Just over a year ago, my husband and I (Mikael) determined that we had some room in our budget to add to the roster of charities that we donate to monthly. We talked about, considered our options, and resolved that we wanted to commit those dollars to one or a few Canadian anti-racism organizations.
Our motivations were no secret: the murder of George Floyd and the resulting protests have affected us profoundly. If our money can contribute toward the ongoing work of undoing racism in our community—if it can help provide a platform for Black, Indigenous and other people of colour to speak to their lived realities and to demand necessary changes—that’s where we want it to go.
Upon making that decision, however, we discovered that most of the organizations we would like to support are not registered charities. Many are nonprofit organizations, some are collectives, some are campaigns seeking donations on crowdfunding sites. But there is a dearth of registered charities openly engaging in anti-racism activism and advocacy in Canada. It just feels wrong that groups doing work so patently and obviously beneficial to our communities are not included on Canada’s list of registered charities.
So why are there so few registered Canadian charities actively and openly undertaking this work? And why are there so few advocacy and activist charities in the first place?
To answer both questions, you need to look at the longstanding and only recently updated CRA policy limiting the resources a registered charity could use toward public policy and advocacy activities to 10%.
This policy means that, until recently, a charity working towards ending plastic pollution in our oceans could devote only 10% of its resources towards advocating for policy changes to prevent, for example, plastic grocery bags from entering our waterways. It could, however, spend as many dollars and man-hours as it wanted in pulling the same plastic bags out of ocean tributaries.
Thanks to a court ruling in late 2018, charities can now put unlimited resources towards advocacy activities that further their charitable purposes. But the old policy leaves its legacy. Legitimately fearing CRA audits, many charities that would have otherwise engaged in advocacy and activism curbed the impulse and instead focussed their attention on education or service provision. Other organizations may have attempted to become registered charities only to be rejected when their ‘political activities’ were rooted out. And others still probably never made the attempt at all. Given the time it takes to achieve charitable registration and the recency of CRA’s policy shift, there may be a backlog of charity applications for advocacy organizations making their way through the Charities Directorate system, awaiting their fate under the new paradigm.
As for advocacy and activism related to ending racism, while promoting racial equality has, in theory, been acceptable to CRA as a charitable purpose for a long time, the anti-racism activities that charities are allowed to undertake are narrowly defined within CRA policy documents and centre around education, resource sharing, and awareness raising. These are all good and important undertakings but the policy, it should be noted, does not make considerations for public demonstrations of grief and anger.
So perhaps that’s why there are relatively few Canadian registered charities openly involved in anti-racist activism. Engaging in any advocacy in the charitable sector was a risky move for a long time. Engaging in anti-racist activism was a quagmire of cross-purposes, defensive driving, and toeing the line. Remember, the CRA has the power to revoke an organization’s charitable status, and a tax receipt is a serious motivator for many donors. It’s no wonder charities protect their registrations; their capacity to raise the funds necessary to deliver their programs depends on it.
Reframing our expectations about tax receipts
Now I can forego a charitable receipt. This cause is more important to us than a tax advantage, and there are plenty of amazing anti-racist organizations in Canada that we would be pleased to support without any expectation of personal benefit. I would encourage you to do the same, if you are able.
In the coming years, many anti-racist organizations may seek to become registered charities. But they may prefer to operate as collectives or as non-profit organizations. They may find they are better equipped to run their programs outside Charities Directorate’s regulatory environment. If you want your money to go towards anti-racist activism and advocacy, you may need to simply adapt your expectations about the tax benefits of donating..
Another option: supporting anti-racism advocacy through charities
But if, for whatever reason, you want or need to give to a registered charity, you still have options. There are explicitly anti-racist activist organizations that are also registered charities. A bit of research goes a long way. Ask your friends, ask your friends’ friends. Put the question to your social media connections.
You could also donate to a charity that deals with the outcomes of racism. There are charities that devote their resources to combatting the health, professional, legal, educational, financial and other consequences of systemic racism in Canada. Find a charity that provides scholarships, health services or legal advice to people of colour or Indigneous Canadians. These charities often quietly carry out advocacy and activism work in tandem with their other programs.
You could also donate to an anti-racist advocacy or activism project within a charity registered for other purposes. For example, some faith organizations have programs focussed on combating racism. While these charities were likely registered for purposes related to advancing religion, they see dismantling racism within their congregations, denominations, and beyond as intrinsic to the tenets of their faiths and devote human and financial resources to the cause. Similarly, charities focussed on ending poverty, promoting education or combatting problems faced by families or youth may offer projects or programs to combat racism.
There is urgency to the anti-racism movement right now and the desire to do comething is strong within the general public in Canada. Making a donation is by no means the only answer to this ongoing problem. But financially supporting an anti-racist organization is a step towards channelling some of the energy we all feel now into continuous ongoing work towards racial equality in Canada.
Know some incredible organizations doing anti-racist work in Canada? Post them in the comments!
