Fundraising Principles

Guiding fundraising principles

Covenant House’s fundraising and solicitation activities comply with federal, provincial and local laws as well as the ethical fundraising practices established by Canada Revenue Agency, the Association of Fundraising Professionals and Imagine Canada.

• The majority of Covenant House’s fundraising activities include special events, mail-outs, emails and other online solicitations, and occasional phone calls to our donors carried out by our staff and volunteers. Occasionally, when Covenant House deems it appropriate, we may need to hire an outside professional to assist with our fundraising activities, at which point they will identify themselves as such.
• Covenant House will not directly or indirectly pay finder’s fees, commissions or percentage compensation based on the amount or number of donations received by the fundraisers hired on behalf of the organization.
• Donors are entitled to know whether an individual soliciting funds on behalf of Covenant House is a volunteer, an employee or a hired third party fundraising agency.
• All fundraising solicitations by or on behalf of Covenant House will be truthful and will disclose our name as well as the purpose for which funds are requested. Printed solicitations will also include our address or other contact information.
• Covenant House will ensure donor gifts are used for the purpose for which they were given.
• Covenant House shall attempt to avoid accepting a gift from a prospective donor which would knowingly place a hardship on the donor, or place the donor’s future well-being in jeopardy.
• Donors are encouraged to seek independent advice if Covenant House has any reason to believe a proposed gift might significantly affect the donor’s financial position or taxable income.
• The privacy of donors will be respected. Any donor records that are maintained by Covenant House will be kept confidential in accordance with our donor privacy policy.

Donors or prospective donors can call, email or write to our Donor Services team or visit the links below for:

• Our Covenant House Toronto charitable registration number: 10699 0195 RR0001
• Our most recent annual report (includes mission, vision, strategic direction and budgets)
• Our audited financial statements
• A list of the names of the Board of Directors
• Our donor privacy policy
• A copy of our investment policy
• Donor gift policies and other related donor policies
• Donors are also entitled to request a copy of the information we have on record about their giving