Grassroots Autism Advocacy And Awareness
A group by local people, for local people.
ARK Is Not A Registered Charity Or Nonprofit Organization. Here’s Why.
Autism Resources Kawartha (ARK) is a local autism advocacy and awareness group. We were founded by two local parents trying to make a difference and are powered by local volunteers donating their time and skills. We are a small, grassroots initiative—a group by local people for local people—and we don’t want to complicate things.
While we understand the benefits of being a registered charity or non-profit organization, we’ve made a conscious decision to remain informal.
The main reason for this decision is simple: we don’t have time for the bureaucracy involved in formalizing our group into a registered organization. The process of becoming a registered charity or non-profit in Canada—and especially in Ontario—requires navigating a lot of complex red tape and administrative tasks. And the legal and financial hoops you have to jump through as a formally registered organization don’t stop there.
Instead of investing our time and energy jumping through hoops, we want to focus on supporting the autism community in Kawartha Lakes.
We’re not here to make money. We’re here to help.
Our mission is to help the parents, caregivers and loved ones of people with autism. We want to support them with free, good-quality resources created by other local autism community members that offer validation, insight and lessons learned. The donations ARK receives are used to create resources and develop programs for the autism community.
To learn more about our use of donated funds, please read our accountability report.
By keeping ARK’s organization simple and flexible, we can respond more quickly to the needs of our members, create an open and inclusive space, and keep the focus on building connections, raising awareness, and making a difference without unnecessary complications. This doesn’t mean we’re any less committed to our mission or the people we serve—it just means we’re taking a more grassroots, community-driven approach to advocacy and support.
Are you a parent, caregiver or loved one of a person with autism who wants to know more about ARK and what we do?
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