Learn more about why your organization should register with CanadaHelps. This presentation can be downloaded and adapted to talk to your board, colleagues and volunteers about the benefits of accepting online donations through CanadaHelps.

1. GETTING YOUR BOARD ON BOARD
TALKING TO YOUR BOARD ABOUT CANADAHELPS

2. Instructions
We’ve designed this presentation for you to take to your Board in order to
show them why CanadaHelps would be beneficial for your organization.
We’ve packed in as much information as possible so you would have all of the
information needed to answer all questions.

3. Table of Contents
1. About CanadaHelps
2. Donation Process
3. How It Works
4. Advantages
5. MyCharity Account
6. FAQs
9. How to Register
10. Appendix

4. About CanadaHelps
What is CanadaHelps?
A public charitable foundation that provides accessible,
affordable and secure online technology to both donors
and charities.
Vision
Build a caring and involved Canadian society that is committed to giving and participating
effectively in the charitable sector. Using technology, we create an efficient connection
between charities, donors, and the corporate community.
Mission
Engage Canadians in the charitable sector by providing accessible and affordable online
technology to both donors and charities so as to promote – and ultimately increase –
charitable giving in Canada.
We are a charity helping charities. We make giving simple.

5. About CanadaHelps
How It Began
In 1999, a young university student named Aaron Pereira sat in a church pew waiting for the collection plate to
make its way towards him. As he dug in his pockets, he realized that he didn’t have any cash on him. The dot-
com boom was in full swing, and e-commerce was the way of the future: how come his church wasn’t collecting
donations online, too?
With that question in mind, he began to put together the concept that eventually became CanadaHelps. Aaron
envisioned a way for all charities and donors to benefit from the same technology that helped businesses reach
huge markets over the internet.
With two friends – Ryan Little and Matthew Choi – Aaron set about finding support to build CanadaHelps. The
students convinced major supporters to back their vision of an engaged donor base online. With Canadian
corporations and financial institutions offering donated funds, space and technology, CanadaHelps launched in
2000. CanadaHelps, itself a charity, supports the philanthropic efforts of both donors and charities – online.
Ryan, Matthew and Aaron’s dedication and volunteer time led to its early success: in its first year, over
$150,000 was donated through CanadaHelps to charities across the country.
Today, CanadaHelps facilitates over $40 million in donations annually. We continue to honour our
entrepreneurial roots by innovating to stay ahead of online trends and offer Canadians new ways to give to
their favourite causes.
Matthew, Ryan and Aaron in
The first CanadaHelps office.

6. About CanadaHelps
Some Stats
As of Spring 2013
• More than $300 million has been processed since
CanadaHelps launched in 2000
• Over 12,000 charities are registered with us
• An average of 35 charities sign up with us every
week.

7. About CanadaHelps
Board of Directors
• Patrick Johnston, Chair | Borealis Advisors, Toronto
• William Kerr, Past Chair | JSE Partners Inc., Oakville
• John Beattie | TELUS Communications, Toronto
• Michael Bradley | NorthCard, Toronto
• Matthew Choi | Physician, Hamilton
• Brenda Gainer | Schulich School of Business, York University,
Toronto
• Karim Harji | Venture Deli, Toronto
• Joan McCalla | Director and Distinguished Fellow, Cisco
Systems, Toronto
• Sue Tomney | YWCA of Calgary, Calgary
• Sean Van Doorselaer | Lind Equipment Ltd, Toronto
• Deryck Williams | Grant Thornton, Toronto

8. The Donation Process

9. The Donation Process
Donor clicks Donate Now
button on your website
Donation gets processed on
CanadaHelps.org
Donor receives confirmation and
tax receipt from CanadaHelps
Charity receives notification by
email
Donor recognition
•The charity thanks the donor for their
gift and fulfills donor requests

10. The Donation Process
Donor Perspective

11. The Donation Process
Donor Perspective
The donor visits your website
and clicks on the CanadaHelps
Donate Now button.

12. The Donation Process
Donor Perspective
Enter donation details
• Fund designation/instructions
• Potential card request
• Personal contact information
• Payment information

13. The Donation Process
Donor Perspective
Gift is submitted
and tax receipt
immediately
emailed to the
donor

14. The Donation Process
Charity Perspective

15. The Donation Process
Charity Perspective
Charity is notified by
email when they’ve
received a donation.

16. The Donation Process
Charity Perspective
Donation details appear
in your account

17. HOW IT WORKS

18. How It Works
What is Electronic Fund
Transfer or EFT?
EFT allows CanadaHelps to
disburse donations directly
into a charity’s bank account
through direct deposit on a
weekly basis. All charities
registered with CanadaHelps
receive funds by EFT.
*PLEASE NOTE: Charities not registered with
CanadaHelps will instead receive cheques on a
monthly basis
Disbursement Process

