CASL for Charities: When the Fundraising Exemption Applies

Canada's anti-spam legislation, universally called CASL, has applied to registered charities since it came into force on July 1, 2014. It was written for commercial email and it applies to charities with one important carve-out: a message sent by or on behalf of a registered charity whose primary purpose is raising funds for the charity is exempt from the law's core requirements. Most of the questions we get are about where that line falls.

What CASL Requires of Every Sender

CASL regulates commercial electronic messages, or CEMs: emails, texts and direct messages that encourage participation in a commercial activity, whether or not anyone expects a profit. Selling tickets, memberships with benefits, merchandise or sponsorship packages is commercial activity. A message that does none of those things, such as a program update, a volunteer call or a pure donation request with no purchase attached, is generally not a CEM at all.

For a message that is a CEM, section 6 imposes three requirements: consent before sending, identification of the sender with contact information, and a working unsubscribe mechanism honoured within ten business days. The burden of proving consent sits with the sender, and penalties run to $10 million per violation for an organization.

The Registered-Charity Fundraising Exemption

The regulations under CASL exempt a CEM that is sent by or on behalf of a registered charity and has as its primary purpose raising funds for the charity. The exemption is from all of section 6, so an exempt message needs no prior consent, no identification block and no unsubscribe link. It applies only to charities registered under the Income Tax Act; a nonprofit that is not a registered charity, and a registered Canadian amateur athletic association, cannot use it.

"Primary purpose" means the main or principal purpose of the message. The CRTC has confirmed that a message can have secondary purposes and still qualify, so a fundraising email that also mentions a program update does not lose the exemption. The message must be sent by the charity or on its behalf, which covers an outside agency or email platform sending under the charity's name.

Exempt or Not: How the CRTC Draws the Line

The CRTC published examples shortly after CASL took effect, and they remain the practical test.

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The line the CRTC draws is between raising money for the charity and promoting a commercial relationship with someone else. A sponsor logo in the footer is fine. "Shop at our sponsor this weekend and mention us" is not.

Implied Consent for Donors, Volunteers and Members

For messages that are CEMs but fall outside the exemption, charities have more room than they often assume. CASL treats certain relationships as implied consent for two years: a donation or gift to a registered charity, volunteer work performed for it, and membership in a club, association or voluntary organization. A donor who gave last year can be sent a non-exempt CEM this year on implied consent. Express consent, meaning a box the person ticked themselves with a clear statement of what they are agreeing to, has no expiry and is worth collecting from everyone.

The Rules We Give Charities

Sort messages before sending, not after. A charity with a fundraising list and a gift shop should treat them as two programs: the first rides on the exemption, the second needs consent and an unsubscribe link. Never rent or lend the donor list to a sponsor; a message the sponsor sends is the sponsor's message and the exemption does not follow it. Include an unsubscribe link even in exempt messages, because removing people who ask is good fundraising. Keep records of how every address was obtained. And read CASL alongside privacy law, since the two apply at once; our posts on creating a compliant charity website and whether Canadian charities must comply with PIPEDA cover that side.

The exemption covers the electronic message. It does not change the CRA's rules on how much a charity can spend on fundraising or how receipts must be issued for event tickets, which are covered in our legal guidelines for fundraising events and our post on whether your fundraising activities comply with CRA guidelines.

If you are unsure whether your email program relies on the exemption, on implied consent or on nothing at all, we can review it and set up the consent records the CRTC would ask for. Call us at 416-488-5888, email us at ask@charitylawgroup.ca, or schedule a free meeting with our legal team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to the questions we hear most often about CASL.

Does CASL apply to a nonprofit that is not a registered charity?

Yes, but not without options. What a nonprofit loses is the registered-charity fundraising exemption, which is limited to charities registered under the Income Tax Act. It can still rely on the other exemptions in the CASL regulations, and on express or implied consent, including the implied consent that comes from membership in a club, association or voluntary organization.

Do we need consent to send a donation appeal?

A pure appeal for donations with no purchase involved is generally not a commercial electronic message, and a fundraising message that is a CEM is exempt if sent by a registered charity. Either way, consent is not required, though we recommend an unsubscribe option regardless.

Can our third-party email platform send exempt messages for us?

Yes. The exemption covers messages sent by or on behalf of the charity, which includes a vendor sending under the charity's name and direction.

How long does implied consent from a donation last?

Two years from the donation. A further donation or volunteer activity starts a new two-year period.

This article provides general information about Canada's anti-spam legislation and is not legal advice. Speak with a charity lawyer about your organization's specific circumstances.

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