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2010 Budget Introduces Disbursement Quota Changes
As recommended by Imagine Canada, the 2010 federal budget introduced major changes to the disbursement quota (DQ). This was welcome news to Canadian registered charities in the voluntary sector.The changes will increase flexibility for charities to allocate donated funds, and reduce some of the administrative burden. For more information, please see Imagine Canada's response to the federal budget.
Also worth noting, the March 3 Throne Speech suggested an interest by government in partnering with "innovative charities" to tackle social challenges. As no further details on this were provided in the budget, CCVO will be watching for further information to pass on to the sector.
The three-year freeze on departmental operating budgets will undoubtedly have some effect on the nonprofit and voluntary sector, particularly as committed wage increases will have to come out of existing budgets. The government's intention to closely examine existing programs, grants and contributions, and to ensure they are furthering government priorities will likely result in some changes to funding allocations. The government intends to "continue with and augment a number of review processes, including strategic reviews."
More over, it remains to be seen whetehr the spending reductions slated for 2011-2015 will result in cuts to programs and services offered by the voluntary sector. With commitments to maintain funding for education, health and transfers to provinces and individuals, plus plans to reduce corporate tax rates, the government will have to make tough spending decisions.
The budget was quite clear in its impact on both international aid and sports programs. The international aid budget has been frozen and previous pledges to increase by eight per cent per year have been rescinded. International development organizations are concerned that , with no new dollars, Canada's international commitments to Haiti and to maternal and child well-being will be met by cutting programs currently funded. On the other hand, sports groups are quite pleased with the budget, noting continued funding for the Own the Podium program, the Paralympic committee, developing new, and more.
We are interested in hearing how the budget is affecting your sub-sector, organization, programs and services. Please direct your comments to CCVO's policy team at policy@calgarycvo.org.
Other federal budget resources:
Ghost of Disbursement Quotas Past
Canadian Budget 2010 announces disbursement quota reform for Canadian charities