Incorporation

Annual Reporting: Board Approval

Corporations are required to have the majority of the board approved by the regional council annually. Boards are generally elected at the AGM by the members and the updated board list, with contact information, is submitted to the region for approval. To facilitate the process, we have created a Board Approval form that can be submitted with the board list. 

Incorporated Ministries Policy Updates

The Incorporated Ministries Policy (March 2025) replaces Incorporated Ministries (June 2023). At the May 2024 General Council Executive meeting, the criteria for Category 2: Independent Incorporated Ministries was expanded to include community ministries which meet established criteria. Approval is at the discretion of the Regional Council but allows for community ministries who are required to meet external legislation or licensing to be considered. Prior to this, only those incorporated ministries which provided seniors or low-income housing were considered for this category. 

It is important to note that there is a process to be followed to move to a Category 2 status. This is outlined in the Incorporate Ministries policy.

Reminder to those corporations who have not revised their by-laws recently. If the corporation by-laws have not been updated since November 2022, you are out-of-date. Please note the following changes:

1. As of November 2022, the following clause was added and needs to be added to the by-laws of all corporations:
   Any transfer of “major assets” to an organization outside of The United Church of Canada requires the prior written approval of the supervising regional council. Major assets are to be defined by the supervising regional council.
2. As of June 2023, the annual reporting clause was revised to reflect the change to the required financial statements for all Category 1 and Category 3 corporations. The specific change is as follows:
   Financial statements prepared according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and in compliance with provincial/federal corporate legislation, at minimum, includes an income statement and a balance sheet.

Financial Statements: What Level of Review for Your Corporation? is a short document outlining the different levels of financial statements.

Corporations need to ensure that they are current with the provincial or federal legislation under which they are incorporated.

Is a Congregation a Corporation?

A common question from congregations is “Where do we find our letters patent?” or “Are we a corporation?” Congregations themselves are not corporations. Congregations have some independent legal status under the Act of Parliament that created The United Church of Canada in 1925, but they are neither federally nor provincially incorporated.

Congregations may decide to set up a separate legal entity, usually a not-for-profit corporation, when they have programs or projects for which liability needs to be contained. Apply to the appropriate provincial or federal government body to be granted status as a corporation. The United Church has additional requirements that need to be met for those corporations that want to continue to affiliate themselves with the church and use the name of The United Church of Canada. 

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