Summary Policy

Date
June 9, 2003

Reference Number
CSP - P09

Key Words
Private benevolence - Private benefit - Self-help

To qualify for registration as a charity, an organization's purposes and activities must provide a tangible benefit to the community or a section of the community.

The courts have held that an organization established to benefit a named individual or a private group (e.g., a professional association) is established for private benevolence and therefore not charitable at law.

• Professional Association, CSP - P18.
• Public Benefit, CSP - P06.
• Self-Help, CSP - S02.
• Tenants Associations, CSP - T04.
• Distinction Between Self-Help and Members' Groups, CPS - 016.
• Registering a Charity for Income Tax Purposes, T4063.
• National Model Railroad Association v. Minister of National Revenue, [1989] 1 C.T.C. 300.