BULLETIN
Ryle Cameron
Associate Director of Legal Affairs
What's Inside:
February is often a busy period for charity treasurers and administrators. Many are preparing year-end reports and finalizing the Registered Charity Information Return, alongside the annual tasks of charitable receipting. To help during this time, this issue of the CCCC Bulletin is dedicated to fostering financial excellence. It includes resources and tools designed to enhance financial management practices and ensure compliance in an effort to reinforce the sustainability of your organizations.
We spotlight our enhanced T3010 Resource, a guide aimed at simplifying the complexities of the Registered Charity Information Return. Both new and seasoned administrators will find our comprehensive handbook and upcoming webinar valuable, designed to streamline the filing process and enhance compliance.
This issue also explores quality management principles for ministries through articles by Tim Whitehead and Daniel Whitehead. They discuss how striving for excellence reflects God’s character and is an act of worship. Their practical advice aims to integrate integrity, humility, and love into ministry activities, boosting mission effectiveness and community impact.
In Charitable Sector Updates, we address concerning recommendations from the House Finance Committee regarding charitable status for anti-abortion organizations and redefining charity. CCCC has actively engaged with stakeholders and expressed our concerns. Additionally, the Department of Finance plans to extend the 2024 donation receipt deadline to February 28, 2025. Stay updated with our blog posts linked in each section.
Thank you for your dedicated service to the Church in Canada, and your commitment to financial excellence. We hope this Bulletin confirms the good things you're already doing, and provides a starting point for new areas of learning.
MEMBER POLL
FEATURED MEMBER RESOURCES
Preparing your charity's T3010 with confidence!
Whether you’re an experienced charity administrator or new to the role, CCCC’s updated resources for the T3010 Registered Charity Information Return are designed to support you. The collection offers detailed guidance on T3010 forms, including filing procedures, key deadlines, and compliance requirements, enabling you to complete your charity’s return with confidence. New for 2025, a February webinar will complement the collection, featuring insights from an external preparer and practical strategies to ensure accurate reporting. These resources provide essential tools to help your charity meet its obligations and maintain compliance with Canadian tax laws.
Read moreQuality management for Christian ministries
Tim Whitehead, Executive Director of Galcom International Canada, brings thoughtful insights on the importance of quality in ministry. In this article, he explains how pursuing excellence is more than achieving high standards—it’s an act of worship and a reflection of God’s character. With practical advice on improving processes, fostering humility, and prioritizing love, Tim encourages ministries to approach their work with intentionality and integrity. This article offers valuable guidance on how quality can enhance your mission and bring glory to God.
Read more
Pursuing Excellence: A Call to Serve with Our Best
Excellence in ministry is about more than achieving high standards—it’s an act of worship, stewardship, and a reflection of God’s character. In this article, you’ll discover how integrity, humility, and love are foundational to building stronger ministries and creating greater impact for the Kingdom. Daniel Whitehead, CEO of Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries, unpacks the meaning of true excellence and offers practical steps for integrating it into your work, relationships, and leadership. With biblical insights and actionable advice, this piece will inspire you to serve with your best and glorify God through every aspect of your ministry.
What's new with CCCC resources and publications?
The CCCC Knowledge Base is constantly evolving to support your ministry with the most current resources and information. This page highlights updates made in the last three months, organized into key categories like new or updated guidance resources, sample documents, legal education, and process improvements. Each section outlines the type of change—whether it’s a new resource, an update, or a process improvement—and when it was implemented. For a complete record of past updates and ongoing enhancements, you can also visit the Knowledge Base Development History.
Read more
MAXIMIZE YOUR membership
Simplify your T3010 Filing with the CCCC T3010 tool
The CCCC T3010 Tool is specifically designed for Christian ministries to help streamline the process of completing and filing the Registered Charity Information Return. This CRA-approved tool ensures accuracy and compliance with built-in validation checks, helpful pop-ups, and straightforward guidance tailored to your ministry’s needs.
It includes everything you need: fillable and saveable forms for the T3010, T1235 (Directors/Trustees), T1236 (Qualified Donees), and T1441 (Qualifying Disbursements). The “Check for Errors” feature ensures your data is correct before generating a PDF for submission. It’s an invaluable resource for first-time filers!
Members also enjoy the T3010 Reminder Service, which provides timely email notifications to help you meet filing deadlines. Combined with support in the Member Knowledge Base, this tool saves time, reduces stress, and ensures compliance, freeing you to focus on your ministry’s mission.
