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Thread: 11.D Getting CFC charitable status or equivalent back

  1. #1
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    Default 11.D Getting CFC charitable status or equivalent back

    This is for a discussion of getting CFC charitable status or its equivalent back.

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    It is important that this status is reinstated as it allows not only for more donations but also access to various organizations government’s funded programs.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Patricia Gamliel View Post
    It is important that this status is reinstated as it allows not only for more donations but also access to various organizations government’s funded programs.
    It is important to remember that we did not have our status revoked, for "bad" behaviour, but we were ruled not to fit the description of a charity. As a lawyer, Patricia, you might be in a unique position to review the case. You could begin with Les Bunning who worked on it at the time.

    I suspect we would have more luck trying to fit in as a recognized Sporting Association.

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    I believe there are many programs at the federal level that are also open to non-profits. A number of years ago the question of Olympic Committee recognition of the CFC came up again when they went through their NFP process. At the time, I was quite jubilant that we once again made the cut after quite a bit of back and forth with the COC and their committee deciding the matter. This opened a door to what is now called Sport Tourism Canada. Once this door was open the painful process of trying to get communities to run CYCC and Canadian Open and other tournaments disappeared. It takes some effort to cultivate relationships with communities that we meet at the Sport Tourism Canada expos. Efforts sometimes take years to bear fruit. They do bear fruit and we have a dance card that is filling up through 2024.

    My belief is that we should strive for the designation from the Federal government as a national sporting organization. We have that from the Olympic Committee and in a few instances where the government has stated requirements for one program or another they have pointed to that recognition as a requirement in order to get an exemption to hold certain events in Canada or travel to world events despite COVID restrictions. I have talked to people in Parliament and their staffs this year and over the years and they have been open to chess getting more recognition. The thing that is holding us back is that we need effective people to make these contacts and initiate the process. There is no point in getting charitable status if we do not make use of that status once we get it. My personal calculation is that we should be raising $50,000 per year in order to justify pursuing this because the costs will be $5,000 per year. If we collect $10,001 per year every once in a while through this (and typically anything you collect will often be spent on some program) it is not worth it to pursue it. The actual donations were much less than that typically. The leadership of the CFC at the time of the removal of charitable status made a calculation that the cost of pursuing charitable status exceeded all the donations that the CFC had collected up to then.

    We are limited to the bandwidth and the abilities of the people who are CFC volunteers and Bob Gillanders. The Sport Tourism Canada contacts are the low hanging fruit. The money flows not to the CFC except perhaps indirectly but it does flow to the chess organizers who thus make big tournaments happen. I am focused on making more of those contacts and seeing more tournaments organized with their help.

  5. #5

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    You are widely underestimating the changes to the CFC Act of Incorporation and bylaws that would be required to get any Federal funding. Compliance with the Official Language Act is a routine requirement. Compliance with the Canadian Anti-Dopîng rules, meaning drug tests for our players (mostly high level players). Mandatory Appeal Policy enabling the Board of Directors decisions to be challenged by binding arbitration to the Sport Dispute Resolution Centre of Canada; off course, the decision cannot be challenged on its merit, but on failure to abide by the Act of Incorporation, the bylaws or the policies of the CFC. We must have a high performance program, a program for players with disabilities and so on.

    The exact conditions are no longer public and are only sent to qualified applicants. When they were public, some conditions were discriminatory against chess.

    Furthermore, the Conservatives did declare war on Charity when they were in power. Only Charities ideologically compatible with the Conservatives should be allowed: no more ecological charities, save the planet or save the whales charities. This is something to remember before placing your X on Election Day. The Conservatives ordered Federal employees to shut down as many Charities as possible, without making any accusations. All the provincial sports Federation in Quebec had their charity number revoked and it is clear at the reading of this policy that Ottawa has no intention of giving back the Charitable status to provincial level organization https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...sociation.html. The main problem is the wording of the Law: "Canadian amateur athletic association". If they had used "sport association", then, chess is a sport, but it is certainly not athletic. There is a nice page for sport as a registered charity here https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...ion.html#toc19 .

    We apply here https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...d-charity.html .


    It is a complicated process in which a misplaced coma could ruin our application.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Fred McKim View Post
    It is important to remember that we did not have our status revoked, for "bad" behaviour, but we were ruled not to fit the description of a charity. As a lawyer, Patricia, you might be in a unique position to review the case. You could begin with Les Bunning who worked on it at the time.

    I suspect we would have more luck trying to fit in as a recognized Sporting Association.
    It looks as if it's unlikely that we can re-establish charitable status, as it won't be easy to make the CFC fit the definition of a charity.
    For Sporting Association, I think this depends on whether the definition of 'sporting' used involves athletic activity.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Fred McKim View Post
    It is important to remember that we did not have our status revoked, for "bad" behaviour, but we were ruled not to fit the description of a charity. As a lawyer, Patricia, you might be in a unique position to review the case. You could begin with Les Bunning who worked on it at the time.

    I suspect we would have more luck trying to fit in as a recognized Sporting Association.




    If you forward me the file, I’ll look into it. I am in the midst of preparing an application for an org. I believe the CFC might fit in a different «*box*» but I need to see the documents.

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    Why is chess a charity?

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    Chess is not a charity but a Chess association might be granted a Charity status based on criteria such as its exclusive promotion of amateur chess in Canada nation-wide, its overseeing of structure of local clubs, regional, provincial chess bodies, its delivery of training program that brings players to national and international levels through various qualifying competitions. Also, managing a national team to participate at international competitions, stage and sanction competitions and act as a Canadian representative of an international federation controlling chess.
    A charity status allow for better and wider fundraising activities.

  10. #10
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    I would also like to note that the "Chess Foundation of Canada" is not a separate entity from the CFC. It is merely the investment arm of the CFC and holds funds in trust to support the CFC.
    It lost its tax deductible status along with the CFC about ten years ago.
    Paul Leblanc
    Treasurer, Chess Foundation of Canada
    CFC Voting Member

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