Mary Winspear Centre is going full steam ahead in 2025, now that its two fundraising arms, the Saanich Peninsula Memorial Park Society (SPMPS) and the Mary Winspear Foundation have regained their charitable status.
The society is responsible for all of the centre's operations and Blue Heron Park, while the foundation generates the centre's funds.
Executive director Denny Warner announced the development on Thursday (March 20), highlighting the extensive efforts required to resolve issues with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
SPMPS lost its status on Nov. 6, 2021, followed by the Mary Winspear Foundation on May 7, 2022, due to failure to file annual T3010 Information Returns.
While charities are exempt from income tax, the annual submission of T3010s is mandatory to document activities and assets. Charities that fail to file lose their registered status and the ability to issue donation slips to donors.
Warner said it had no major impact on the centre's operations, except for making it ineligible for a few grants.
"From the inside, everything carried on as normal," she said.
Warner, who took on the executive role shortly after the initial loss of status, emphasized the crucial importance of regaining it for the centre's fundraising endeavours.
"It was a huge relief for the board and myself, because there are a lot of people in the community who care deeply about our organization and many of them have been extremely generous donors over the years. It was important they understood we had done our due diligence and were successful in restoring the charitable status."
A key component of the restoration process involved amending the society's constitution to explicitly emphasize the public appreciation of performance and visual arts, the maintenance of a park in North Saanich, the creation of an artistic space and the function as a multi-use community facility.
Warner explained the original purpose of commemorating war veterans, while meaningful, was deemed insufficient as a sole charitable purpose by the CRA, requiring the constitutional amendment.
“I will add that although we had to change that at CRA's request, the purpose of the original trust was clear, so honouring service members will remain one of our guiding principles, regardless of what our constitution says,” she added.
With the charitable status now reinstated, Mary Winspear Centre is poised to hold its strategic planning session this fall, setting the stage for a vibrant and impactful 2025.
