News Release

For immediate release
April 8, 2009

Mount Royal’s Institute for Nonprofit Studies receives largest single grant to date
Canada Revenue Agency is providing $652,000 for a project to benefit small and rural charities across Canada

(CALGARY – March 19, 2009) Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has recently awarded Mount Royal’s Institute of Nonprofit Studies the largest single grant the institute has received to date. The $652,000 grant will fund a project entitled, “Small and Rural Charities: On-line Compliance Support,” and will benefit approximately 44,500 small and 22,000 rural charities in Canada.

“The project is intended to provide support to small and rural charities so that they can comply with their regulatory requirements annually, especially when completing and filing their annual returns,” says Keith Seel, director of Mount Royal’s Institute for Nonprofit Studies. “This project is the culmination of years of work building on successful proposals that have firmly established the Institute for Nonprofit Studies as the leading area for applied research on Canada's nonprofit sector.”

The CRA recognized value in research conducted by Seel and Cliff Spyker, instructor at Mount Royal’s Bissett School of Business, which mapped where small and rural charities are located in Canada. Their research also identified trends in the errors made by small and rural charities associated with the annual return process.

About the Institute for Nonprofit Studies
The Institute for Nonprofit Studies at Mount Royal is the first in Canada to bring together education, training and research tailored to meet the rapidly changing needs of the nonprofit sector. It works in collaboration with the nonprofit community, business and other post-secondary institutions to ensure curriculum meets the most important needs.

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For further information contact:
Fred Cheney, Media Relations Officer
Office of External Relations
Office: 403.440.5195
Cell: 403.542.7904
mediarelations@mtroyal.ca
http://www.mtroyal.ca