On January 14, 2010, the Government of Canada announced that it will match dollar for dollar contributions of individual Canadians to eligible Canadian charitable organizations in support of humanitarian recovery and reconstruction efforts in Haiti.

Which Donations Will Be Matched?

To qualify for matching, the donations must be:

• made by an individual Canadian (not a corporation or business) – the donation from an individual may not exceed $100,000;
• made to a registered Canadian charitable organization that is receiving donations in response to the January 12 Haiti earthquake; (CDIA is doing this)
• specifically earmarked for the purpose of responding to the earthquake; and,
• made between January 12 and February 12, 2010.

Key facts can be found on CIDA’s website at href="http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/ACDI-CIDA.nsf/eng/JOS-114185816-W4Y"

Declaration of Donations Required

CIDA has advised us that CDIA will be required to provide a declaration of donations received as part of the matching program.

Allocation of Matched Funds

CIDA will allocate the matched funds on behalf of the Government of Canada. Decisions for funding will be made based on the merits of the proposal and the ability to deliver aid quickly and effectively. The organization will need to have significant in-country capacity to deliver humanitarian and early recovery assistance. Charities receiving the initial donations will not necessarily receive the matched funds.

Please note, that while funds donated to CDIA may be matched (per eligibility criteria above) it is unlikely that CDIA will actually receive any of those funds to spend on their relief efforts. However, it is our opinion that at this time every dollar counts, so that while we may not be using the funds the government contributes, they will still be used to help our Haitian brothers through other organizations.