19. How It Works
• CanadaHelps issues tax receipts for all
donations made through our site
• We are a foundation with our own charitable
business number
• Legal name of your charity is also listed on
the receipt
• Receipts are in an unalterable PDF format, as
per Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) regulations
• Your charity should never issue receipts for
donations made through CanadaHelps
Receipting

20. How It Works
• You receive an email notification when a donation is
made to your organization.
• Donor records are available to you 24 hours a day,
seven days a week in your personal MyCharity Account.
What information does a
charity receive?
• Name
• Mailing and email
addresses
• Message to charity
• Card acknowledgement
requests
• Donation amount and
source
• Fund designation
• Fee taken
Complete Donor Records

21. How It Works
CanadaHelps sends an email to donors with their tax receipt, but
since these are your donors, it’s important for you to foster the
relationship and personally thank them.
Thanking Donors

22. Remember!
• You own the relationship with your donor so steward them as you
would any offline supporters
• CanadaHelps doesn’t solicit donations and doesn’t share, sell, trade or
otherwise use your donor information.
These are your donors

23. ADVANTAGES

24. Multiple Donation Options/Sources
• Scheduled Giving – The ability to accept recurring monthly gifts.
• Securities – The only way to accept gifts of securities online in Canada.
• CanadaHelps Giving Pages – Peer-to-peer fundraising tool for your supporters.
• In memoriam donations – Remembering a loved one’s life with a gift to charity
• In honour of donations – Give on behalf of friends, family or coworkers
• Donations to different funds/campaigns – Donors specify the project they support
We offer several options for giving
by Visa, MasterCard, American
Express and Interac Debit Online,
PayPal, which include:
Advantages

25. Low Cost, Less Time, Less Administration
Other providers will charge for:
• Set Up
• Monthly/Annual Fees
• Transaction Fees
• Tech Support fees
CanadaHelps charges 3.9%, covering:
• Creation and distribution of tax receipts
• All credit card merchant rates and
transactions fees, bank account settlement
costs and disbursement charges
• Please note: The fee is 4.9% for charities not registered
with CanadaHelps to cover the costs of issuing and
mailing cheques
Advantages

26. Bilingual
• For your French Donors, our services are offered in
both official languages
• Please visit www.CanaDon.org to find out more
Advantages

27. Advantages
Once signed up, you can
include the following
information in your profile:
• Personalized Logo/Banner
• Donate Monthly Button
• Contact Information
• Mission Statement
• Description
Enhanced Charity Profile

28. Advantages
Automated E-receipts
• Your charity doesn’t issue receipts for
donations made through CanadaHelps
• CanadaHelps issues receipts for all donations
made through our portal, regardless of
donation size. This is an administrative
savings to your organization!

29. Advantages
Security & Privacy
CanadaHelps employs a number of measures and practices
to protect you, including:
CanadaHelps recognizes that privacy and security are important
issues for both donors and charities and as such is committed to
ensuring a safe experience when using our services.

30. Advantages
Project Specific Pages
A CanadaHelps GivingPage is a
tool that provides new and
easy ways for your organization
to fundraise for a specific
campaign or project

31. Advantages
Peer to Peer Fundraising
CanadaHelps GivingPages also
provide new ways for your
donors to fundraise on your
behalf!
Create a GivingPage for:
• Sports events
• Weddings
• Birthdays
• Memorials
• Graduation

32. Advantages
Easy To Use!
Above all, CanadaHelps is easy to use. CanadaHelps
allows donors and charities to raise funds quickly and
efficiently. CanadaHelps staff is always available to help if
you have any questions too!

33. MyCharity Account

34. MyCharity Account
What is it?
A MyCharity Account is a charity’s account on CanadaHelps.
It allows a charity to do the following:
• Access donor records
• Update account information
• Fill a profile with information
• Access the Donate Now button
* The following slides will take you through
the different sections of an account.

35. MyCharity Account
Home
You have complete control of your donor information
Under the Home tab, you can:
• Get updates in the News section
• Read FAQs
• Download the Charity User Manual

36. MyCharity Account
Profile
• Review and change your operating names,
admin email, contact info, and banking
details.
• Enhance your Charity Profile with a mission
statement, organizational description, and
logo.
• Preview your page to see what others will
see!
• Fill in your charity’s mission statement and
description in English and French.
• This is your chance to explain to donors
what your charity does.
Under the Profile tab you can:

37. MyCharity Account
Donations
Under the Donations tab, you can:
• View donation details for all of your gifts 24/7
• Use the “Data Download” feature to import
donor data into your database software

