ON GUARD FOR HUMANITY

                                              Emergency preparedness begins at a local community level

On Guard for Humanity depends on the support and generosity of individual and corporate donors, philanthropists, giving foundations and partners and its ability to work-in-hand with its value-added members and volunteers in pursuance of its mission, goals and objectives to reach out to communities everywhere exposed to the vagaries of nature, war, famine, disease and breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, building sustainable communities one at-a-time.  

Our work is focused, but we just can’t do it alone – we need your support if we are to achieve success.  Donor support comes in various forms; cash donations, donations in kind and volunteerism.

Every charitable organization is only able to sustain itself through the generosity of donors who support and share the charity’s mission, goals and objectives. 

According to the 2008 Stats Canada figures, some 23 million Canadians donated some $10 – billion to >80,000 charitable causes. The ability for new charities to compete for these dollars is becoming increasingly difficult under the current economic climate and shortfalls are inevitable as donor dollars contrite or are put on hold indefinitely. Fundraising is a costly undertaking and the costs associated therewith can be overwhelming and sadly, do not always yield the expected results hoped for.

Unlike for profit companies, charities receive donations and company’s do not. Charities receive cash donations and/or goods in kind, but above all, human capital, an off balance sheet item, but priceless.

Human capital is the single most precious resource we have, people ready to jump in and help improve the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves and they make a world of difference.

SOURCE AND USE OF FUNDS

What Does the On Guard for Humanity do With Donor Contributions?

 For every dollar donated to On Guard for Humanity, is entitled to deduct no more than 20% of the gross donation received to cover administration and business development costs associated with the humanitarian Mission, goals and objectives of the Foundation.

Donations are allocated to specific On Guard for Humanity projects and donors have a choice and dictate where their donations are to be allocated to:

USE OF FUNDS:

On Guard for Humanity’s budget is broken down into five critical areas of operation:

1. Project costs represent 80% of the total donations and receipts received by On Guard for Humanity.
2. Fund raising costs represent 9% of total costs associated with fund raising activities.
3. CanadaHelps.org is Canada’s only donation portal that provides access to all of Canada’s >80,000 charities to process online donations. It is safe, fast and secure and the 3% processing fess is an economic way for On Guard for Humanity to fundraise on line.
4. Administration location of 7% covers all administrative costs, professional fees (legal & accounting), overhead and general office expenditures and insurance.
5. Surplus Reserve Account 1% is allocated to a reserve account to cover contingency costs.

The On Guard for Humanity answer is to address one single community at-a-time, make it work, by empowering the people living in the community to look after themselves and be a part of their own disaster mitigation and community building programs.

Since each On Guard for Humanity Centre’s are designed to a standard model to address specific disaster mitigation and preparedness and community building programs in Canada and abroad, the model is repetitive and flexible enough to meet specific local needs. Operating costs have been streamlined, budgets are specific, qualitative, and quantifiable and On Guard for Humanity value-added members will see a steady flow of orders as their specific competences are required, but most importantly, donors gain a greater appreciation for their contributions and how funds are utilized and how local communities benefit from their generosity.

 What is CanadaHelps?

CanadaHelps is a not-for-profit charity portal and a registered public foundation (BN: 896568417 RR0001) that seeks to promote and facilitate philanthropy through online giving. CanadaHelps operates the website (www.canadahelps.org) that allows donors to make online credit card donations to the approximately 80,000 registered charities in Canada, which include On Guard for Humanity (see www.onguardforhumanity.org ). It also allows charities to receive online credit card donations without the expense of setting up their own secure donations site.

How much does it cost?

All donations received through CanadaHelps are assessed a 3% transaction charge. This flat 3% will be deducted from the donation before being disbursed to On Guard for Humanity, and covers all aspects of the transaction, including the credit card merchant rate, credit card transaction charge, reconciliation and disbursement-related costs. There are no monthly charges or set-up/registration costs; only the amount assessed from a donation. The 3% is a modest charge for the service that CanadaHelps provides to Canadian donors and the charities they support. Any donation made by a Workplace Campaign will not have fees assessed.

Donations by Credit Card

Donations by credit card can be made easily and securely through www.CanadaHelps.org by clicking the “Donate Now” button on our website www.onguardforhumanity.org

Tax benefits:

On Guard for Humanity offers no tax advice or counsel. Donors should make informed choices about charities that they support. The Canada Revenue Agency website contains important information about the tax benefits you can receive as a donor.

www.cra.gc.ca/tax/charities/donors/savings/menu-e.html

Alternatively, donors may wish to consult with a professional financial advisor for further clarification regarding their donations and tax benefits associated therewith.