XPost: can.politics, ab.politics, ont.politics   
   XPost: sk.politics, man.politics, mtl.general   
   From: Panca@nyet.ca   
      
   December 12, 2014 |   
      
   Financial Post’s Charities of the Year: Why these 25 are worth your donations   
   (and which ones we’re cautious about)   
      
      
   Canadians collectively give billions of dollars a year to charity - $10.6   
   billion in 2010, or an average of about $400 for every adult in the...   
      
   There are 86,000 registered Canadian charities.  Read that again: Eighty. Six.   
   Thousand.  That's as many charities as there are people in Pickering, Ont. Or   
   Kamloops, B.C. And each one making its own pitch for our handouts.  Usually the   
   ones who get it are ones you've come to know and support.  he rest might be   
   ones that catch you in just the right mood, with just the right tug at your   
   heartstrings, or at least present you with a persuasive brochure.   
      
      
   Charities of the Year: How the Financial Post chose from 86,000 registered   
   Canadian organizations   
   Read more on how the Financial Post analyzed more than 86,000 lines of data   
   from charity returns to come up with its list of the top 25 Canadian charities   
   and red flags you should be aware of.   
      
   But Canadians collectively give billions of dollars a year to charity - $10.6   
   billion in 2010, or an average of about $400 for every adult in the country.   
   Spend that kind of money on a laptop or a stereo, and you're certainly likely   
   to do some research before you buy.   
      
   But how much do you really know about those non-profit groups you'll be writing   
   cheques to this giving season?  Are they really using your money effectively?   
   Are they transparent about it? Are they running a lean operation, or are the   
   executives living a little too cushily on the money you meant to give to the   
   poor?  An audit of expense claims earlier this year at Vancouver's Portland   
   Hotel Society - which provides support services for residents of Vancouver's   
   troubled Downtown Eastside - revealed the charity was putting staff up in   
   luxury hotel rooms, paying for limousine rides and shelling out thousands for a   
   manager's off-the-clock trip to Disneyland.  Canadian donors imagine their   
   money going to help those who truly need it - not saving a pampered staffer   
   from the horrors of having to ride in a lowly taxicab.   
      
   No one likes a Scrooge when it comes to charitable giving, but that doesn't   
   mean you should be a sucker, either.  With revenues subsidized by tax dollars   
   in the form of charitable tax receipt deductions, charities have a   
   responsibility to make donated dollars go as far as possible and open their   
   books to prove it.   
      
   The Financial Post took a look at those books, analyzing more than 86,000 lines   
   of data from charity returns for the 2012 tax year - the most recent year with   
   a full set of data available.  We screened for the charities that Canadians are   
   most likely to give to, and measured them up to the highest standards of   
   accountability, transparency and efficiency. Click here to get the full story   
   on how we did it.   
      
      
      
   CharitiesOfTheYear   
      
   These 25 charities were the ones that stood out when it came to our standards   
   for transparency, efficiency and accountability.  The letter grade shows how   
   well they did at reporting the social impact of their work to donors.  Grades   
   with an asterisk were assigned by the Financial Post; grades without an   
   asterisk indicate those given by Charity Intelligence Canada.   
      
   CATEGORY: ACCESS TO FOOD AND WATER   
      
   • WaterAid Canada: A* ................................ Improves access to   
   water   
   and toilets in developing countries   
      
   • Canadian Foodgrains Bank Association:   
   B+...................................... Provides food aid and support growing   
   food to people in the developing world   
      
   • Food Banks Canada: A ..............................  An umbrella   
   organization   
   for food banks across Canada   
      
   • Food for the Hungry Canada: B-   ......................... A Christian   
   organization that works to end poverty and improve access to food and clean   
   water in the developing world   
      
      
      
   CATEGORY: EDUCATION   
      
   • Indspire: B+ .............................. Provides educational support to   
   Canadian First Nations people   
      
   • CODE: B+ ................................. Supports literacy and learning   
   in   
   Canada and around the world   
      
      
      
   CATEGORY: ENVIRONMENT   
      
   • The Nature Conservancy of Canada: A ..........................   Protects   
   areas of natural diversity   
      
   • Canadian Wildlife Federation: B+  .............................. Advocates   
   for the protection of Canada's wild species and spaces   
      
      
      
   CATEGORY: HEALTH   
      
   • Doctors Without Borders Canada: B  ........................  Provides   
   international medical relief   
      
   • Medecins du Monde: A-*  ............................  Offers humanitarian   
   aid   
   that adapts to the needs of populations suffering from a lack of access to   
   health care   
      
   • Stephen Lewis Foundation: B-  ...........................  Works with   
   community-level organizations to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa   
      
   • The Canadian Red Cross Society: B+  ...............................    
   Provides   
   disaster relief, delivers community health services, provides first aid   
   training   
      
      
      
   CATEGORY: CHILDREN   
      
   • Canadian Tire Jumpstart Charities: B  ..............................    
   Assists   
   with the costs of children's sports programming   
      
   • Sleeping Children Around the World: B+  ...................................   
   Provides bedkits to children in need, particularly in developing countries.   
      
   • Christian Children's Fund of Canada: B+  .............................    
   Runs   
   a child sponsorship program to provide poor children in developing countries   
   with necessities   
      
   • Coptic Orphans Support Association: B-*  ..............................   
   Provides support to Coptic Christian orphans and widows in Egypt   
      
   • World Vision Canada: B  ....................................  A Christian   
   relief, development and advocacy organization that is dedicated to working with   
   children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice   
      
   • Compassion Canada: A-  ...................................  Partners with   
   the   
   local church in 26 countries to end poverty in the lives of children and their   
   families.   
      
   • Plan International Canada: B+  ............................ An   
   international   
   development charity that is also behind Because I Am a Girl, a global   
   initiative to end gender inequality   
      
   • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada: A-  .......................  Operates   
   mentoring programs for children   
      
      
      
   CATEGORY: WOMEN'S ISSUES   
      
   • Canadian Women's Foundation: A  ................................  Empowers   
   women and girls in Canada to move out of violence, out of poverty and into   
   confidence   
      
      
      
   CATEGORY: INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT   
      
   • Oxfam Canada: B  ............................  Works to find practical,   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)