ASJ-CANADA

Our partner ASJ-Canada has been working hard to achieve their charitable status - and they are now a registered Canadian nonprofit. This means if you are a Canadian donor, you can now give in Canadian funds directly through ASJ-Canada and receive a charitable giving receipt.

Please read below a message from Matt Van Geest, ASJ-Canada board chair for more information on this, and join us in celebrating this incredible achievement! 

Dear friends of ASJ-Canada, 

Late this past summer, the Canada Revenue Agency informed ASJ-Canada that we have been given our charitable status! The charitable status application process has been a very long journey for us. The process required persistence, dedication, a lot of time, and even a few tears along the way. The process has taken nearly a decade of work and two previous applications. Yet, during this application process, charity lawyers provided us with their expertise which helped improve our application. We are grateful to those in Canada who have supported us during this process through various ways including resources to hire the lawyers, prayers, and encouragement.

Moving forward

Receiving charitable status is a huge milestone for ASJ-Canada! Having charitable status means we can now officially operate as a charity. We can accept donations from Canadians and issue tax receipts in return. This is going to open up a lot of new opportunities for us as an organization!

Ongoing Partnership with ASJ-US and ASJ-Honduras

ASJ-Canada remains committed to our partnership with ASJ-Honduras and ASJ-US. Their ongoing and brave dedication to the cause of justice is what has kept us going and inspires us as we keep moving forward. In June 2025, John Bron ASJ-Canada Board Director, and Sasquia Antúnez Pineda ASJ-Canada Vice-Chair visited Honduras to participate in the ASJ Board of Directors Meeting. After the visits, Sasquia reflected: “Our presence as ASJ-Canada representatives made it clear that ASJ-US and ASJ-Honduras are not alone in the fight for justice in Honduras. This joint retreat provided an opportunity to renew our shared covenant and commitment to justice among the three boards… learn from ASJ Honduras’s work in education, health, and transparency, including both accomplishments and challenges, deepen relationships across countries and better understand the complex realities in Honduras through firsthand accounts from communities.”

After the retreat, John and Sasquia reflected: “This was a deeply transformative experience. Seeing ASJ’s work in person—meeting staff, partners, and community members—brought new depth and urgency to our role in Canada. It reminded us that justice is not only a value but a lived commitment that stretches across borders. Now that ASJ-Canada has become a registered charity, we are stepping into a new chapter. Our presence at this retreat was an important signal of support—and it underscored the value of showing up.”

Next Steps

While we have a lot of work ahead, we move forward in confidence and in the knowledge that we are on the right path, the path that God has called us to as we practice justice, love mercy, and humble ourselves before our God. Some of our next priorities are to develop and strengthen our board and operating systems. 

We are volunteer-run run and ASJ-Canada is currently governed by eight board members. We are currently accepting expressions of interest for new board members. We specifically have needs for board members with expertise in finance, human resources, and communications. Please reach out to us if you are interested in becoming part of the board!

Finally, we are excited to also officially launch our website, which can be found below along with our Facebook page: