Incorporation

The Income Tax Act allows registered charities to be established in different ways. A charitable organization can be established as a corporation a trust or under a constitution.

If you are looking to establish either a Public or Private Foundation then you will need to be established as a corporation or trust.

Recommendation

When considering forming a registered charity, CentrePoint recommends that you first incorporate as a non-profit organization. This process is very similar to that of incorporating a company and can be done at either a provincial or a federal level. However, the decision on how to incorporate your organization depends upon your circumstance and the nature of what it is that you seek to do.

Incorporating is important. Without this step your organization may not be legally recognized, your groups name may not be protected and you can be personally accountable for any debts or damages that may be incurred.  It is also easier for incorporated organizations to own real property.

Links to government web pages that describe the non-profit incorporation process in your province or territory are available by selecting your province or territory on the map below.

CentrePoint recommends that you engage a lawyer or consultant with experience in this area to guide you through this process.

Important note below

Contradictions

Organizations can incorporate federally, provincially, or territorially. However, incorporation under some statutes, such as Business Corporations Acts, can be problematic for those who are ultimately looking to obtain charitable registration. To qualify for registration as a charity, your organization must be established as a not-for-profit entity, however most Business Corporations Acts are designed for businesses that intend to earn a profit. Organizations that seek to be registered as a charity should ensure that the Act, or the section of the Act, under which they choose to incorporate, is suitable for a non-profit organization.

PLEASE NOTE: In several provinces the incorporating documents and/or the guidelines relating to those documents, provide information that is contradictory to those for charities. If followed they would then produce results that would disqualify your organization from becoming a registered charity.

If you are from any of the following provinces please select to learn more about the contradictions within their incorporation process to the the federal charitable registration process.

• Alberta
• Saskatchewan
• Manitoba
• Quebec