Charities in Canada must be registered through the  Canada Revenue Agency, including public charities, and public & private foundations. Its Charities Directorate maintains information and regulations pertaining to charitable status.  You can search charities by name, status or other features based on the T3010 tax return data through the CRA database of registered charities.   Many, but not all Canadian "foundations" are registered charities. 

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.

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.

Thinking about starting a charity? Check out the 'To be a charity or not' page of the Charity Tax Tools website to get a good overview of the process, the benefits, and the responsbilities involved.

Selected online and print resources:

For the legal responsibilities and board of a nonprofit or charitable organization, see the following excellent handbook by Peter Broder (published jointly by Imagine Canada and Industry Canada):

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.

Applicants that are not registered. [Ottawa] : Voluntary Sector Initiative, Joint Regulatory Table, [2002].

Completing the registered charity information return. Ottawa : Charities Directorate, Canada Revenue Agency, 2005.

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.

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

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

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

The legal definition of charity and Canada Customs and Revenue Agency's charitable registration process / by Peter Broder. Toronto : Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, Public Affairs, 2001.

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

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].

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

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

Working with startups : grant makers and new organizations / [by Ellen Arrick and Anne Mackinnon, with assistance from Erika Shatz]. New York : Ford Foundation, c2004.

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

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.

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.

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.

For independent search tips, click here.

last update 11/21/2009