What's in a name?

I came across a list of Which Canadian Registered Charities Received the Most Money from Provincial Governments in 2012?  I know it's eight years old, but it's interesting.  

In Nova Scotia, 115 charities made the list.  Totaling $3.5 billion dollars in provincial funding.

Surprising to me was the inclusion of 

• Capital District Health Authority (I checked - still a charity in 2020)
• Halifax Regional School Board
• Cape Breton District Health Authority

to the tune of 1.3 billion dollars.

Those entities, I assumed, are simply taxpayer funded - part of the Department of Health and Wellness or Education.  For those three, the charitable receipted donations represent 0.03% of their revenue. Three HUNDRETHS of one percent.  Like finding $8.64 outside the McDonalds where you flip burgers for a living.

Why are they charities?  Does it matter?  Here's the summary:

And by category (my categories):

	Provincial Funding	Federal Funding	Municipal Funding	Receipted Donations	Total Revenue
HEALTH	$1,916,837,849	$41,465,791	$12,082	$1,281,613	$2,123,200,357
EDUCATION	$749,514,421	$11,765,202	$55,744,706	$981,123	$994,595,982
POST SECONDARY	$504,837,252	$68,961,042	$309,793	$31,199,957	$1,294,643,714
SENIORS	$186,968,785	$1,426,644		$442,451	$234,548,124
RESIDENT SERVICES	$57,541,424	$250,080		$20,512	$59,594,857
COMMUNITY HOUSING	$53,152,198	$56,635		$91,121	$56,212,476
HOME FOR SPECIAL CARE	$19,671,666	$320,578		$46,691	$24,962,322
LIBRARY	$14,230,402	$387,854	$18,251,184	$132,942	$34,278,694
SHELTERED WORKSHOP	$12,306,665	$378,408	$545,837	$19,104	$17,225,619
SOCIAL SERVICE	$10,984,507	$19,412,304	$85,514	$36,903	$31,855,811
YOUTH	$9,653,517	$252,652		$26,780	$10,631,459
HOMEMAKER	$8,064,606	$2,877		$20	$8,295,111
RESEARCH	$7,986,628	$2,779		$3,250,193	$15,184,327
EMPLOYMENT	$4,932,322	$412,958	$63,563	$9,066	$6,270,605
YMCA	$4,561,085	$2,441,795	$243,859	$523,173	$16,121,025
L'ARCHE	$3,460,788	$2,947		$90,499	$3,647,882
SHELTER	$2,334,739	$1,248,800		$192,692	$4,034,413
MUSEUM	$1,578,283	$10,256		$3,767	$2,318,222
Grand Total	$3,568,617,137	$148,799,602	$75,256,538	$38,348,607	$4,937,621,000

Receipted donations are .78% of all revenue for these 105 charities, and  postsecondary education accounts for 80% of that.

Why bother to set up charities when you could just have separate pigeonholes in the provincial budget?  There's a category for 'Lands and Forestry' and they pay their bills just fine.

You can argue that Dalhousie makes quite good use of its charitable status ($8.5 million) but 34 of these charities had no receipted donations.  

I don't really know what this is about, but it seems oddly complicated.  36 of these charities are what I would call disability focused, and they are funded by the province for over $150 million.

They collectively receipted under half a million dollars.

I don't like the idea that people with disabilities get their entitlements indirectly.  If you are unemployed, you get a check paid to you.  If you have a disability, your entitlement goes directly to a third party as an act of charity.  Some of the third parties are good. but on the whole the message is harmful.  This arrangement just hasn't worked in housing, employment and community inclusion.

Here's what makes sense to me:

• Part of a government department with some autonomy
• Health Regions
• Public Education Boards
• Not for profit with active charitable wing
• Universities
• Hospitals 
• For profit with associated charity
• Senior facilities
• Government Entitlements
• Paid to individuals

I'd love to know what you think.

Gus Reed