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A Brief History of Sing Canada Harmony Scholarship Fund
Part 2
by J.R. Digger MacDougall, Founding Chair
SING CANADA HARMONY SCHOLARSHIP FUND
A Charity Registered with the Canada Revenue Agency
Registration Number 85470 3014 RR0001
www.SingCanadaHarmony.ca
The “Sing Canada Fund” of The Community Foundation of Ottawa
In December 2005, JR Digger MacDougall and Larry Martens two officers of the established not-for-profit entity called “Sing Canada ” signed an agreement to establish and operate an endowment fund within the Community Foundation of Ottawa, which included both flow-through donations and a permanent endowment. The purpose of this relationship with the community foundation was to allow an income tax receipt to be issued by the community foundation to donors, who made gifts to Sing Canada before Sing Canada became a registered charity in its own right. This arrangement was particularly effective in satisfying the needs of Sing Canada as a not-for-profit entity, the requirement for Canadian donors to have a tax receipt, and the accounts of the Sing Canada Fund maintained in compliance with Government of Canada regulations. Note: At this time, donations had to be made by cheque made out to the Community Foundation of Ottawa – Sing Canada Fund. Canadian Barbershoppers slowly became accustomed to trusting this arrangement. Donations were submitted to the Sing Canada Harmony office, which was located in the residence of the founder, JR Digger MacDougall. Every donation made at that time, and since, has been acknowledged with a thank you letter which bears the logo of Sing Canada Harmony, the address and a list of the Board of Directors of Sing Canada Harmony and/or Sing Canada Harmony Scholarship Fund. Thereby, Barbershop donors could see the names of their representatives of the Board of Directors of Sing Canada Harmony. Once Sing Canada became The Sing Canada Harmony Scholarship Fund, a registered charity regulated by the Government of Canada, the flow-through funds of The Community Foundation of Ottawa were transferred to Sing Canada Harmony. The endowment portion of the Sing Canada Fund, as per agreement with the community foundation, remained with the community foundation and to this day in 2014 bears over $1100 per year in income which now becomes part of the Paul Tamblyn Community Leadership Award Fund, of the Sing Canada Harmony Scholarship Fund and is used to support the mission of Sing Canada Harmony. According to the agreement with the Community Foundation of Ottawa, in the event that the Canadian charity, Sing Canada Harmony Scholarship Fund Incorporated were to be dissolved, the funds held by the community foundation of Ottawa would be used to support vocal music, particularly barbershop harmony, across Canada in perpetuity.
Establishing the Canadian Charity
The original plan was to set up a Canadian charity to mirror Harmony Foundation International. To this end, for six years, Digger MacDougall sought the pro bono assistance of Canadian lawyers. While all of the lawyers were well-intentioned, it was difficult if not impossible, to set up a (Harmony Foundation Canada). One of the main reasons was that an organisation with that name already existed. The other main reason was centred around how different the tax laws of Canada and the United States were. One after one, the lawyers gave up while trying to find a way to support Barbershop Harmony singing organisations headquartered in the United States while providing Canadian supporters some sort of tax relief.
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