WARA received notice from Canada Revenue Agency that advises it is now a registered charity under the Income Tax Act. As such, WARA will be able to issue receipts for any cash donations, including membership fees.

The board of directors decided to apply for charity status in the hope that issuing income tax receipts will assist in fund raising to help replace the main tower on Mt McDonald, and to help with other fund raising for other purposes that WARA has such as emergency communications. Now that we have charity status, we will be able to approach other organizations and foundations that can only donate to registered charities.

In the letter to WARA, the Charities Directorate explained that the reason WARA was registered as a charity was because:

• It benefits the community by responding to emergency situations and maintaining rescue equipment; and
• It advances education by providing training in amateur radio operations.

A section of the website will be available soon to provide further information about WARA's chartiable status, and what the tax benefits are in any donations you make to WARA.