fair questions about virtual vancouver foundation
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Fair Questions About
Virtual Vancouver Foundation
Prepared by Vivian Krause November 25, 2018
Vivian Krause @FairQuestions
This document offers the analysis, questions and opinions of the author, Vivian Krause.
While the information herein is believed to be accurate and reliable, it is not guaranteed
to be so. The author makes this document available without warranty of any kind.
Users of this material should exercise due diligence to ensure the accuracy and currency
of all information. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice,
and may become out-dated and may or may not be updated.
Vivian Krause reserves the right to amend this document on the basis of information
received after it was initially written.
No part of this document may be reproduced, stored, distributed or transmitted, in any
form or by any means, without the prior written permission of Vivian Krause.
Notice and Disclaimer
SUMMARY
With no employees, no expenditure on fundraising, and not even a web-site, Virtual Vancouver Foundation raised $14.5 million.
Of that, $3 million was tax-receipted donations and $1.5 million was investment income.
Virtual Vancouver also received roughly $10 million from charities affiliated with Blake Bromley (“Bromley charities”). Roughly the same amount was granted to other charities within the Bromley network, including $7 million to Chimp Foundation.
As it appears, Virtual Vancouver’s purpose is to re-circulate money from Bromley charities and funnel it into Chimp.
As shown ahead, much of the money “received” from Bromley charities was booked under Accounts Receivable.
Over the past decade, Virtual Vancouver Foundation has not conducted nor funded any charitable activity of its own. None.
Virtual Vancouver reports ZERO spending on charitable programs and has not funded a single charitable organization
outside of the network of charities run by Blake Bromley and his associates/employees.
Over the same years that Virtual Vancouver reported $10 million in expenditures, ostensibly as gifts to qualified donees, it has paid
roughly $327,000 in fees. If that $327,000 was in support of a charitable purpose, this would be reflected at Line 5000 of the tax return,
where charities are required to report their spending on charitable programs. But not once has Virtual Vancouver Foundation ever
reported a dollar spent on charitable programs. Every year since 2008, Virtual Vancouver has reported ZERO at Line 5000. All of the
$327,000 has been reported as Management & Administration.
On the basis of these facts, it does not appear that Virtual Vancouver Foundation serves a charitable purpose, let alone that it
exists exclusively for charitable purposes, as required by law.
Virtual Vancouver Foundation
2008 2014
Sources: 1 https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form22QuickView-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2017-02-28 o 2009: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form21officers-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2009-02-28 o 2017: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23officers-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2017-02-28
In tax returns, Virtual Vancouver Foundation
reports that its purpose is “Making Gifts to Qualified Donees.”1
Virtual Vancouver was created by
Blake Bromley, Christopher Richardson and
an employee of Benefic Group Inc.
Over the years, the board of Virtual Vancouver
has consisted exclusively of Blake Bromley and
his associates and employees (with the
possible exception of one individual).
Revenue & Amounts Receiveable: $14.5 Million
Revenue Expenditures During its first five years,
Virtual Vancouver Foundation
was inactive, reporting
no assets, no revenue,
no expenditures whatsoever.
Since it became active in 2012,
Virtual Vancouver Foundation
has had $14.5 million in
revenue from:
o Tax-receipted donations: $3 million
o Bromley charities: $10 million
o Interest: $1.5 million
As of 2017, $2 million is on the
books as Accounts Receivable.
As it appears, Virtual Vancouver’s spending consists solely of funneling money into Bromley charities and paying fees. Virtual Vancouver also paid $19,182 in travel and vehicle expenses (2017).
Virtual Vancouver was registered on April 1, 2008.
Chimp Foundation
$550,000
$5.3 million
$3 million
Virtual Vancouver Foundation
Zawadi Foundation
$7 million Global Charity
Fund
Fees Paid: $327,722
(2012 – 2017)
Tax-Receipted Donations
Foundation For Public Good
Hope Springs Eternal Foundation
As shown ahead,
Virtual Vancouver has
received roughly $10 million
from Bromley charities and has
granted roughly the same
amount to to Bromley charities,
including $7 million to Chimp.
Virtual Vancouver has
not conducted any
charitable activity of its own
nor funded any charities
outside the Bromley network.
From Global Charity Fund, 2013
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form22gifts-eng.action?b=833692726RR0001&fpe=2011-09-30
From Hope Springs Eternal Foundation, 2011
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23gifts-eng.action?b=874459423RR0001&fpe=2013-11-30
Revenue: $10 Million from Bromley Charities …
* $9,882,238 to be exact.
The $10 million* that Virtual Vancouver received from Bromley charities consisted of $4 million from Hope Springs Eternal Foundation,
$550,000 from Global Charity Fund and $5.3 million from Chimp (shown ahead).
Sources in the tax returns of Chimp Foundation: o 2014: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23gifts-eng.action?b=845528827RR0001&fpe=2014-07-31&p=26 o 2015: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23gifts-eng.action?b=845528827RR0001&fpe=2015-07-31&p=38 o 2016: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23gifts-eng.action?b=845528827RR0001&fpe=2016-07-31&p=64 o 2017: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23gifts-eng.action?b=845528827RR0001&fpe=2017-07-31&p=50
2017 2016
2014 2015
As shown, Chimp granted $5.3 million to Virtual Vancouver Foundation:
Expenditures: $10 Million Granted to Bromley Charities ….
