Frequently Asked Questions

RAVEN is a nonprofit and nongovernmental organization. RAVEN is registered with the Canada Revenue Agency as a charitable organization. RAVEN is also registered under the BC Societies Act as a society. RAVEN is also registered with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

CRA Registration Number: 85484 0147 RR0001

IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN): 98-0628334

RAVEN’s Executive Director and President of the Board of Directors are Indigenous, as well as other Indigenous representation on both our staff and board. In addition, RAVEN partners with Indigenous Nations that are leading their own litigations. As such, RAVEN collaborates with and takes direction from the Nations we partner with.

RAVEN has a clear set of criteria for proposed partnership applications, including potential to set legal precedent, stewarding environmental legacy, feasibility of achieving fundraising goals, Nation/community support, and collaboration between RAVEN’s team and the Nation. RAVEN has an Advisory Panel that helps discern alignment with the listed criteria. In addition, RAVEN is a small team, and so we can only take on campaigns if capacity allows. Considering all these factors, it is up to the Board of Directors to choose which campaigns RAVEN takes on. Read more about how we determine which campaigns to take on here.

All our applications are online. You can download a PDF and send it to info@raventrust.com to apply. Check out the links below to learn more and download the PDFs.

Litigation Support Info and Application
Intervenor Fund Info and Application
Community Action Fund Info and Application

RAVEN has a physical office space on the unceded, unsurrendered territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən People (Songhees and Xʷsepsəm/Esquimalt Nations) and W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples. Our staff is a hybrid team who work across distances and territories. RAVEN’s work supports Indigenous-led litigation throughout Canada.

Indigenous Peoples in Canada have some of the most powerful environmental rights in the world. But only if they can afford to uphold them in court — that’s where RAVEN comes in. RAVEN uses fundraising and education to increase access to justice for Indigenous Nations and to practice solidarity with Indigenous sovereignty and environmental protection. RAVEN’s work is rooted in transforming the Canadian legal system and connecting people across differences to work towards a more just and sustainable future for all.

The vast majority of RAVEN’s funding is philanthropic revenue from grants and donations. On average, this funding is evenly split between grants from foundations and gifts from donor-advised funds (47%) and donations from individuals and households (47%). Other sources of income include donations from values-aligned businesses and nongovernmental organizations and interest on sustainable investments. Information on which foundations support RAVEN is publicly available online from the CRA Charities Directorate and the IRS Tax-Exempt Organizations Database. RAVEN does not accept funding from government sources or resource-extractive corporations.

Learn more about RAVEN’s past campaigns here.

RAVEN staff loves to show up (in person or virtually) and meet supporters, new and established! If time, values, and capacity align, we would love to organize a presentation for your audience.

Click the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of a RAVEN email. When unsubscribing, you will be prompted to sign up for News for the Nest, our quarterly newsletter updates, where you’ll only hear from us four times a year.

A donation to RAVEN is tax-deductible in Canada and the United States. Certain exclusions do exist, such as event registrations or ticket costs, sponsorships, or silent auction bids. 

RAVEN is registered as a charitable organization in Canada. Your donation is tax-deductible according to current Canadian law. To claim a deduction on your Canadian income tax return, keep your donation receipt as your official record of the donation. We will send your tax receipt by email to the email address used to make the donation.

RAVEN is recognized as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization in the United States. Your donation is tax-deductible according to current U.S. law. To claim a deduction on your U.S. income tax return, keep your donation receipt as your official record of the donation. We will send your tax receipt by email to the email address used to make the donation.

One-Time Donations:

Yes. A donation receipt will be sent to you at the email address you used to make the donation. The official receipt for tax purposes will come from taxreceipts@raventrust.com in a PDF attached to an email message. We recommend that you keep both a printed and a digital copy of your tax receipt. 

Monthly Donations:

Recurring donors receive a single receipt at the end of each calendar year that summarizes all donations made throughout the year in one PDF attachment.

Event Ticket Purchases: 

We are unable to provide tax receipts for ticket purchases due to CRA regulations.

Absolutely! Send a request via email to taxreceipts@raventrust.com

If you donate online, all your donor information lives in your Fundraise Up Donor Portal. If you donate by e-transfer, pre-authorized debit, or cheque, please contact the RAVEN team directly (info@raventrust.com) for information about your donation history or to manage your recurring gift.

RAVEN’s primary program expense is legal fees related to the litigations brought by partnered Indigenous Nations. For all campaign donations and the majority of campaign grants, RAVEN sends 85% of each dollar raised directly to the partnered Indigenous Nation by paying off invoices they submit to RAVEN. RAVEN retains 15% of campaign fundraising to fund essential program and operational expenses, including staff and contractors, communications and marketing, campaign management, education program, administration and operational expenses, and fundraising.

Read more about how we work and our gift acceptance policy here.

Yes, absolutely. The security and confidentiality of your information are our highest priority. We use industry-standard SSL (secure socket layer) technology to protect your information and provide a safe and secure environment for online donations. We never sell or trade your personal information, and we would only share personal information if you have given us specific permission to do so.

If a legal challenge is terminated, and the money raised exceeds the litigation expenses, we place the remaining funds into our Discretionary Litigation Fund. The purpose of our Discretionary Litigation Fund is to add funds to any of our litigation campaigns that have unanticipated funding needs (e.g., to respond to a Crown motion, or to commission additional expert reports).