Administering Gifts: What Fundraisers & Board Members Need to Know   

With Rebecca Dutton, CFRE & Michelle Kearsey  

A donor wants a receipt for a gift and you say “of course”, and then find out later CRA says you can’t issue one. That’s never a fun conversation to have to go back to a donor with. There are plenty of interesting situations that we face in charities that are important for us to know about in advance to help keep our organization’s donors happy.

In one hour you will learn – from the fundraiser’s perspective – the basics of appropriate receipting, the legal implications of gift acceptance and other related regulations, to ensure you don’t end up in hot water!  You will also be provided with some great resources to help you along the way. 

This session is ideal for fundraisers, board members and executive directors who need to be informed as they meet with donors and oversee the acceptance of gifts, but would also be a good refresher for administrators who manage tax receipting and gift stewardship.   

Speaker Bios:
Michelle Kearsey, Manager of Advancement Services, Memorial University of Newfoundland  

Michelle is the Manager of Advancement Services and Operations in the Office of Development Memorial University of Newfoundland. Michelle has worked with this office for 10 years and has over 30 years’ experience in various areas of finance including endowments, budgets, financial statement preparation, project accounting and strategic planning. Michelle has become incredibly informed on the regulatory environment for charities in Canada and handles all gift acceptance related issues for the University - which can be quite complicated! She received her BA from Memorial in 1985 with a Major in Computer Science and a Minor Business Administration. She has also served as Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the Canadian Centre for Marine Communications (CCMC) a separately incorporated entity of MUN from 1998 to 2008.  

Rebecca Dutton, CFRE, President & CEO, Janeway Children’s Hospital Foundation  

Rebecca has served the non-profit sector for over 17 years with expertise in the areas of major gift fundraising, strategic planning and capital campaign direction. She has helped raise millions for a number of Canadian charities.   

As President & CEO of the Janeway Children’s Hospital Foundation Rebecca is charged with leading the fundraising activity for Newfoundland and Labrador’s children's hospital. Prior to this, Rebecca worked in major gifts with Memorial University of Newfoundland, served as a consultant with Canada’s largest fundraising consultancy, KCI, and held progressively senior positions with youth focused educational and healthcare organizations.  

A committed volunteer for many organizations, Rebecca is currently the Past-President of the Newfoundland and Labrador Chapter of AFP.   

  
Rebecca and Michelle are oddly passionate about charitable regulations and policies and will do all they can to make this content as exciting for you!