(Last updated: July 1 2025)
Every Canadian charity registered and in good standing with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is by default listed on CanadaHelps. Bi-weekly, we import a list from CRA directly into our system of publically-available data of all Canadian Charities. If a new charity has received its charitable status, or if a charity has had its status revoked or suspended, we reconcile this with our database. We rely on the work of CRA as the overseeing body of charities in Canada to determine if a charity is eligible to receive donations, and on donors to give based on their own interests and research.
CanadaHelps only accepts donations for Registered Charities and CRA-designated Qualified Donees. CanadaHelps does not accept donations for/on behalf of individuals in need, non-profits, or charities outside of Canada.
On occasion, we will remove charities at their request if they are not able to or do not accept donations from the public or have a separate foundation for fundraising.
Before being listed on www.canadahelps.org,, all charities are first validated by CanadaHelps by confirming their active charitable status with CRA. CanadaHelps actively encourages charities to register for a free Charity Account which provides charities the ability to update and edit their Charity Profile page, access fundraising tools (Customizable Donation Forms, Events, and Peer-to-Peer campaigns) , and with additional verification, access donor information and receive donations more quickly through weekly Electronic Funds Transfers.
When an authorized representative of a charity registers with CanadaHelps for a free Charity Account, they must agree to CanadaHelps’ CanadaHelps Client Services Agreement CanadaHelps Client Services Agreement before they can access their Charity Profile.
If the charity chooses to set up Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) to receive donations, they must complete banking verification through a third-party service called Flinks. Flinks allows CanadaHelps to securely verify the EFT information provided by charities, which in turn protects charities by ensuring that donations are being disbursed to a bank account that has been confirmed to be owned by the charity.
We give charities access to full* donor information once valid bank account has been submitted and verified by our staff. Once the documentation has been received, CanadaHelps also re-confirms that the charity is in good standing with the CRA.
If a charity is listed on www.canadahelps.org but has not registered with CanadaHelps for a free Charity Account, and/ort has chosen not to set up EFT, we mail cheques for donations received to the mailing address for the charity on record with CRA.
* unless the donor has opted to keep some or all of their information anonymous.
CanadaHelps accepts donations on behalf of Qualified Donees that are not registered charities, as defined by the CRA, including: registered Canadian amateur athletic associations (RCAAAs), registered Canadian municipalities, registered universities outside Canada, the United Nations and its agencies, a registered municipal or public body performing a function of government in Canada, which includes qualifying Indigenous organizations, and others.
CanadaHelps does not list all Qualified Donees on its website by default, but these organizations can register for anAccount with CanadaHelps. To do so, an authorized representative of the Qualified Donee must complete the online registration process for Qualified Donees. Next, they must agree to the CanadaHelps Client Services Agreement before they can access their Profile, and must provide banking information, as per the above process for registered charities,to set up EFT and validate their access to the bank account. We give Qualified Donees access to full* donor information, as well as CanadaHelps fundraising tools for charities, once the banking information has been submitted and verified by our staff.
* unless the donor has opted to keep some or all of their information anonymous.