In the U.S., the Tides Foundation (controlled, in turn, by the Tides Network) is well known for funding left-leaning causes using what some call dark money.
Hmmm….im actually not sure why there is a public right to know where people donate their money, regardless of the purpose. As long as they meet the requirements for charitable giving, which is supposed to be monitored by the feds. I do a bit of work for a local charitable. On
I would agree with you insofar as I can't think of a compelling reason for the public to have access to the details of every donation made by every individual.
But on the institutional level I think things are different. Normal audits won't catch many of the most serious problems - especially when money is moving through so many layers of both "qualified" and "non-qualified" institutions.
Obviously, most charitable organizations are completely legitimate. But we know (and I've written about) more than a few incidents of donor and government funds ending up supporting - for example - Government of Canada-designated terrorist organizations. The system is relatively easy to defraud - I've seen it happen myself - so I would suggest that we do need more transparency.
Sorry…. I was saying I do some work for a small charitable non profit and it has been audited so unless I see otherwise it seems reasonable to assume that the majority of charitable organizations are not “lobbying” as that would be illegal.
Kevin, Small charities in my experience deliver an excellent bang for buck vs gov't/NGOs of anything with large administration overhead. But any bets that CCP, Russia and Iran based interests haven't taken advantage of the Canadian easy going charitable system?
That's possible. Although I think we'd have to prove that the "charitable" activities are actually illegal - or out of charitable scope - before we could be sure it was money laundering. But I'll agree that the structure certainly does seem to be protecting someone's participation in something.
MakeWay's 2024 CRA T3010 filings show the Foundation transferred $17.6 million to qualified donees while spending only 8% directly on programs. That's standard for donor-advised funds, but it does obscure end-use, especially with $10 million to Indigenous groups and environmental recipients. The PBO hasn't audited them yet, though foreign funding questions linger from earlier parliamentary probes. Worth watching if activism crosses into politics.
Virtually all ENGO funding is directed at political change through public sentiment campaigns. Some of it is even politically directed taxpayer funding, thus NGO is a gross misnomer and should be replaced with a more accurate term such as Public Lobbyist. Canada's near feudal status of majority Crown land is a gift that keeps on giving to such organizations. From their perspective, the economic rent inherent in the pricing of private land is an order of magnitude or two greater than the cost of lobbying through public sentiment and indigenous proxies. It's how BC is deindustrializing and now in property rights limbo. Gregor Robertson, now in Carney's Cabinet, was linked to Tides money when he was Mayor of Vancouver.
Hmmm….im actually not sure why there is a public right to know where people donate their money, regardless of the purpose. As long as they meet the requirements for charitable giving, which is supposed to be monitored by the feds. I do a bit of work for a local charitable. On
I would agree with you insofar as I can't think of a compelling reason for the public to have access to the details of every donation made by every individual.
But on the institutional level I think things are different. Normal audits won't catch many of the most serious problems - especially when money is moving through so many layers of both "qualified" and "non-qualified" institutions.
Obviously, most charitable organizations are completely legitimate. But we know (and I've written about) more than a few incidents of donor and government funds ending up supporting - for example - Government of Canada-designated terrorist organizations. The system is relatively easy to defraud - I've seen it happen myself - so I would suggest that we do need more transparency.
Sorry…. I was saying I do some work for a small charitable non profit and it has been audited so unless I see otherwise it seems reasonable to assume that the majority of charitable organizations are not “lobbying” as that would be illegal.
Kevin, Small charities in my experience deliver an excellent bang for buck vs gov't/NGOs of anything with large administration overhead. But any bets that CCP, Russia and Iran based interests haven't taken advantage of the Canadian easy going charitable system?
Certainly looks like a front for activist money laundering
That's possible. Although I think we'd have to prove that the "charitable" activities are actually illegal - or out of charitable scope - before we could be sure it was money laundering. But I'll agree that the structure certainly does seem to be protecting someone's participation in something.
MakeWay's 2024 CRA T3010 filings show the Foundation transferred $17.6 million to qualified donees while spending only 8% directly on programs. That's standard for donor-advised funds, but it does obscure end-use, especially with $10 million to Indigenous groups and environmental recipients. The PBO hasn't audited them yet, though foreign funding questions linger from earlier parliamentary probes. Worth watching if activism crosses into politics.
Virtually all ENGO funding is directed at political change through public sentiment campaigns. Some of it is even politically directed taxpayer funding, thus NGO is a gross misnomer and should be replaced with a more accurate term such as Public Lobbyist. Canada's near feudal status of majority Crown land is a gift that keeps on giving to such organizations. From their perspective, the economic rent inherent in the pricing of private land is an order of magnitude or two greater than the cost of lobbying through public sentiment and indigenous proxies. It's how BC is deindustrializing and now in property rights limbo. Gregor Robertson, now in Carney's Cabinet, was linked to Tides money when he was Mayor of Vancouver.