Urge Your MP to Pass National Philanthropy Day Legislation!

A government-recognized National Philanthropy Day (NPD) is finally within our grasp.  And you helped make it happen!  But we need your help one more time.

The Senate passed the NPD legislation unanimously last week.  Now we just need the House of Commons to pass the bill.  But we only have a very short period of time to make our push in the House.

There are just ten sittings left before Parliament adjourns for the summer, and the bill currently is scheduled for a vote on June 12.  Now is our opportunity to finally pass this landmark legislation!

All Canadian AFP members are strongly urged to contact their Members of Parliament (MP) and encourage them to support the bill NOW! As this is a sector-wide initiative, we also encourage you to outreach within your own communities and networks (both AFP members and non-members) and urge them to show their support of this bill by contacting their MP as well.

You can find your Member of Parliament here.

When you reach your MP's office, please use the following talking points:

• Say that you are calling from the MP's province.  Please tell them your hometown.
• Mention that you are calling from [insert your organization's name], an organization that provides [insert services provided by your organization] services to [insert number of people served by your organization, if known] people.
• Ask your MP to support Bill S-204 that would create the world's very first government-recognized National Philanthropy Day (also known as NPD).
• Explain that NPD is a special day set aside on the fifteenth of November. The purpose of this day is:
• To increase public awareness of NPD as a time to say "thank you" to those who give throughout the year.
• To focus public attention on major accomplishments made possible through philanthropic contributions.
• To honor key local individuals and organizations for their philanthropic endeavors.
• A government-recognized NPD is needed now more than ever.  In 2006, the number of donors shrunk by 1.4 percent to 5.8 million, according to new research by Statistics Canada. 
• Yet, the demand for charities and the vital programs and services that they provide is exponentially growing.  In essence, charities are being asked to do more with less.  And if the charitable sector cannot meet the needs of the Canadian public, the federal government will bear the burden of filling the gap.
• Note that philanthropy is a broad concept that covers all ethnicities, cultures and walks of life.  It is a misconception that only the very wealthy are philanthropists. People from all walks of life and from different income levels, including children, can be philanthropic leaders.
• Also, explain that philanthropy represents giving in a variety of ways—the giving of money, the giving of one's time and the giving of one's talents.  In that sense, philanthropy is more inclusive than the notion of volunteering—the giving of one's time.
• Thank the MP (or their staff) for their time.

Please pass these talking points along to your colleagues in the charitable sector, including those who are not AFP members (your donors, board members, organizational leadership, etc.) and ask them to contact their MP as well. This landmark legislation affects the entire sector, not just those associated with AFP. It is imperative that Members of Parliament see that this bill has broad support across the country and across all types of organizations, as well as from donors, CEO's, volunteers and fundraisers.

A copy of Bill S-204 can be found here.

For more information about the bill or AFP’s work in pushing this legislation forward, contact Jason Lee, director, government relations, at jlee@afpnet.org.