Who this is for
Treasurers and event organisers of registered charities, nonprofit societies, sports clubs, cultural and religious organizations, and parent groups.
The five records, for every activity
-
Who gave and how much. Name, contact details, amount, date, and the method: cash, cheque, card, online platform. For a registered charity this is the receipting record. For a nonprofit it is the membership and accountability record.
-
What they received in return. The meal, the auction item, the sponsorship recognition, the raffle ticket. This decides whether a receipt is possible and for how much, and it decides whether a payment is a donation, a sponsorship or a purchase.
-
What the event cost. Every invoice: venue, catering, printing, prizes, platform fees. Net proceeds are what the board needs to see, and the costs are also what sets the advantage value for receipting.
-
How any receipt was calculated. Price, valued advantage, the 80% check, eligible amount. One page per event, kept with the event file.
-
The bank records. Deposits matched to the donor list, payments matched to the invoices. Cash counted by two people and recorded on the day.
By type of activity
- Gala or dinner: ticket sales by payer, menu and entertainment values, prizes.
- Auction: item list with donor and fair market value, bid sheets by bidder.
- Raffle or 50/50: the gaming licence, ticket sales, prize payouts. Raffle tickets are never receiptable.
- Sponsorship: the package, what the sponsor received, the invoice or receipt issued.
- Online campaign: the platform’s payout report, fees, and the donor export.
One thing many people do not realize
The receipt calculation is itself a record. A charity that issued $40,000 of receipts for a dinner must be able to show how the eligible amount per ticket was worked out. The ticket price, the valued advantage, the 80% check. The CRA can ask for that years later. The calculation takes ten minutes before the event and is nearly impossible to reconstruct afterwards.
What to prepare
- A one-folder-per-event habit, paper or digital
- Templates: donor list, bid sheet, event budget, receipting calculation
- The organization’s status: registered charity or nonprofit
- The bank account used for events
When professional help may make sense
Several events a year, a mix of sponsorship and donations, or an organization that has never kept the calculation behind its receipts.
How Rex Tax may be able to help
Bookkeeping for charities and nonprofits, event record systems, and the annual filings that depend on them.
Official sources
- CRA: Fundraising events, issuing receipts
- CRA: Keeping records
- CRA: Income tax guide to the Non-Profit Organization (NPO) information return (T1044)
This guide is general information, not advice about your situation. It reflects the rules for the 2026 tax year. It has not yet been reviewed by a practitioner. The information was checked against the official sources listed above on the date shown. Rules change. Check the official sources above or ask us. How we prepare these guides.