It raises an important issue of transparency, legitimacy and accountability when public solicitation of funding for any cause is involved or foreign funding is received. If it is a US based online crowdsouring site is it free to operate outside our local Bermuda laws? How do we monitor and enforce this growing phenomena?

There is a growing concern about the vast amount of US based funding for local political causes such as Preserve Marriage – funding that flows through the unpublished financial accounts of some local 501(c) 3 organizations. No funding information and no donor sources identified. For example, where are the financial statements with donor information for our local organisations like The Friends of the Bermuda Community Foundation? How much US funding is being received and with what level of influence?

How often is our approved charity list updated and shared publicly so we know who is currently registered and not in violation of their charity status? Why not make it simple and publish the list monthly or quarterly and identifying all those in arrears or default?

Many local charities repeatedly fail to re-register in a timely fashion and continue to raise funds knowing with confidence there is simply no history of enforcement nor consequences.

Too many times our authories “talk down” to us and reprimand without mentioning why regulation is necessary–perhaps they don’t know the reason for the regulations they enforce???