Dear Loyal Donor,
In the midst of preparations for a busy Christmas and end-of-year season here in Canada and in Honduras, the last thing we expected to be doing right now was grappling with government forms, but that is exactly what we are doing.
We were quite startled on October 13th to find out through a donor that they were being blocked from sending through a donation. This was the first we heard that our charitable status had been revoked.
I want to be honest with you about how this happened. Our Auditor filed our annual reports, but Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) did not receive the file. We did not check that CRA had received the filed statements and that is on us. Unfortunately, CRA then proceeded to close our account. A breakdown of communication between us, our Auditor and CRA meant that we missed this was happening. We are actively working with CRA and our Auditor to be reinstated as soon as possible.
To be clear, this is not due to a financial impropriety or a failure of our programs. It is due to ‘failure to file’.
What this means on a practical level is that we currently are unable to issue tax receipts in the regular manner until our charitable status is re-instated.
Throughout this process, our work in Honduras continues, thanks to you and others like you. High school students are still receiving their scholarship funds as they prepare for the last days of school in November. Elementary students in rural schools are going to class and benefiting from classroom supplies that you have helped to get to them. And young people who grew up in our children’s village are getting the assistance they need to become young adults in the world.
Despite the bureaucratic challenges, you and others like you are making a difference in the lives of these young people in Honduras.
Thank you for your support and commitment!
We are working hard to get back to our regular channels so that the work in Honduras can continue most effectively. We know the children and youth in Honduras are important to you, and we don’t want to let them down.
Thank you for your patience! We will keep you updated throughout this process. In the meantime, please contact me directly if you have any questions or reach Christine at the office.
Sincerely,
Lorraine McCallum
President of the Board of Directors
Friends of Honduran Children
