Dear <<First Name>>,

With a few whopping exceptions, what a wildly mild "non-winter" 2016 has been in Toronto!  The pond hasn't frozen over at all. We look forward to what a "real" spring will bring in the coming days. 

CHARITY STATUS

This month we some have regrettable news.  Originally submitted in May 2015, ArtsPond's detailed, 96-page provisional charity status application was rejected by the Canada Revenue Agency in a 10-page response received just before the December holidays. 

While they did not appear to entirely understand the nature or relevance of the charitable venture model we were proposing, the Canada Revenue Agency took issue with many of the basic tenets of ArtsPond's proposed vision and programming.

This result may have many unfortunate implications for other emerging charitable ventures looking to incorporate new entities in the near future.  Stay tuned to our blog this spring for more details. 


ADVOCACY WORKING GROUP

In response to our failed charity status application, the ArtsPond team is beginning to organize a working group to lead a series of advocacy sessions on the importance of charitable venture platforms to the Canada Revenue Agency, federal Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly, and others. 

The first planning session (via Google Hangout) is currently scheduled for Tuesday, March 8, 2016 from 4:30 to 5:30 pm. If you can't make this date, let us know alternate dates that are you available via the following Doodle Poll.

To register, please email hello@artspond.com.