operate abroad into compliance
The Globe & Mail article I referred to above on Canadian disaster relief charities not complying with the rules provides one of many illustrations of the importance of Canadian charities understanding and complying with CRA guidelines on Canadian charities operating outside of Canada. If you make it through this giving season with your fingers crossed and without any scrutiny then consider in the new year having a informal legal audit of your foreign activities. It is the best gift you can give to your charitable loved one!
17) Global Philanthropy is growing, but it is still beaten by remittances and investment
In this article I discuss the importance of remittances by Canadian residents to foreign countries. Canada is the third largest country in terms of remittances at $6.3 billion, after the US at $61B and the UK at $6.6B. The impact of these flows of funds can be substantial and the charitable sector should consider encouraging those who remit to donate to charities instead so that the funds can have a broad public purpose and be efficiently spent on long term goals such as education.
18) Globe and Mail Article "Disaster-relief charities breaking the rules, probe finds"
The Globe & Mail on November 19, 2007 wrote about Canada Revenue Agency audits of Canadian charities involved in disaster relief including the tsunami. The large number of charities that were non-compliant amongst the CRA sample is indicative of the scope of the problem and will not improve the public's confidence in the international development and humanitarian assistance sector.
19) Terrorism and Canadian charities and Non Profit organizations
In this article I provide practical steps for Canadian charities and non-profits to avoid involvement with terrorism and money laundering.
20) Good intentions not enough with global philanthropy
Well meaning philanthropists find that international charitable activities can be more daunting than running a major multi-national. Best to learn from others mistakes.
21)Review of Making a Difference in Africa - Advice from Experienced Grantmakers
In this review of the book Making a Difference in Africa - Advice from Experienced Grantmakers I highlight some really good advice with respect to charities wanting to support projects in Africa.
22)Ethics and Canadian Charities that operate outside of Canada -some good links
23)Canadian Charities and Foreign Activities - by Mark Blumberg in The Philanthropist July 2008
This 28 page article recently published in The Philanthropist will attempt to assist Canadian charities that are conducting or are interested in conducting programs outside of Canada with some of the legal issues that they may face. It will discuss the statutory and regulatory framework for Canadian charities operating abroad, describe the permissible structured relationships and agreements, review a number of cases dealing with Canadian charities operating abroad, and highlight some of the challenges facing Canadian charities that have foreign activities.
24)Legal Issues for Canadian Charities Conducting Foreign Activities and International Development
Here is a copy of a presentation I delivered to a number of Canadian charities in Ottawa entitled “Legal Issues for Canadian Charities Conducting Foreign Activities and International Development”.
25)Canadian Private and Public Foundations and International Activities
Here is my article on Canadian Private and Public Foundations and International Activities. In this article I suggest 4 ways that Canadian Private and Public Foundations can carry on foreign charitable activities outside of Canada or assist with humanitarian relief or international development.
Articles on Planned Giving and Fundraising by Charities
1) What is Planned Giving? (Updated October 17, 2007, originally prepared for the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, Toronto Resource Fair. January 25, 2007)
2)Leaving a Bequest to a Charity - Avoiding common legal problems for the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, Toronto Resource Fair. January 25, 2007
3) Planned Giving and Professional Advisors for the Canadian Association of Gift Planners, Toronto Resource Fair, January 25, 2007.
4) Leaving a Bequest to a Charity - How a little legal advice can go a long way.
5) Planned Giving in Ontario
6) Charities, Professional Advisors and Planned Giving Committees
7) Leaving a Bequest to a Charity - How a little legal advice can go a long way.
8) Starting a Basic Planned Giving Program for a Canadian Charity: A Lawyer's Perspective [PDF Version]
9) Bequests in Canada: Avoiding Legal and Ethical Problems in PDF
Here is a copy of my presentation to the Canadian Association of Gift Planners Toronto Roundtable on February 21, 2008 on Bequests in Canada -Avoiding Legal and Ethical Problems
10) Bequests in Canada: Creating a Planned Giving Program
Here is a copy of a presentation I recently delivered on promoting bequests by Canadians to charities. As Canadian charities seek to diversify or increase revenue, bequests become an even more important potential source. It covers some of the advantages and disadvantages with using bequests, whether an organizations should create a bequest program, 16 steps to setting up a planned giving program that emphasizes bequests, as well as legal ethical and practical issues to keep in mind.
11) 2008 Handouts by Blumbergs at CAGP Toronto Resource Fair:
Leaving a Bequest to Charity - Avoiding Common Legal Problems
Planned Giving and Professional Advisors
Starting a Basic Planned Giving Program for a Canadian charity
What is Planned Giving - an article that sets out the different planned giving vehicles
12) Are Canadian flow-through share donation schemes "Kleptophilanthropy"?
Here is a copy of a recent opinion piece dealing with concerns about packaged flow-through share donation tax shelters and also the problem of "donors"/investors who want to make money off charitable donations.
