Charity Governance

Answer by Benjamin Miller, LL.B.

From a legal perspective (i.e. keeping your nonprofit corporate status), the main obligations and expenses are as follows:

• Incorporation fee ~$155 provincially and ~$200 federally (in addition to any legal fees);
• Creating bylaws - if you decide to hire legal assistance for this step;
• Holding annual meetings and passing necessary resolutions such as electing a Board, receiving financial statements, and appointing or waiving the appointment of an auditor (no hard costs necessarily);
• Annual filings and filing notices of change whenever you change your address or directors ($0 provincially $12 federally for annual filing online and additional costs if you use a third party provider of have someone else prepare them);
• Keep adequate financial and corporate records (cost of bookkeeper or accountant and/or accounting software, B.I.G. Charity Law Group Professional Corporation can also help in setting up and keeping corporate records;
• Getting financial review required by the statute (can range from pro bono if you know someone to $2,500-$5,000 for a review engagement to $7,000-20,000 for a full audit;
  
• Depending on your size, whether you hire employees, etc. payroll, tax filings (the cost of a tax preparer)

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