Can two registered charities in Ontario amalgamate into one organization?

The two underlying not-for-profit corporations can amalgamate under ONCA, following the same corporate process described elsewhere — director and member approval, then filed articles of amalgamation, with the combined entity taking on both predecessors' assets and liabilities. But the corporate amalgamation is only half the picture, because registered charity status does not automatically carry over to the surviving or newly amalgamated corporation.

The Canada Revenue Agency generally treats the amalgamated entity as needing to establish (or in some cases confirm) its own charitable registration, rather than simply inheriting one predecessor's registration number by default. Organizations planning this kind of combination need to coordinate the timing carefully, so there is no gap where the combined entity is operating without valid registered status, receipts are issued without proper authority, or donor funds end up in limbo between two registration numbers.

Because of this coordination challenge, many organizations choose a simpler route where practical — one charity effectively absorbs the other's programs and assets through a transfer or gift, and the absorbed organization then winds up and requests its own registration be revoked voluntarily — rather than a full corporate amalgamation. Which approach makes sense depends heavily on each organization's specific circumstances.