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Letter from the Executive Director We've been busy at CanadaHelps this summer! We held our first charity consultation recently and were delighted to welcome representatives from Autism Ontario, Hospice Toronto, FoodShare, Stephen Lewis Foundation, ACTEW, and Eva's Initiatives. We're excited about expanding our advisory program and giving all our member charities a chance to participate in ongoing conversation about CanadaHelps — read more about this initiative below. I'm also really pleased to welcome Zenia Wadhwani to CanadaHelps, she will fulfill a key role for the organization going forward as we initiate and launch new programs. Finally, we are helping a UK-based organization, Keystone, gather information on online giving and how to give donors more information about what impact their gifts are having. There are separate surveys for organizations and individual donors — your input would be much appreciated! We've hit some record numbers recently and we have you to thank — did you know that CanadaHelps now processes a donation every four minutes? Almost $20 million has been processed by CanadaHelps for recipient charities in the last twelve months alone. And our services continue to expand as well — see below for a preview of our newest service, launching this fall. Look for our next newsletter in October with full details! Owen Charters 
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Zenia Wadhwani Joins CanadaHelps CanadaHelps is delighted to welcome our newest team member, Zenia, who joins us as Director, Program Development. Zenia will have the responsibility of initiating and developing new programs and products and providing solutions to donors and charities online donation needs. Zenia says: "It's incredibly exciting to be working for CanadaHelps.org as it not only gives me a chance to work for all of Canada's 82,000+ charities, but to continue to encourage the importance of philanthropy and community." "Zenia's wealth of experience adds a lot of capacity to the CanadaHelps team," added Owen, "and she'll be leading the charge on a lot of new offerings that we have in the pipeline to better serve both donors and charities. Welcome, Zenia!"
A Giving Pages Wedding Story - Laura Robertson and Steve Hornett Laura Robertson and Steve Hornett wanted to do something different on their special day and celebrate their happiness by giving back. Instead of registering for wedding presents, they created a personalized online gift registry using the CanadaHelps GivingPages. The Laura and Steve's Wedding Registry launched some nine months before their wedding — to celebrate and give extra meaning to their union by supporting 10 charities to which they had personal connections. "We loved the idea of creating a GivingPage as an alternative to asking for wedding gifts. We even provided a tear off section on our wedding invitation that provided our guests with the URL of our GivingPage." says Laura Robertson. Both active members of their Kitchener-Waterloo community, Laura and Steve have been "blessed with wonderful careers, and want for no material things". They decided that a perfect way for their friends and family to honour their marriage was by supporting causes which held meaning for them. Causes such as Muscular Dystrophy Canada, St. Mary's General Hospital Foundation Kitchener-Waterloo, and The Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra Association Inc. (of which Steve sits on the board) have been the fortunate beneficiaries of the $4,160 that has been raised to date. In addition, several hundred additional dollars were raised for other charities by those who chose to give on their own. "We believe that by sharing time, talents, and money, we are being mindful of the needs of others. Since this is the second (and last) marriage for each of us, we didn't feel that it was appropriate to seek the generosity of others for our own benefit this time around." say Laura and Steve. They started the GivingPage in August of 2006, their wedding took place in May 2007, and their GivingPage will remain active until September 30, 2007. See an overview of Giving Pages. GivingPages provide a way for people to raise money online for the charities they support through the CanadaHelps website. Laura and Steve created a tear-off donation slip on their wedding invitation to help their guests contribute to their GivingPage. GivingPages can be created for almost any event or milestone. There are templates available for wedding registries, birthdays, memorial pages, and sporting events. For Laura and Steve, the ability to offer a convenient, community-oriented way to celebrate their union was much more important than gravy boats and champagne flutes — and that's a trend CanadaHelps is here to support, whatever the occasion!
