Becoming a registered charity, set up properly from the start, guided by a lawyer who spent a decade as counsel to Canada's charitable sector.
Book an Introductory CallOver the past 38 years, Bussey Ainsworth has assisted numerous organisations across Ontario and beyond become registered charities with the Canada Revenue Agency.
The firm handles the work end to end: incorporating your organisation, drafting charitable purposes that satisfy the CRA, preparing and filing the application, and managing the CRA’s questions through to approval.
A registered charity is an organisation that the Canada Revenue Agency has recognised as charitable under the Income Tax Act. Registration brings real advantages: exemption from income tax, and the ability to issue official donation receipts that let your supporters claim a tax credit. For most charitable projects, it is the foundation that everything else is built on.
Charitable status is also harder to obtain than many founders expect. The CRA grants charitable status only to organisations whose purposes are exclusively charitable and clearly expressed, and it reviews each application closely. A well-prepared application moves through smoothly. Even though there may be questions from CRA, or delay, and sometimes a refusal, I will be there to guide you through it.
This is why you need an expert guide, who knows the ins and outs of the law, has decades of experience, and can anticipate ahead of time what the CRA is likely to be looking for in your unique situation.
Registering a charity properly means more than filling in a form. The work generally includes:
Each of these is a place where applications commonly stumble. Purposes drafted too broadly, activities that read as political or commercial, or a structure that does not fit the goal can all stall an application for months.
Our lead lawyer, Barry Bussey, guides your organisation through the whole process, from the incorporating documents to the final correspondence with the CRA. He drafts purposes that will satisfy the regulator without boxing in your mission, prepares the application so that it answers the CRA’s concerns before they are raised, and handles the back-and-forth when questions come. The aim is a clean registration, achieved with as little delay as possible.
This work suits:
Helping a new charity come into being is some of the most satisfying work I do. For ten years I served as Director of Legal Affairs at a national charities umbrella organisation, advising charities across the country. I have acted for charities, churches, and community organisations for more than thirty years. I hold a Ph.D. in law from Leiden, an LL.M. in constitutional law from Osgoode, and a Master of Peace and Conflict Studies from Waterloo.
People start charities because they want to do good, not because they enjoy paperwork. My role is to carry the legal and regulatory weight, so that you can get on with the work that matters. I take on a limited number of these files, so that each founder or board has my direct attention.
The best place to start is a brief conversation, at no charge, about what you hope to build. Barry will tell you candidly whether charitable registration is the right path and what it will take.
Or call the Peterborough office at (705) 749-0628.
We'd love to hear from you. Give us a call or send us a message below. Typically, we pick up the phone. But if we're busy, we'll get back to you within one business day.