38. MyCharity Account
Funds & Link
Under the Link tab, you can:
• Learn how to add the Donate Now! button
to your charity’s website, linking donors
directly to your page on CanadaHelps
Under the Funds tab, you can:
• Designate specific funds for your charity
(e.g. special campaign, specific project,
fundraising appeal, etc.)
• Create a drop down menu that donors
select from when making a donation, thus
increasing your charity’s transparency

39. MyCharity Account
Search Info
• CATEGORIES lets you select main and sub categories
that best describe your charity
• KEYWORDS lets you create a list of search terms
that you want to be associated with. When they are
typed into the search engine, your organization will
appear in the results
Under the Search Info tab, you can improve
your charity’s “searchability” in the
CanadaHelps.org search engine in two ways:

40. Frequently Asked Questions

41. Can we download the data into our database?
Saving the file as a comma separated value (CSV) file will allow you to open it into many
different programs. To save it in this format, simply type “.csv” at the end of the file
name. You can then open the file in your spreadsheet program or upload it to your
donor management software.
Compatible with:
• Raiser’s Edge
• Excel
• Access
• Salesforce
• And many more!

42. What are our charities saying about
CanadaHelps?
Testimonial 1
"You provide a great service. Small organizations like ours benefit
tremendously, keeping our overhead low & spending more on good
works!" - Better Day Alliance
Testimonial 2
Through CanadaHelps' service, we have been able to generate a surprising amount of
additional income for our projects. Our donors find it very convenient to preset their
donation periods, direct their donations to specific funds, and even dedicate them on
behalf of a cherished one. The donor records are thorough and easy to access
through and the technical support has made it easy for our young organization to
integrate this important feature onto your website. Thanks CanadaHelps!" - Todd
Lorenz, Managing Director, One Child's Village

43. How much is this really going to cost me?
There is ONLY a 3.9% fee per transaction, which covers:
• Credit card processing fees
• Bank processing fees
• Administration
* Charities not signed up with CanadaHelps are subject to a 4.9% transaction fee when we mail a
cheque for donations because of the added mailing costs.

44. How do I know a donation has been made?
You receive an email each time a donation is made
Donation details then appear
automatically in your account
Find out who made the donation so you can
thank them and respond to any requests
they may have

45. Where do I claim CanadaHelps donations on my
charity’s tax return?
Again, since CanadaHelps issues and sends tax receipts for all of the
donations made through our site, you do not need to do this. Your
organization therefore must claim CanadaHelps donations on line 4510 of
your tax return, “Total amount received from other registered charities.”

46. What happens when a donation needs to be
refunded?
CanadaHelps handles all refunds. In the event of a refund, CanadaHelps
notifies the charity and provides all relevant back up documentation. If the
donation has already been disbursed into your bank account, CanadaHelps
will need to perform a debit to return the funds to the card holder.

47. What more can CanadaHelps do for our
organization?
We also teach charities how to use low cost or free online technologies in efficient and
cost effective ways that will help further their missions!
Check out www.mycharityconnects.org for demos, event listings, and other great
resources!

48. What can CanadaHelps not be used
for?
We can only process donations that are 100% tax receiptable, so
we cannot process:
• Ticket sales
• Memberships
• Product Sales
• Auction bids
If you are unsure if a transaction will qualify as 100% tax receiptable, you should
contact the Charities Directorate of the Canada Revenue Agency to inquire at
www.cra-arc.gc.ca

49. Where do I get more information on
CanadaHelps?
Click on the following menu options on the CanadaHelps.org main
page to learn more about CanadaHelps:
• About CanadaHelps
• How To Give
• For Charities

50. How To Register
The Steps
• Go to www.canadahelps.org
• Click on “Register Your Charity”
• You will be asked to accept the
CanadaHelps client agreement and
then receive a banking information
form that must be sent in with a
voided cheque or bank statement.
• You can send in this information
– By fax
• 1-888-787-4264
– By mail
• 179 John Street, Suite 403
Toronto ON M5T 1X4

51. How To Register
Registration Checklist
Before sending in your banking information, please
ensure you’ve completed the following:
• The online part of the registration has been completed
• Your Banking Information Form is fully complete
• Your voided cheque or bank statement includes the full name and account
details for your organization

52. I have more questions,
who do I talk to?
• Contact our Charity Liaison with any questions
at info@canadahelps.org
• We respond to email inquiries within 24
business hours

53. Appendix
CanadaHelps encourages you to do your research before
choosing an online donation processer. Here are some
questions to consider:
• Who handles tech support?
• How are refunds handled?
• Is the processer PCI compliant?
• Does the processor accept Interac?
• Does our charity require a credit card merchant account?
• What are the costs involved?
• If there are fees, how are they paid for? Is the organization
invoiced? If so, how often?
• How often do we get donations disbursed to us?