Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation and TeamRaiser

Chris Kauffman

Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) will come into effect on July 1, 2014. CASL sets new rules on the sending of commercial messages across many technologies such as email, SMS, MMS, social direct messages, etc. CASL can be summarized as an “opt-in” law, which differs from laws in the US in that CASL requires constituents to “opt-in” or provide consent to receive communications. US laws are less restrictive and allow organizations to send communications until a person “opts-out”. Only in specific circumstances can organizations assume that constituents have “opted-in” (such as previous donors and volunteers).

 

TeamRaiser is Ready for CASL Today

• Individual donors must specifically “opt-in” to receive communications – Whether it is making a donation or registering for an event, constituents have the opportunity to elect to receive communications.
• “Opt-outs” are included in email communications – Users wishing to unsubscribe from your emails can easily click the links included in their communications.
• Participant Center Emails are covered by individual-to-individual communication exemption – CASL does not apply when a message is sent to a person in which you have a personal or family relationship, for this reason the messages sent from Participant Center are exempt from the CASL rules.
• Autoresponder emails are covered by exceptions based on related, voluntary transactions – Autoresponders are often sent to complete, confirm (receipt), or facilitate a previous transaction such as a donation or registration.

Some Steps You Should Take

1. Discuss CASL with your organization’s legal counsel.
2. Verify that your forms are not using a hidden opt-in (in others words, don’t “Hide the email opt-in checkbox”)
3. Configure your forms to remove the default email opt-in (the opt-in should not be checked by default)
4. Verify that your emails contain proper identification information – All emails should contain the organization’s name, postal address and one of the following: phone number, web address, or email address.
5. Review the Blackbaud’s Acceptable Use Policy for Application Services (https://www.blackbaud.com/files/AUPSupplementforApplicationServices.pdf) or Convio’s Application Use Policy – Operating under the terms of the Blackbaud agreements help protect you from CASL infractions. 

Note:

These materials are provided for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue.

 

Christine Boult

Please note the following from CRA website:   This practice is used by the top chairties in Canada, Red Cross, Salvation Army, Canadian Cancer.   You CAN prepopulate the opt in email check box.   Donors and event participants have given implied consent by virture of their relationship with the org. for a 2 year period.  BB needs to update their info that the Opt in must not be prepopulated.  This is incorrect info.



Can registered charities rely on implied consent to send CEMs?

Yes, consent under CASL is implied if you have an existing business relationship or an existing non-business relationship with the recipient.

An existing non-business relationship, as defined under CASL, is created when a person makes a donation or gift to the registered charity, or performs volunteer work or attends a meeting organized by the charity. A registered charity would have implied consent to send CEMs to this person for two years following the event that starts the relationship (e.g. gift or donation made).