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23gifts-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2017-02-28 Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23gifts-
eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2013-02-28
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form22gifts-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2012-02-28
2012 2015
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23gifts-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2015-02-28
2017 2013
The $10 million that Virtual Vancouver granted to Bromley charities consisted of roughly $7 million paid to Chimp,
$3 million to Zawadi Foundation and $55,000 to Foundation for Public Good.
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23sched6-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2016-02-28
In its first year of financial activity,
Virtual Vancouver reported that it:
1) Received $4,000,000 from Hope Springs Eternal Foundation
2) Gifted $50,000 to Chimp Foundation
3) Paid $61,464 in fees
At the time that Virtual Vancouver granted $50,000 to Chimp,
Virtual Vancouver had had only one source of revenue:
Hope Springs Eternal Foundation. It follows, therefore, that the
$50,000 that Virtual Vancouver granted to Chimp originated from
Hope Springs Eternal Foundation.
2012
2012
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form22sched6-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2012-02-28
In 2012, Virtual Vancouver’s only expenditures were $50,000 that it granted to Chimp and $61,464 paid in fees.
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form22gifts-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2012-02-28
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form22sched6-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2012-02-28
The $4 million that Virtual Vancouver received from Hope Springs Eternal Foundation went on the books as a combination of
cash and $2 million in Accounts Receivable from a non-arms-length party.
2012
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23sched6-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2016-02-28
In 2013, Virtual Vancouver reported $3 million in tax-receipted donation(s).
The money was reported in Accounts Receivable from a non-arms length party, not as cash.
2013
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23sched6-eng.action?b=845641893RR0001&fpe=2013-07-31
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23gifts-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2013-02-28
2013
In 2013, the same year that Virtual Vancouver reported a tax-receipted
donation for $3 million, Virtual Vancouver granted exactly the
same amount to Zawadi Foundation, another Bromley charity.
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23sched6-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2016-02-28
Virtual Foundation Foundation, 2013
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23sched6-eng.action?b=845641893RR0001&fpe=2013-07-31
2013
Because of the way that tax returns collect
information, it is worth noting that when the
$3 million was reported as revenue by
Zawadi Foundation, the information about the
origin of the funds as a tax-receipted donation
that originated from a non-arms length party, as
Amounts Receivable, was not carried forward.
The funds were reported simply as an amount
received from a registered charity.
Zawadi Foundation, 2013
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23gifts-eng.action?b=874459423RR0001&fpe=2013-11-30
In 2013, Global Charity Fund granted $550,000 to Virtual Vancouver.
These funds were reported by Virtual Vancouver in 2014 (not 2013).
As shown on the next page, in 2014 Virtual Vancouver reported that it:
1) Received $550,000 from Global Charity Fund (gifted the previous year).
2) Paid $36,874 in fees.
From Global Charity Fund, 2013
2013
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23sched6-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2014-02-28
2014
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23sched6-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2015-02-28
In 2015, Virtual Vancouver Foundation did the following:
1) Received $1.1 million from Chimp
2) Gifted $7 million to Chimp
3) Paid $43,271 in fees
4) Reported $1.5 million in interest/investment income
2015
$1.5 Million in Investment Income on $31,925 in Total Assets
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23sched6-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2015-02-28
Virtual Vancouver has never reported any long-term investments. In fact, in 2015 Virtual Vancouver’s total assets were only $31,925.
Surprisingly, however, Virtual Vancouver reported $1.5 million in interest/investment income.
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23sched6-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2016-02-28
In 2016, the amount that Chimp granted to Virtual Vancouver was $1.1 million.
The amount that Virtual Vancouver reported as revenue from charities
was only $110,000. Accounts Receivable was $268.
2016
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23sched6-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2017-02-28
In 2017, Chimp granted $3 million to Virtual Vancouver (precisely $3,074,999, shown previously).
The total amount that Virtual Vancouver Foundation reported as revenue from charities was $2 million.
Accounts Receivable was also $2 million. This means that roughly $1 million from Chimp was Accounts Receivable.
2017
Source: https://apps.cra-arc.gc.ca/ebci/haip/srch/t3010form23sched6-eng.action?b=813381415RR0001&fpe=2017-02-28
In summary of the information and analysis presented on the previous pages, it appears that despite $14.5 million in donations,
Virtual Vancouver Foundation has not conducted any charitable activity over the past decade. It reports zero spending on
charitable programs and has not funded any charitable organizations outside of the Bromley network.
As it appears, Virtual Vancouver’s primary purpose is to circulate funds from Bromley charities and funnel them into Chimp.
Much of the funds “received” by Virtual Vancouver were not actually received; they were booked as Accounts Receivable.
The $10 million reported by Virtual Vancouver as expenditure has provided an apparent justification for payment of $327,722 in fees
and yet no charitable activity has been conducted by the foundation, nor funded by it.
If the $327,722 paid in fees was in support of a charitable purpose, this would be reported at Line 5000 of the tax return, where
charities are required to report their spending on charitable programs. Every year, Virtual Vancouver has reported ZERO at Line 5000.
On the basis of these facts, it does not appear that Virtual Vancouver Foundation serves a charitable purpose, let alone that it
exists exclusively for charitable purposes, as is required by law.
Fair Questions
o What is the source of the $1.5 million (2015) that Virtual Vancouver reported as interest and investment income?
o How was this revenue generated from less than $32,000 in assets?
Conclusions