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Charities in Canada must be registered through the Canada Revenue Agency and its Charities Directorate that maintains information and regulations pertaining to charitable status.  This includes public charities, and public & private foundations.

Search charities by name, status or other features through the CRA database of registered charities.  Note that many, but not all Canadian "foundations" are registered charities. 

Thinking about starting a charity? Imagine Canada's Charity Tax Tools website's  'To be a charity or not' page outlines the process of registering, the benefits, and the responsbilities involved. Also see additional webinars on the topic presented by legal experts in the field.

We suggest that you seek the advice of a lawyer or an accountant familiar with the charitable sector. For help seeking a lawyer, see the Canadian Bar Association Legal Aid directory. For a chartered accountant, please visit the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Starting a Charity

First steps

The Decision Tree
Funded by the CRA, this “Decision Tree” is helpful to nonprofit, charitable and voluntary organizations interested in obtaining charitable status understand the responsibilities and requirements of administering a registered charity.

To be a charity or not
This page outlines the process of registering, the benefits, and the responsbilities involved, from Imagine Canada's Charity Tax Tools website.

Responsibilities of charities in Canada

Implications of starting a charity : free webinar from the Charity Tax Tools webinar series, presented by Karen Cooper, Carters Professional Corporation, on March 2 2010.

Charitable purposes : free webinar from the Charity Tax Tools webinar series, presented by Amélie Guimont and Marie-Josée Michaud, KPMG, on March 30 2010.

Primer for directors of not-for-profit corporations : rights, duties and practices (Broder et al. 2002)  [available online]

Applying for charitable status

Applying for charitable status : free webinar from the Charity Tax Tools webinar series, presented by Theresa Man, Carters Professional Corporation, on March 23 2010.

Completing the registered charity information return. This resource has been recently update to reflect changes implemented in the federal Budget 2010. (Charities Directorate, Canada Revenue Agency,2010)  [available online]

Guidelines for registering a charity : meeting the public benefit test. (Charities Directorate, Canada Revenue Agency, 2006)  [available online]

Registering a charity for income tax purposes. Ottawa : Charities Directorate, Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, [2001]  [available online]

Starting a Foundation

Starting a foundation : a guide for philanthropists. (Philanthropic Foundations Canada, 2008) [available online]

Print only resources:

The community foundation start-up manual : an information "start-up" kit for Canadian communities (Waterston, 2002) [in print only]

Establishing a private foundation (Goodman & Carr, 2002)  [in print only]

For further information, please also see Charity Village's QuickGuide: "Starting a Nonprofit or Charity".

To search the entire holdings of the library catalogue, click here.

Need more detailed information?

The law of charitable and not-for-profit organizations (Bourgeois, 2002)   [in print only]