In response to the devastating earthquake that shook Haiti on January 12, the Government of Canada has created the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. For every eligible dollar donated by individual Canadians from the date of the earthquake, January 12, until February 12, 2010, the Government of Canada has contributed one dollar to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.
The Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund will provide effective, accountable, and timely financial support to trusted Canadian and international humanitarian and development partner organizations working in the affected area.
For every dollar Canadians donated between January 12 and February 12, 2010, to a registered charity responding to the Haiti earthquake, the Government of Canada has put one dollar into the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.
To be counted for this purpose, donations had to be:
Monetary, up to $100,000
Made by an individual Canadian
Made to a registered charity that is receiving donations in response to the January 12 earthquake in Haiti
Specifically earmarked by such organizations for the purpose of responding to the earthquake
Made between January 12 and February 12, 2010
The requirement that donations be made by February 12, 2010, is to ensure that CIDA's matching contribution to the relief fund can in turn be mobilized quickly to respond to emergency needs in Haiti.
Not all registered charities were collecting donations for the disaster response. If you wanted the Government of Canada to make a corresponding contribution to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, you had to ensure that your donation complied with the conditions set out above, that the registered charity in question intended to use the donations for earthquake relief efforts in Haiti, and that it would declare the donations to CIDA.
Both tax-receipted and non tax-receipted donations were eligible to be counted toward the size of the relief fund. Donations had to be made in cash or by cheque, money order, credit card or wire transfer. Donations made by Canadian individuals by cheque had to be issued from a personal bank account and not a corporate bank account.
Included amounts from a fundraising event undertaken by school authorities, faith-based organizations, clubs, social groups, businesses, incorporated entities, or registered charities to raise money from individuals in response to the January 12 earthquake in Haiti.
Excluded any donations by corporations, governments, businesses, partnerships, schools, incorporated or non-incorporated entities, and unions from their existing resources that were not raised from individuals specifically in response to the January 12 earthquake in Haiti
Ensured no double counting of donations (i.e. donations collected by a registered charity and given to another such organization could be declared only once to CIDA)
Excluded donations that were made by corporations, governments, incorporated entities, registered charities, unions, or government bodies (provincial, territorial, or municipal) to augment an amount raised in a fundraising activity or event
To ensure that donations collected in response to the earthquake by registered charities will be taken into account in determining the size of the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, the registered charities concerned are required to complete and send in a declaration form to CIDA stating the amount of eligible donations received. This form must be receivedby CIDA on or before February 26 for donations to count toward the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund.
The declaration form must be:
Filled in completely
Signed by an authorized signatory of the organization (i.e. an officer or representative vested explicitly, implicitly, or through conduct with the powers to commit the authorizing organization to a binding agreement)
Received by CIDA by February 26, 2010
Declaration forms should be sent by fax, registered mail, or courier to:
Canadian International Development Agency
Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund
International Humanitarian Assistance Directorate
Multilateral and Global Programs Branch
200 Promenade du Portage
Gatineau, Quebec K1A 0G4
Fax: 819-997-2637
Please note that the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund is separate from the donations collected by registered charities and will be administered separately by the Government of Canada. This means that the organization declaring the amount of donations collected will not receive a matching dollar from the government. For every dollar donated by individual Canadians to registered charities, the Government of Canada will contribute one dollar to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund. The Government of Canada will use the relief fund to support priority relief efforts in Haiti of eligible Canadian and international humanitarian and development organizations.
Information for organizations interested in submitting proposals
Guidelines for submitting proposals to the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund
The Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund will provide money to established Canadian and international humanitarian and development organizations with significant in-country capacity to deliver humanitarian, early recovery, and reconstruction assistance in Haiti. Non-governmental organizations interested in applying for funding should first ensure that they meet the minimum institutional eligibility requirements.
Registered charities fundraising for the January 12 Haiti earthquake response do not have privileged access to the relief fund. Allocation decisions will be based on CIDA's humanitarian and development assistance guidelines and the ability of Canadian and international humanitarian and development organizations to access the affected populations and deliver timely, effective, and appropriate humanitarian relief, early recovery, and reconstruction activities.
For further information on the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund, please contact CIDA's Public Inquiries Service:
Telephone: 819-997-5006 Toll free: 1-800-230-6349 Fax: 819-953-6088 Toll free for the hearing and speech impaired only: 1-800-331-5018 Email:info@acdi-cida.gc.ca
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