Charity Advisory Program Update What's the charity advisory program? CanadaHelps is a service not only for generous donors, but also Canada's 82,000+ charities. We are the only online donation portal through which donors can give to any of Canada's charities, and how charities work with and support our service is critical to our success. As a result, we have recently created a Charity Advisory program. Over 145 charities have so far signed up to be involved. WHAT IS THE CanadaHelps Charity ADVISORS PROGRAM? Any community is only as strong as its members. CanadaHelps wants to know what you're getting out of being a part of our community. Sharing your experience, features you would like to see, the strengths of the service and site — these are all areas where we're looking for your input into future direction of services, and where you can help us get better. Some of the things we might discuss include:
HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK? We will be soliciting your input whichever way you prefer — online, by phone, or even in person. We will ask for your preferences and then schedule accordingly. You will need to have access to an email address and the ability to participate in a conference call. WHAT'S THE COMMITMENT AND WHY SHOULD I PARTICIPATE? We know your time is valuable, so there is no commitment; we will send you a list of the topics we are likely to be covering and if they are of interest then you are free to participate! We expect to have 3 to 4 meetings per year, lasting no longer than 1-2 hours. The calls will be done via toll-free teleconferencing, with an agenda sent in advance. This is an excellent opportunity to share with and learn from other organizations in the sector. The discussions from our first meeting for the program sparked ideas for the organizations involved. This is also a great opportunity for you to hear how other organizations across Canada are using CanadaHelps. WHO'S INVOLVED? Over 145 charities have indicated they are interested in participating in the advisory program. We expect to have over 200 charities involved in providing feedback. There will also be participants from CanadaHelps — this is your chance to provide real feedback and input to the people who are involved in the organization and have a say in the services we are offering to you! WHAT DO YOU NEED FROM ME AND WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH THE INFORMATION? Bring your opinions, recommendations, keen insights, creative suggestions and past experiences to help us continue to make the CanadaHelps site relevant, connected and engaging to our larger audience. All your feedback and opinions will be kept anonymous - unless of course you give us permission to do otherwise! OK! I AM INTERESTED! WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Click here to fill in a web form, indicating that you are interested in participating. We will ask you to complete a brief survey, and then we will contact you with the information for the first conference call. I'VE GOT QUESTIONS! WHO CAN I TALK TO? You can email us at charityadvisors@canadahelps.org.
CanadaHelps' Newest Service - Gifts of Securities We heard at our recent consultation session that charities are already looking at ways to process securities as donations online. This fall, we are launching a service to do just that - CanadaHelps Gifts of Securities. Last year, the government eliminated capital gains taxes on gifts of securities, creating a great incentive to give securities to a registered charity - but for organizations, the fees and paperwork involved in setting up and managing a brokerage account can be prohibitive. No longer! Beginning in October, Canadians can directly transfer their securities of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, etc. "in kind" (transfer of ownership) to CanadaHelps, while incurring zero capital gains tax and receiving a tax credit for their donation. CanadaHelps has developed a relationship with ScotiaMcLeod who is our partner in managing the processing of the securities and the disbursement of the donation. For donors, you can give to multiple charities with one transfer of securities. The recipient charity will receive the cash gift once the securities have been sold. Interested in learning more? Sign up to be notified when the service is launched.
Keystone Surveys – Help Make Online Giving Better! CanadaHelps is joining Keystone, a UK-based organization focusing on knowledge generation and accountability, in an exciting new program of research designed to strengthen the emerging community of online giving websites. Keystone's particular interest is improving the quality of performance data available to people interested in providing donations, investments, or other forms of support to organizations or projects listed on these platforms. There are two different surveys — please choose one if you are an individual donor and the other if you represent a charity or organization. If you are a donor: If you represent a charity or a supporting organization:
Connect With CanadaHelps CanadaHelps is the only online portal that provides access to all of Canada's 82,000+ charities. From national organizations like national cancer charities to smaller groups like local animal shelters and soup kitchens, CanadaHelps reaches all Canadians who want to give and connects them with their charity of choice. Help us keep you informed as we engage donors and enhance the fundraising potential for charities. Subscribe to the CanadaHelps newsletter and/or forward to a friend, colleague or charity whom you think would benefit from the knowledge and experiences CanadaHelps gains each month from both donors and charities.
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