Research guides: Entrepreneurship: Non-profit and Charity Research

Non-profit and Charity Research

What is the difference between a non-profit and a registered charity?

"The priority within a for-profit business is to scale your business and create significant revenues for your social cause. On the other hand, a not-for-profit framework best suits a business that intends to use all profits exclusively for promoting its stated social objectives.

A registered charity assumes that all profits go towards your social mission and all profit-making activities meet the definition of a “related business”, as determined by the Canada Revenue Agency. “Related business” includes activity related to the charity as well as unrelated activity so long as the majority of employees involved are volunteers." From Futurpreneur.ca - Choosing a Legal Structure for a Social Purpose Business

Registering Your Non-profit Business

To access closed captioning, please open this video in YouTube and click the CC icon.

Charities in Ontario
Government of Ontario page includes a link to the Not-for-Profit Incorporator's Handbook.
Apply to become a registered charity - Government of Canada
This Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) page outlines the four steps to becoming a Canadian registered charity.

Find a Charity

Charity rankings - Charity Intelligence Canada
Charity Intelligence provides profiles and annual rankings of Canadian charities.
List of charities and other qualified donees - Canada Revenue Agency
Only qualified donees, including Canadian registered charities can issue official donation receipts for gifts they receive from individuals and corporations. Find a charity or other qualified donee, their current status and any available public information.
How to get information about a charity - Canada Revenue Agency
Other strategies to consider when researching a Canadian registered charity, including contacting the charity directly, and informal and formal requests for information.
Maclean's Magazine top 100 charities of 2020
Macleans assessed how hundreds of Canada’s major charities compare on two key criteria: what they do with each donated dollar, and how transparent they are about it. This is a list of the 100 Canadian charities that performed best on those criteria.
Rotman BIC Job Seekers Guide for Social Impact
Created by the Business Information Centre at the Rotman School of Management, this guide includes links to find non-profit organizations.

Charity and Non-Profit Financials

Canada Revenue Agency - Charities and Giving
Access a list of Canadian registered charities, register and run a charity, and find guidance on charitable tax credits.
GuideStar
Non-profit reports and Forms 990 for U.S. charities. Requires free registration. Some info behind paywall.
National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) open data platform
Designed as a portal for nonprofit practitioners, researchers, and policymakers to download and explore data, this is the home for all NCCS publications.
US Charities Form 990
The equivalent US document is the Form 990, which can be accessed by searching Guidestar by company name or doing a simple Google search.

Reading Financial Statements

Beginners' Guide to Financial Statements - Securities Exchange Commission
A well-written and accessible guide designed to help you gain a basic understanding of how to read financial statements. American-focused.
12 things you need to know about financial statements - Investopedia
The diversity of financial reporting requires that we first become familiar with certain general financial statement characteristics. This article shows you what the financial statements have to offer and how to use them to your advantage.
How to efficiently read an annual report - Investopedia
A company's annual report is the single most important way for it to convey itself to potential investors. As such, it should come as no surprise that an annual report serves to present the company in best light possible without violating any Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations. This article helps you read annual reports critically and effectively.
Public Company Research
For more details on finding and reading annual reports, see the Public Company Research page in the Entrepreneurship research guide.

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Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship Librarian

Non-profit and Charity Research

On this Page:

Registering Your Non-profit Business

Find a Charity

Charity and Non-Profit Financials

Reading Financial Statements

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