At the same time, Development and Peace is seeking new sources of funds in order to respond to increasing requests from its partners in Africa, Asia and Latin America, as well as to global emergency relief purposes. These projects are vital and Development and Peace cannot support them without diversifying is funding sources.

Postal appeals are also the least costly way for Development and Peace to enter into a direct relationship with its donors; people who want to support the organization's work over the course of the year, or outside of its annual Share Lent campaign in the spring.

Our donors and members also see the mail as the best way to keep people informed on our public education work in Canada and on our partners' sustainable development actions in the Global South.

Occasionally, Development and Peace shares its own donors list with other charitable organizations who have similar objectives to our own and in this way your contact information helps promote our broader education and fundraising goals. Any such exchanges are subject to Development and Peace's policy on list exchanges, adopted by our National Council in 1999.

In addition, we closely monitor the frequency of mailings donors want to receive from the organization. If you wish to be excluded from our mailing lists you must advise us:

1. To receive your funding appeal letters regularly
2. To receive a letter one a year (in December)
3. To donate only through my parish
4. To not receive mail solicitations
5. To not receive telephone solicitations

By e-mail at transactionservices@devp.org (please include your full name, address, postal code and telephone number)

By telephone:
Toll free at 1 888 234-8533 or for the Montreal area at 514 257-8711

By fax:
514 257-8497

By mail:
Development and Peace,
1425 René-Lévesque Blvd. West, 3rd Floor
Montreal (Quebec) H3G 1T7

Development and Peace adheres strictly to all applicable privacy laws, and as a member or donor your name and address are held in strict confidence by our national office at: 1425 René-Lévesque Blvd. West, 3^rd Floor, Montreal (Quebec) H3G 1T7

Rooted in the Lenten tradition of sharing, the Share Lent campaign is very much a part of the life of the Christian community at a high point in the Church's calendar.

Our postal appeals are intended to give Development and Peace donors another opportunity to support the organization's growing number of Southern programs and projects, both WITHIN AND OUTSIDE of the Share Lent campaign. Our partners' needs are not shrinking: in fact, we must work harder to raise more funds to support more projects by our partners.

This is why all our postal appeals are not just limited to Development and Peace supporters, be they active donors or Global Village Voice newsletter subscribers i.e. those who have expressed an interest in learning more about our organization. This is known as "donor prospecting". This is, quite simply, identifying and mailing material to those who might be interested in contributing to Development and Peace.

This is why, within strict limitations, Development and Peace occasionally exchanges the names of those individuals who have agreed to have information exchanged with other charitable organizations, and/or other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), with similar objectives to our own. Beyond benefiting from such exchanges, Development and Peace also tries to rent potential donor lists (if available and if affordable), for instance, subscriber lists of certain newspapers or magazines.

In the constant search for a better balance between costs and quality, practices such as these enable Development and Peace, at a minimal cost, to identify and target individuals likely to be interested in supporting the organization's international development programs.

At the same time, there is a growing need to reach the broader public concerned about international solidarity. Even though they are not part of the Church, many people continue to support Christian values. Development and Peace's national and regional offices across the country need to bridge this divide.

One way of preserving donor support, which is part of every postal appeal, is to invite contributors to become monthly donors under the Share Year-Round program.

Planned giving allows you to take advantage of tax savings during your lifetime and can also benefit your estate. There are some very interesting tax advantages associated with this type of contribution:

1. A 15.25% federal tax credit applies to the first $200 of any contribution and 29% to any amount beyond this.


2. You can also receive a provincial tax credit of up to almost 50%, depending upon the province in which you reside. For example, the provincial tax credit in Quebec is 20% on the first $200 and 24% on amounts beyond this.


3. What's more, an individual Canadian can claim federal tax credits for donations of up to 75% of his or her net income in any given year.


4. In addition, a donor's estate can benefit from federal tax credits for charitable donations of up to 100% of his or her net income in the year of death, and in the year immediately preceding the donor's demise.

Development and Peace pays the same rate charged to vendors or businesses using credit cards. This means an administration fee of roughly 3% is applied to each monthly donation. For example, Development and Peace pays 51¢ in administration fees on a $17 monthly donation.

This is not the case for contributions via preauthorized withdrawals. In this case, the donor assumes any administrative costs, and these differ depending upon the financial institution and type of bank account involved. Basically, costs can vary between 30¢ and 50¢ per monthly contribution.