13)Planned Giving in a Global World - CAGP Annual Conference April 2008
Planned Giving in a Global World is my presentation at the CAGP national convention about Planned Giving by Canadian charities for projects outside of Canada. The description of the presentation was “In this session, we will discuss basic information that a planned giving officer needs to know to allow for planned gifts in support of charitable activities outside of Canada. Topics will include the legal requirements and restrictions for Canadian charities operating abroad; examples of charities losing their status for non-compliance with CRA requirements; different organizational models for charities operating abroad; common mistakes and concerns with charities operating outside of Canada; and an overview of recent developments and flexibility in charities operating abroad.”
Ten most frequently required legal services for non-profits and charities in Canada[PDF VERSION]
1) Incorporation
It is important that non-profits and charities incorporate. It provides limited liability for the members and directors and a structured framework for corporate governance and holding property. We assist non-profits and charities with the incorporation and organizations of the corporation.
2) Obtaining Charitable Status
While some non-profits are not charities and do not have charitable status almost half of the non-profits have charitable status. For many charities having registered charity status it is vital to their survival as they receive a majority of their funding from donations from individuals or from others who, for funding purposes, require that they be registered charities. We help clients with the application to obtain charitable status.
3) Maintaining Charitable Status
A Registered Charity Information Return (T3010) is due 6 months after a charity's year-end. Failure to file the T3010 within a few months of that date will result in the charity's registration being revoked and consequently the loss of its receipting privileges. This happens to thousands of charities every year. There is more to maintaining registered charity status than just filing the T3010. It is also necessary to make sure that the T3010 filing is complete and accurate! Too many charities mischaracterize amounts on the T3010 (usually innocently), file incorrect numbers or information on their T3010, fail to complete certain questions on the form or do not check when the Canada Revenue Agency (the 'CRA') inadvertently has incorrectly entered the information in its system. The T3010 is not only an important regulatory document but also one of the only places where donors can get comparable information on charities in Canada and it should also be viewed as an important marketing document. Yes that means that it is a very idea to fill in the part of the return about ongoing programs and new programs.
Some of the other legal issues that a charity faces include political advocacy, carrying on a related or unrelated business, meeting its disbursement quota, proper issuance of receipts, making sure that its activities are charitable in scope and within the objects of the charity, its relationship with organizations that are not registered Canadian charities, failure to make sure that fundraising costs are reasonable and proportionate, involvement with tax shelters or fraudulent activities, or inappropriate relationships between the charity and its directors or staff.
Although we assist charities before, during and after audits, most of the work in maintaining charitable status is done by organizations preemptively tackling issues who are not being audited. It is also less stressful and cost effective to deal with the issues before you are being investigated by the media or CRA.
4) Employee or Independent Contractor distinction and Employment/Contractor Agreements
The people who work for charities are one of its most important resources. Often little thought is given to the legal relationship between the charity and its employees or contractors. Although you do not need to be a lawyer to understand the difference between having an employee or independent contractor, the legal distinction is often misunderstood by new charities and established charities alike. Some of the consequences of mischaracterization of an employee as an independent contractor include CRA pursuing the charity or its directors for remittances that were not deducted, CPP and EI, plus interest and penalties. Furthermore, charities should have proper written agreements or a proper independent contractor agreement. Not having a written employment or independent contractor agreement can make termination and severance much more costly for a charity and may result in litigation or threats of litigation. Failure to execute a proper written agreement with an independent contractor often results in a charity paying for, but not owning, the intellectual property created by the independent contractor. We assist charities with template agreements and dealing with issues involving staff and contractors.
5) Major Agreements/Leases/CIDA Contribution Agreements or Donor Agreements
Charities are often dealing with contracts and entering into binding obligations. Some are relatively routine and involve little risk and charities have systems in place to deal with them and charities are comfortable taking the risk involved in those contracts. Other contracts are infrequent and involve large amounts of money and charities should obtain legal advice. For example a lease is typically a long term relationship for the use of an office or space. It can be one of the most important legal documents that a charity enters into. Charities often make expensive mistakes with leases such as in the case of termination, renewal, relocation clauses, end of term provisions, etc. and the charity often only realizes the problem years later. As well a charity paying for substantial leasehold improvements without certain necessary protections could be viewed by the Charities Directorate of the CRA as providing an undue private benefit and this could affect the charity's status. Some charities outsource their fundraising to a third party and it is very important that the charity fully understand the agreement with the third party. A number of charities have lost there charitable status or have suffered substantial public embarrassment by entering into fundraising agreements that provide too much private benefit to the third party fundraisers. Agreements with funders or donors can have important implications for a charity such as major gift agreement or a CIDA contribution agreement. We assist charities in reviewing, modifying, and if requested negotiating various types of contracts.
6) Planned Giving and Fundraising Issues and Fundraising Contracts
Many planned gifts such as bequests, gifts of marketable securities, gifts of land, gifts of residual interest and gifts of life insurance may require legal advice or assistance.
