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. 

View our list of the best online resources on starting a charity

Nonprofit organizations are regulated differently and usually incorporated.  The  regulations for incorporating vary from province to province. For information on setting up a business, please see Industry Canada's Business Gateway.

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 webinars on the topic presented by legal experts in the field: http://charitytax.imaginecanada.ca/demand-webinars. 

View our list of the best online resources on starting a non-profit

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 / co-ordinating editor, Peter Broder ; text editor, Norah McClintock ; contributors, Wayne Amundson ... [et al.]. [Ottawa] : Industry Canada ; Canadian Society of Association Executives ; Canadian Bar Association ; Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, 2002.

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. Ottawa : Charities Directorate, Canada Revenue Agency, 2005.

Guidelines for registering a charity : meeting the public benefit test. [Draft]. [Ottawa : Charities Directorate, Canada Revenue Agency, 2004].

Registered charities and the Income Tax Act. [Ottawa] : Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, 2002.

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

Starting a Non-profit

Alternatives to becoming a charity : free webinar from the Charity Tax Tools webinar series, presented by Terry Carter, Carters Professional Corporation, on March 9 2010.

Information kit on the creation and amendment of not-for-profit corporations. [Ottawa : Industry Canada, Corporations Directorate], 1997.

Should we incorporate?. [Halifax] : Dalhousie University, Non-Profit Sector Leadership Program, c2001.

Creating a non-profit legal person : guide. Québec, Québec : Registraire des entreprises, 2004.

Drafting & revising bylaws for not-for-profit organizations in Alberta : a guidebook / [prepared by the Board Development Program of Alberta Community Development]. 2nd rev. ed. Edmonton : Muttart Foundation, 1997.

How to form a co-operative / Rob Gamble. [Toronto] : Ministry of Agriculture and Food, 2002.

The Non-Profit Corporations Act, 1995 : incorporation kit . Regina, Sask. : Saskatchewan Justice, Corporations Branch, 2006.

Starting a Foundation

Starting a foundation : a guide for philanthropists. Montreal : Philanthropic Foundations Canada, 2004.

Print only resources:

The community foundation start-up manual : an information "start-up" kit for Canadian communities / [Jane Waterston]. 2002 ed. / [rev. by Elizabeth Orton] Ottawa : Community Foundations of Canada, 2002.

Establishing a private foundation / by Wolfe Goodman and Howard Carr. Rev. ed. / updated by Peter Broder, with assistance from David Stevens. Toronto : Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, 2002.

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

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

Independent search tips:

For a comprehensive search, please visit the library catalogue and do a keyword or keyword phrase search using keywords such as Registration and transfer or Incorporation. To further limit your search to works which discuss this in a practical manner, try adding the word Handbooks. If a title is marked below with "Full Text Available", you can view or download the whole document immediately; if the document is not available online, you can contact the Online Librarian about locating a copy of the desired item at a library near you, or making an appointment to visit the library at library@imaginecanada.ca.

You will find a listing of recent additions to the library by going to the New Acquisitions Lists, which are organized topically and will give you an idea of the scope of the collection.

Vist the our searchable Links Directory and look uner the categories “Legal and Regulatory Issues” and “Government Sites.”

Consult the library's Topic Guide on Nonprofit Management Resources for more resources on nonprofit management.

Consult the library's Topic Guide on Boards and Governance for resources the legal responsibilities and liabilities of directors of nonprofit boards.

You will find a wide variety of resources on all aspects of the legal and regulatory environment in which nonprofits operate as well as the broader charitable and nonprofit sector available in the Imagine Canada - John Hodgson Library.

Need more detailed information?
The law of charitable and not-for-profit organizations / Donald J. Bourgeois in association with Canadian Centre for Philanthropy. 3rd ed. Markham, Ont. : Butterworths, 2002.   (available in print only)

last update 05/20/2010