The Canadian Online Giving Foundation (French: Fondation canadienne de dons en ligne) is a Canadian registered charity and private foundation that operates as a donor advised fund. Established in 2006, it facilitates online micro-donations, allowing individuals and corporate donors to direct contributions to a broad range of eligible Canadian charities.

Mission and Purpose

The foundation's mission is to generate significant fundraising across a diverse demographic of donors and to efficiently distribute the collected funds to qualified donees, which include registered Canadian charities, amateur athletic associations, national arts service organizations, housing corporations in Canada, and municipalities. By leveraging a cost-effective online micro-donation platform provided by Benevity, Inc., the foundation operates with minimal administrative overhead, maximizing the proportion of funds distributed to beneficiary organizations.

It aims to support eligible charities by managing components of their online fundraising, administration, and tax receipting processes, thereby enabling these charities to reduce non-programmatic expenses and improve the efficiency of their social mandates and missions.

Operations and Impact

Through its platform, donors can contribute to any of over 84,000 charities registered with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). The foundation acts as an intermediary, aggregating donations and issuing tax receipts to donors while disbursing funds to the respective charities as advised by donors.

Notable beneficiary organizations include Calgary Inter-Faith Food Bank Society, Habitat for Humanity Canada, World Wildlife Fund Canada, Doctors Without Borders Canada, and the Alzheimer’s Society of Toronto, among others.

Legal and Financial Status

The Canadian Online Giving Foundation is a registered charity with the CRA under the business registration number 862216165RR0001. As a tax-exempt entity, it can issue official donation receipts for income tax purposes and make disbursements to qualified donees within Canada.

References

• Canadian Online Giving Foundation is registered as a private foundation since 2006 and acts as a donor advised fund facilitating online micro-donations across thousands of Canadian charities[1][2][3][4].
• The Foundation leverages technology through its service provider Benevity to operate cost-efficiently and maximize disbursements to charities with minimal overhead[1][3].
• It supports charities in reducing administrative costs related to fundraising and tax receipting, enhancing their ability to focus on mission delivery[1][3].
• The Foundation's donor advised fund model accommodates donations to numerous registered Canadian charities and qualified donees, compliant with CRA regulations[3][4].