FAQs

Cause Funds are an innovative new way for Canadians to support the causes and issues they are passionate about. Donations are pooled with others who are passionate about the same cause and funds are distributed equally amongst a number of charities all working towards the same cause.

Unite for Change and Cause Funds are powered by CanadaHelps, a charitable foundation and social enterprise that for more than 21 years has been informing, inspiring, and connecting charities and donors, with the causes they care about, through technology. Through CanadaHelps, we can facilitate donations to any charity in Canada and ensure your gift reaches trusted charities and is put to work.

We base our decision on various factors. This includes ensuring that we offer a wide variety of funds that enable Canadians to donate easily to the causes that matter most to them and we pay close attention to emerging news and social concerns, and the expected desire of people to give in response. We also keep in mind that each fund needs to have a sufficient number of Canadian charities working on the cause. To learn more about our process in deciding which funds to create, click here.

Yes! We want to hear what you’re most passionate about. Please email your suggestion to us and we will take your feedback into consideration when creating future Cause Funds.

We develop criteria specific to each Cause Fund. You can find more information about the criteria on each Cause Fund page. Generally speaking, we select charities based on their area of focus, mission, and description on CanadaHelps. Some Cause Funds are developed with curators who are experts in a particular area. We only include charities that are registered to receive EFT payments through CanadaHelps. It’s free to register and over 24,000 charities are currently registered.

All funds collected will be disbursed to charities quarterly via Electronic Funds Transfer, subject to a minimum of $10 per charity. In response to pressing needs or special circumstances we may disburse funds more frequently.

Yes! A current list of charities in each Cause Fund is available on the individual Cause Fund page.

The charities in our Cause Funds are selected algorithmically or with an expert in a particular area based on the criteria of that Fund. New charities are added periodically if they meet the established criteria. Individuals are not able to suggest charities for inclusion at this time. Should you have any feedback or concerns, please do not hesitate to email us.

We will continue to evolve and grow our Cause Fund selection, including more ways to support your local community in the future. We started with large cities because of the volume of charities and individuals in those communities.

Each list is updated quarterly. In special circumstances, we may choose to update it more frequently.

Yes, you can make monthly donations! Above the space where you enter the amount of your donation, simply click “Donate Monthly.”

There is no fee charged to donors for using our services, or to charities for being included in a Cause Fund. Tax receipts are issued for 100% of the gift made by the donor. At the time donations are disbursed, they are subject to a modest 3.75% fee, which includes all hard costs such as credit card processing and disbursement costs. There are no management, platform, or other fees. Best of all? Since we are a charitable foundation, any amount above our hard costs is reinvested into our mission work of informing, inspiring, and connecting charities and donors, with the causes they care about, through technology.

Your name and contact information is never shared with the charities included in the Cause Fund. You can select if you’d like to share your first name and last initial, donation, or a message on our public-facing donation wall or to hide all personal information. However, your gift cannot be anonymous as CanadaHelps needs your personal information in order to issue a tax receipt for your gift.

The criteria for each Cause Fund is different. Some of our Funds are created algorithmically using category and descriptive data charities have provided, while other Funds are created by invitation to charities or by expert curation.

New charities may be added to the Fund as they meet the established criteria. To ensure your organization is considered for future Funds, please ensure you are subscribed for our email lists so you do not miss any invitations, and your category and descriptive data in your Charity Profile is up to date to best describe the work of your charity.

We are only able to include charities signed up for Electronic Funds Transfer with CanadaHelps. You can register with CanadaHelps and sign up for EFT here.

If you have ensured your Charity Profile description and category are up to date, and you think your organization has been missed from an existing Fund, please complete this form.

Submitting this form does not mean your charity will be automatically added to a Cause Fund. Our team will review each submission and determine whether it meets the criteria of the Fund. We will follow up with you only if we have determine that your charity should be added to the Fund.

We base our decision on various factors. This includes ensuring that we offer a wide variety of funds that enable Canadians to donate easily to the causes that matter most to them and we pay close attention to emerging news and social concerns, and the expected desire of people to give in response. We also keep in mind that each fund needs to have a sufficient number of Canadian charities working on the cause. To learn more about our process in deciding which funds to create, click here.

No. Donors are making a gift to an aggregate fund, not to an individual charity. Donor information will not be shared with individual charities.

You can find more information on the exact number of charities included in the Fund, as well as a current list of charities, on each individual Cause Fund page.

Yes! Please email your suggestion to us and we will take your feedback into consideration when creating future Cause Funds.

Funds will be shared equally amongst each charity included in a fund.

These funds are a new initiative and are a first phase of a broader vision to engage new donors and provide Canadians with new ways of making a difference. Currently, we have no end date planned for these funds. If, for any reason, we remove any Local or Cause Funds, all donations made to the Fund as of the date of dissolution will be disbursed to the intended charities.

The charities in our Local Funds and Cause Funds are selected algorithmically, and include all charities that meet the criteria of the Fund, are small or medium in size, and are able to receive EFT payments through CanadaHelps. If you have any concerns about being included in this fund, please contact us directly at info@canadahelps.org and we’ll work with you.

Grants made to your charity from a Local or Cause Fund will appear in your donation report as “Partner Giving” and “CanadaHelps.org Local/Cause Fund Donation.”

In the event that a refund is needed or a chargeback is received by CanadaHelps for a donation made to any of our Local or Cause Funds, we will not debit individual charities’ accounts. Instead, we will debit the fund itself so that the next disbursement is reduced by the corresponding amount.

Funds will be directed to each charity’s General fund.

The list is updated quarterly, and includes charities that meet the criteria of the Fund at the time the list is generated.