NCFA Canada | Craig Asano | October 9, 2014

TORONTO, ON Oct 9, 2014 – The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) today announced the launch of its Crowdfunding Standards initiative, which was created to build crowdfunding excellence through common standards of practice and strengthen confidence in the ecosystem.

Initially, these standards will be designed to serve as an industry benchmark for service providers, issuers and a wide variety of industry participants to use as a guideline (or checklist) when raising money online, particularly with equity crowdfunding investments.

NCFA Canada's Crowdfunding Standards Board

The Crowdfunding Standards Board (CSB) is a sub-committee of the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada), a registered Canadian not-for-profit corporation. The CSB draws on the expertise of lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs, regulators, anti-fraud investigators, bankers, payment processors and investors to create crowdfunding standards for portals and issuers raising capital from the crowd.

The Crowdfunding Standards Board is led by CSB committee chair and NCFA Legal Advisor John Wires, and Craig Asano, Founder and Executive Director of NCFA Canada. With the staggering growth of the crowdfunding industry and recent developments in equity crowdfunding, there is a growing need for risk reduction, due diligence, and perhaps most importantly, transparency. 

"We are working to develop standards and best practices for the Canadian crowdfunding industry. The NCFA wants to ensure that industry participants have the proper guidance to promote transparency for investors and backers. The standards and guidelines will further the NCFA's mandate to promote a healthy crowdfunding framework in Canada." -- John Wires

John Wires, Founder of Wires Law, NCFA Startup Legal Advisor

John Wires is the Founder of Wires Law, a corporate commercial law firm delivering legal services to entrepreneurs and small and medium sized businesses across Canada. His practice focuses on launching, protecting and selling Canadian businesses.  He has appeared in the Ontario Superior Court, the Ontario Court of Appeal and private arbitrations on issues spanning from shareholder and employment disputes to cross border litigation.

John graduated from law school with first class honours specializing in both International Trade and Corporate Commercial Law. He was called to the Bar of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 2011 and is a member of the Canadian Bar Association. He has been a guest lecturer at Ryerson University and covered in the media on Crowdfunding in Canada.

# # #

The National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA Canada) is a cross-Canada crowdfunding hub providing education, advocacy and networking opportunities in the rapidly evolving crowdfunding industry. NCFA Canada is a community-based, membership-driven entity that was formed at the grass roots level to fill a national need in the market place. Join our growing network of industry stakeholders, fundraisers and investors. Increase your organization’s profile and gain access to a dynamic group of industry front runners. Learn more About Us|About Crowdfunding or contact us at casano@ncfacanada.org.

Source: NCFA Canada

For more information please contact:

Media Contact
Craig Asano
NCFA Canada
Executive Director
p. (416) 618-0254
e. casano@ncfacanada.org