7) Crises, Corporate Governance and By-laws
There has been increasing interest in corporate governance of charities and how charities are run and the degree to which they are transparent and accountable to their donors and stakeholders. We are sometimes called in to help a non-profit or charity that is suffering from the effects of poor governance. Examples include an executive director who receives a full time salary while refusing to be accountable to the board of the organization paying the salary, or an executive director of a charity controlling the charity by having a large number of proxies for every board meeting! Then there is the case of self-dealing by the chairperson of a charity, whether he or she is well-intentioned or not. In some cases the charity requires legal advice but often the charity just requires someone to assist in implementing a plan to clean up the charity - sometimes by terminating a chair or ED that has acted inappropriately and other times to put in place proper controls in the governing documents or by-laws. We provide assistance with the legal and practical issues and also an external and more objective assessment of the situation. In some cases lawyers are called in because the charity is made up of friends or business associates and it is far easier for the lawyer to tackle the issues compared to any individual officer, employee or board member. Often there is also a realization that dealing with certain issues in a poorly governed charity without legal advice may take many months which will distract the charity from its charitable work and be extremely costly in terms of wasted time and resources. Although we are frequently called on to assist with crises, most work in corporate governance is not nearly as exciting and usually involves helping draft policies, tweaking by-laws and making suggestions for incremental improvements in the charity's governance.
8) Partnerships, Affiliation and Mergers
For many reasons charities may enter into relationships with other charities or non-profits including partnership agreements, joint venture agreements, contractor agreements, etc. It is important to document these relationships and to ensure that they have all the necessary legal elements whether from a contractual or Charities Directorate perspective.
Sometimes such relationships may ultimately lead to one charity taking over a program of another or the 'merger' of one charity with another. Canadian charities operating outside of anada have to comply with additional rules of the Charities Directorate in carrying out their programs abroad or in transferring funds abroad and failure to do so can result in revocation of status and other consequences.
9) Intellectual Property
Trade marks and copyright are the most important IP that most charities have. At our firm we have trade mark agents that can assist with applications for TM as well as enforcing trade mark rights. Ownership of copyright can be protected through carefully crafted agreements.
10) Informal Legal Audits and Risk Management
Informal legal audits provide charities with an opportunity to assess whether their operations are compliant with the current legal requirements, to minimize risk and to incrementally improve their operations before a donor, the media or the Charities Directorate expresses concern. We work with charities to conduct legal audits that ultimately result in a plan for a charity to improve its operations.
Representative Clients and Transactions in the Non-Profit and Charity Area
Here are some representative clients and non profits and charities that we have assisted over the years:
* Acted for numerous US 501(c)(3) charities wanting to set up an affiliate in Canada to fundraise and do similar work;
* Helped a large European international development charity set up an affiliate in Canada and the relationship between the two entities;
* Created an Ontario non-profit organization under a special statute of the Ontario legislature which allows the non-profit to regulate a particular industry;
* Assisted a national trade organization with numerous changes to its by-laws and membership classes and procedures for enforcing a code of ethics;
* Assisting a non-profit child care centre with governance issues and assisting a play group with incorporation to deal with liability concerns;
* Conducted an informal legal audit of various types of charities;
* Incorporated and advised foreign political parties with fundraising in Canada;
* Assisted a non-profit housing corporation with handling an audit;
* Setting up a residential care non-profit corporation;
* Assisted various national associations with a certification programs;
* Assisted a university department with incorporating a non-profit corporation to promote sustainable development in the developing world;
* Assisted an African university with creating a Canadian "Friends of" Organization;
* Set up a Canadian "Friends of" charity helping a foreign training centre for guide dogs for the blind;
* Providing legal advice to a Canadian charity conducting water projects in developing countries;
* Assisting an American charity set up a Canadian Friends organization
* Preparing and revising a large number of CRA structured arrangements including agency, joint venture, cooperative partnership, contract agreements;
* Setting up a charity that provides relief to people with disabilities in the former Soviet Republics;
* Helping a large Canadian international relief charity that operates abroad with operational and planned giving issues;
* Helping a small religious group with a project to build a school in India;
* Assisting a large local hospital with planned giving issues;
* Provided legal audits to organizations of different sizes that wish to assess legal compliance and proactively resolve issues prior to them becoming a problem;
* Setting up private foundations and advising on grantmaking especially those that apply to work internationally;
* Assisting foreign entities that have contractual relationships, such as an agency agreement or joint venture agreement, with Canadian charities understand their obligations under the agreement and to negotiate agreements that are fair the to the foreign entity and compliant with CRA requirements;
* Helped a number of umbrella and technical services organizations with their work in Canada and abroad;
* Helped Canada's largest legal stationer with preparing non-profit by-laws and forms;
* Assisted small and large law firms with legal advice and services when their pro-bono projects have become far more difficult, complicated or time consuming than they had anticipated and they do not have the internal knowledge on non-profits and charities to effectively deliver the pro-bono project they had committed to;
* Assisted banks and financial service providers with philanthropic services.