Read moreCharitable Sector Updates
CCCC defends the charitable status of Advancing Religion
In December, the House Finance Committee made two troubling recommendations about charitable status in its 300-page Pre-Budget Consultations in Advance of the 2025 Budget. Specifically, that the government “no longer provide charitable status to anti-abortion organizations” and “amend the Income Tax Act to provide a definition of charity which would remove the privileged status of ‘advancement of religion’ as a charitable purpose.”
CCCC wrote a letter before Parliament was prorogued to express our concerns, as have other organizations such as Christian Legal Fellowship and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. Though Parliament has prorogued, we continue to work on this issue, meeting with stakeholders and circulating our letter. For more, and to read our letter, see our blog post, CCCC Responds to Troubling Recommendations on Charitable Status.
CRA and Finance clarify donation receipting extension.
In January, the Department of Finance confirmed that it will move ahead with the receipting donation extension announced by the government in December. Individuals can choose to claim eligible gifts up to February 28, 2025 on their 2024 income tax return. The gift must be in the form of cash, cheque, credit card, money order or electronic payment. CRA also released guidance for charities, noting that receipting rules must be followed, that the extension does not change T3010 reporting, and providing guidance on how to properly date donations. For all the latest details, check out our post, Prorogation and Donation Receipts. As new information is released, we will update the blog.
Quick Picks
CCCC staff are constantly reading news, reports, and other resources to stay on top of developments in the charitable sector. We think you'll find these picks helpful!
- New study shows number of Canadians donating to charity at lowest point in 20 years.
- Effective Date Announced for Ontario's Changes to Publicly Advertised Job Postings and Recordkeeping Obligations
- Alberta’s New Public Sector Privacy and Access to Information Legislation: What Businesses Need to Know
Upcoming
Events
Events
The 2025 T3010 Webinar
February 19, 2025 | 2:00 pm ET
We’re excited to invite you to our upcoming T3010 webinar taking place on February 19 at 2:00pm ET.
The 2025 T3010 Walkthrough webinar, hosted by Curtis Towns, Head of Finance and Accreditation, as well as Curtis Braun, Partner at Loewen Kruse Chartered Professional Accountants and Wes Carlisle Director of Administration at NorthWind Family Ministries, will provide practical guidance for our members on navigating the T3010 filing process.
This session is designed to help participants better understand the requirements, avoid common mistakes, and effectively utilize available CCCC resources.
We look forward to seeing you there!
CCCC ACCREDITATION
Congratulations to Our Accredited Members!
By demonstrating commitment to integrity, accountability, and transparency through compliance with the CCCC Standards of Accountability, Safe Families Canada has earned CCCC Accreditation.
Congratulations to the following Accredited Members who recently participated in a scheduled Accredited review and demonstrated their ongoing commitment to CCCC Accreditation standards: Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec, Canadian Baptists of Western Canada, Children Believe, Compassion Canada, Effect Hope, Intercede International, Mustard Seed International, Operation Mobilization Canada, Slavic Gospel Association of Canada, and The Pregnancy Centre. We are proud to have you as part of our Accredited Member community!
To find out more about CCCC Accreditation and our Accredited members, visit giveconfidently.ca.
THE GREEN: GROWING MINISTRY CONNECTIONS & CONVERSATIONS
Extended Charitable Donation Date
Join the discussion about the federal government's pre-Christmas announcement about extending the charitable donation receipt deadline from December 31 2024 to February 28 2025. CCCC staff weigh in as well with information from groups they work with regularly in Ottawa and users discuss the different challenges they are experiencing with how to manage the announcement. Catch up here and let us know your thoughts!
Read moreQuickBooks Desktop Vs Online
Users discuss the pros and cons of both bookkeeping programs and share their workarounds as well as their workflows in using this program in their charities. If you are a QuickBooks user, jump in the conversation, get some tips and share some of your own!
Read more
Tips On Looking For An Accountant/Bookkeeper
Users discuss important features of a job description for a mid size charities' bookkeeper. Everything from IT know how to privacy and access to how and where to find suitable candidates is discussed. Users share their best practices and pitfalls and CCCC staff remind about the Christian Charity Jobs board as a helpful resource.
Read moreProfessional
Services
Services
A Pro When You Need One
The professionals listed in our Professional Associates Directory provide services to charities and practice in four general areas: law, accounting, insurance, and consulting.
GET IN TOUCH WITH CCCC
Contact Details
Canadian Centre for Christian Charities
Address
PO Box 335 STN Waterloo
Waterloo, ON N2J 4A4
Phone
(519) 669-5137
