Fundraising is any activity that:

• Includes a solicitation of support for cash or in-kind donations, regardless of whether a donation receipt can or will be issued.
• Is part of the research and planning for future solicitations of support.
• Is related to a solicitation of support (e.g. efforts to raise the profile of a charity such as publications and website maintenance, donor stewardship, donor recognition, etc.).

The CRA recognizes that registered charities depend on charitable donations and other sources of revenue to carry out their charitable work. While recognizing the necessity of fundraising, the CRA expects charities to be transparent and to not devote excessive amounts of time or resources to fundraising.

Projects must report all time and resources spent on fundraising activities to the Support Team. MakeWay requires this information for its annual tax return. The CRA will accept reasonable estimates of time spent on fundraising activities.

Projects can hire external fundraisers provided the cost does not consume a significant portion of the Project’s resources. There are legal limitations on how much money charities can spend on fundraising. Projects should discuss these limitations with their Project Specialist before hiring an external fundraiser.

All fundraising by Projects must be in line with CRA regulations. 

In addition, Projects must submit all fundraising materials to the Support Team for review before public release to ensure they follow guidelines for fundraising in the charitable sector. Allow at least 5 business days for the Support Team to review materials. 

If Projects tell a donor that funds will be spent in a very specific way or on a specific program, those funds are restricted to those uses.

MakeWay recommends that Projects avoid using specific language in donor appeals, especially when appealing to individual donors who will be making smaller donations. Instead, Projects should state that donations will provide general operating support for the Project's activities.

"Cause-related marketing" is a fundraising activity where the Project works with a for-profit partner to promote the sale of the for-profit partner’s items or services, on the basis that part of the revenues will go to the Project.

Projects should review all cause-related marketing arrangements with their Project Specialist to ensure the terms of the arrangement do not pose undue risk to the Project, and to ensure the arrangement meets all legal requirements for charities.

Projects can pro-rate fundraising costs if:

• Less than 90% of the total content of the activity advances fundraising. (If more than 90% of the activity advances fundraising, then all expenditures must be allocated to fundraising.)
• They can separate the fundraising costs from other costs in their financial coding.
• They maintain the necessary documentation to support the allocation.

MakeWay deposits revenues every Wednesday. After revenues are posted  to a Project's accounts, an email is automatically sent the Project Director as well as a secondary contact if requested.

Projects should review the revenue coding as soon as possible and notify their Finance Specialist of any coding errors.

Contact the Support Team to arrange for weekly revenue and award reports.

Projects should notify their Finance Specialist if they are expecting a donation to be sent directly to MakeWay via wire transfer or mail. Projects should always remind donors to indicate the Project Name in all donations.

If MakeWay receives donations that do not specify the Project for which the funds are intended, e.g. via an intermediary like United Way, Benevity, or a community foundation, MakeWay will make a reasonable effort to identify the Project. If the Project cannot be identified, the funds will be allocated to MakeWay general support.

MakeWay is responsible for all cheque deposits. Where possible, Projects should arrange for cheques to be sent directly to the Vancouver office as this will minimize delays in processing.

Projects that receive cheques directly must submit them, along with the Revenue Submission Form, within 2 weeks for deposit.

Project Directors are strongly encouraged to build an cash reserve for their Project. A reasonable amount would be 2 months of operating costs, including the Project's usual monthly expenses and all current liabilities (e.g. accounts payable, accrued vacation, and pending payments on contracts).

Project Directors should work with their Finance Specialist to monitor the Project’s cash balance. It is important that Project Directors are aware of potential cash flow shortages so they can begin to take proactive cost-reduction measures and ensure Project sustainability.

Projects that maintain a cash reserve and collaborate with their Finance Specialist are less likely to encounter financial crises that require difficult decisions, such as terminating staff or suspending operations.

If a Project's cash balance accrues interest of $10 or more in a month, this amount is allocated to the Project at the end of the month. If the interest accrued is less than $10 in any given month, this amount is applied to the general and administrative operating expenses of MakeWay.

In most cases, membership fees are not eligible for a tax receipt. This is because MakeWay must subtract the fair market value of benefits that members get through membership from the cost of the membership fee. Typically, the difference between the two (membership fee minus the fair market value of benefits) does not meet the threshold to qualify as a gift and a tax receipt cannot be issued. 

However, if the difference meets the threshold to qualify as a gift, Projects may issue a split receipt. A split receipt provides a tax receipt for the portion of the membership fee that goes beyond the cost of the benefit.  Projects that want to explore a split receipt for membership costs should contact their Project Specialist.

Donors who make donations online receive a confirmation email immediately. Within 2 business days they should receive an electronic tax receipt and thank you letter. The thank you letter is sent from the Director of the MakeWay Shared Platform on behalf of the Project. The Project’s "acknowledgment purpose" is included in the letter. Projects should consult with their Project Specialist on any changes to their "acknowledgment purpose". Project Directors can send more personal thank you notes to donors if desired.