Governance

Boards of non-profits and charities have an obligation to maintain oversight of the organization and put in place structures and procedures to ensure that the organization and its volunteers and staff act in an appropriate way.

Non-profits and charities in Canada are receiving a lot of stakeholder scrutiny. Increasingly, funders, the media and the public are going beyond legal compliance and criticizing charities and non-profits for questionable governance practices and actions that don’t meet voluntary guidelines or ethical standards. Stakeholders are expecting more transparency and accountability.

We help organizations change their governing documents (such as articles and by-laws) and their governance practices. We educate boards on their fiduciary duties and understanding of legal compliance. We assist with creating or revising policies and procedures to help with compliance.

With the Canada Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (CNCA) and the Ontario Not-for-Profit Corporations Act (ONCA) almost all non-profits and charities in Ontario (and many outside of Ontario) will have made governance changes or will need to make changes. The CNCA affects over 25,000 Federal non-profit corporations and ONCA will affect over 50,000 Ontario non-profit corporations. The corporate changes provide an important opportunity for non-profits and charities to take stock of their governance practices and policies and make changes as necessary. If you wish to retain our law firm to assist with your charity application, you can contact us.