Governance
Who we are, and who can tell us no.
You are being asked to hand money to people you have never met, for work you will not see, in places you will never visit. The least we owe you is to say plainly who those people are and what stops them from behaving badly.
Verify us
Our charitable registration is not confirmed yet.
We are not yet listed on the Canada Revenue Agency’s public register of charities, so we do not describe ourselves as a registered charity and we do not issue official donation receipts. Donations are still spent on the work described on this site, but they are not eligible for a charitable tax credit. We will publish our registration number here the moment it appears on the register, where you can check it yourself.
The people
Names, not a logo.
Our directors are not listed here yet.
They should be, and they will be. In the meantime our directors are already a matter of public record: they are filed with the Canada Revenue Agency and visible on the government register linked above, alongside our annual return.
If you want to know who runs this before you give — which is a reasonable thing to want — email us and we will tell you, by name, the same day.
hello@goodwardfoundation.orgAccountability
The rules we operate under.
These are the safeguards that matter when nobody is watching, which is most of the time in a small charity.
01
A board that can overrule the founder
The board approves the budget, signs the accounts, and can remove any officer including whoever started this. A charity where one person cannot be overruled is not governed, it is owned.
02
No related-party payments without disclosure
If we ever contract a supplier connected to a director or staff member, it is declared to the board, minuted, and disclosed in our annual report — before the work starts, not after someone asks.
03
Conflicts declared and recorded
Every director maintains a register of interests. Anyone with a conflict on a decision leaves the room for that item and it is recorded in the minutes.
04
Complaints go to the board, not the accused
A complaint about a member of staff is handled by a director, never routed back to the person it concerns. Serious matters go to the full board and, where required, to the regulator.
Found something here that does not add up?