Glossary / Key Terms

Legal Entity

A lawful or legally standing association, corporation, partnership, proprietorship, trust or individual that has legal capacity to:

• Enter into agreements or contracts
• Assume obligations
• Incur and pay debts
• Sue and be sued in its own right
• Be accountable for illegal activities

Non-profit Organizations

Organizations, associations, societies that are not charities are organized and operated exclusively for social welfare, civic improvement, pleasure, recreation, or any other purpose except profit.

Qualified Donees

Are organizations that can issue official donation receipts for gifts they receive from individuals and corporations. Qualified donees include all Canadian registered charities. Qualified donees are as follows:

• a registered charity (including a registered national arts service organization)
• a registered Canadian amateur athletic association
• a registered housing corporation resident in Canada constituted exclusively to provide low-cost housing for the aged
• a registered Canadian municipality
• a registered municipal or public body performing a function of government in Canada
• a registered university outside Canada, the student body of which ordinarily includes students from Canada
• a registered charitable organization outside Canada to which Her Majesty in right of Canada has made a gift.
• Her Majesty in right of Canada, a province, or a territory
• the United Nations and its agencies

Registered Charities

Charitable organizations, public foundations, or private foundations registered with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as a registered charity on their Charities Listing. They must use their resources for charitable activities and have charitable purposes that fall into one or more of the following categories:

• the relief of poverty
• the advancement of education
• the advancement of religion
• other purposes that benefit the community.

If your organization appears on the CRA Charities Listing, it is a registered charity. However, it is recognized that some organizations hold both charitable status with CRA as well as non-profit organization status in their province.

Trustee

A person or firm that holds and administers property or assets for the benefit of a third party.

Vulnerable Populations

Consistent with Employment and Social Development Canada for the purposes of the Program, “vulnerable populations” means communities in Canada that experience physical, economic, and social barriers that would typically include those living in poverty (i.e., low income cut-off (LICOs) and diverse marginalized groups who are at risk of being socially excluded to inclusion, such as seniors, youth, Indigenous, veterans, visible minorities, women, LGTBQ2+, low income, unemployed, single-parent families, newcomers to Canada, individuals living with a disability, experiencing homelessness, living in remote and/or rural areas, or from an official language minority community (OLMC).