Fundraising Opportunity

Guidelines

• Who can apply?

  Any PTOA or club associated with OC.

  PTOAs will not be part of the communication chain or approval process for club projects.

• What projects can be applied for?

  Projects must be a clear fit with OC’s goals of increasing participation in our sport and have a low risk of breaking CRA donation and tax receipt issuing rules.
  
  Project proposals are currently limited to mapping projects or capital projects such as purchasing SI timing equipment. Please email us if you have questions or have a different type of project in mind.

• What projects would not be approved at this time?

  At this time, no projects will be approved for operational or training events such as workshops, AGM’s, or camps.

• How much can be applied for?

  The project budget must be at least $1,000, with no upper limit.

  The project does not have to be fully funded by donations.  The PTOA or club must provide any additional funding needed to complete the project.

• What should be in a project proposal?
  • Description of the project, including a timeline.
  • Budget.
  • Names of suppliers, if known (e.g. who will be doing the mapping).
  • Any other information that will help Orienteering Canada decide if the project should be approved.
• How should the project be submitted?

  Send complete proposals to Orienteering Canada at finance@orienteering.ca.

• Who finds the donors?

  The PTOA or club is responsible for soliciting donations for their projects.

  The CRA requires that “the percentage returned to the local club must not form part of any solicitation for funds by the local club, or any agreement with a prospective donor”.

• What is meant by “the percentage returned to the local club”?

  The CRA requires that “a significant amount” of all donations are used by the RCAAA (OC) for whatever purposes the RCAAA deems important. As “a significant amount” is not clearly defined by the CRA, OC will be aligning with other national sports associations in retaining 10% of all donations made.

  If there are any processing fees related to the donation (for example Canada Helps keeps 4% of donations), these will be covered by OC from the 10% that an RCAAA must use for other purposes.

• How are donations made?

  OC must receive all donations – they may be directly made to OC or the PTOA or club may collect donations and pass them on to OC. 

  OC can create a specific fundraising campaign page for the project on the Canada Helps website to help facilitate donations at the club or PTOA’s request (see an example from Nordiq Canada)

  For a tax receipt to be issued the CRA requires that:

  • there is clear documentation of who the true donor is for each donation.
  • the donation must be unconditional (OC will decide how the donation is used).
  • the donor may only suggest how the donation is used (which project).
  • the full name and postal address of the donor is provided.

  To achieve this, it is strongly recommended that each donor complete an the Orienteering Canada donation form and provide it with their donation. 

  Funds may be sent to OC via e-transfer or cheque.  Donation forms may be sent by email or postal mail.
  Email or e-transfer to:  finance@orienteering.ca
  Postal mail: Orienteering Canada c/o 18667 Poitiers, Pierrefonds, QC, H9K 1P8

• Are donations in kind accepted?

  
  Donations in kind are not accepted by OC.
  
  However, it is possible to donate securities or mutual funds in kind to organizations like Canada Helps. They sell the items and the resulting funds may be directed to Orienteering Canada. See the Canada Helps website for details.

• May a PTOA or Club receive funding before the work is done?

  Yes. Turning in receipts is not required to receive funding. Turning in receipts will be required later as supporting documentation of how the funds were used.

  Funding will not be provided before donations are received.

• What reporting must be sent to OC?

  OC is responsible for handling any requests from the CRA. OC must receive supporting documentation on how the funds were used. Information on who the donors were, who did the work, and who may have benefitted is also required.

  OC may decide that additional documentation is required and the PTOA or club must provide it.

• What happens if the project is canceled or does not use all of the allocated funds?

  Any funds that have been allocated to a project must be used as outlined in the approved project or be returned to OC.

  The CRA requires that OC decides on how all funds are used. Ideally, any unused or excess funds will be allocated to another project by the same PTOA or club.  If the PTOA or club does not have another project then proposing a new one is recommended, even if it will not start until the following year.

• When must project proposals be turned in by?

  Project proposals may be turned in at any time, however, the response time from OC may be slower at certain times of the year, particularly at year end and in parts of the summer.

  We commit to evaluating and responding to all project proposals received in any given month within six weeks of the end of the month in which the project proposal was received.