Common Form

Metadata

IRI
https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo
Title

Common Form

Creator

Mark S. Fox, msf@eil.utoronto.ca

Version Info

version 1.0.1 5 Jan 2026

Preferred Namespace Prefix

cfo

Preferred Namespace Uri
https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#
Description
  • The Common Form is a standardized way to represent the organizational information of a social purpose organization (SPO). The organizational information collected includes both financial measures and descriptive measures. The financial information collected includes financial statements and key financial indicators, such as current assets, total assets, total liabilities, total revenues and total expenses. The descriptive information collected includes data such as charity/business number, legal form, mission statement, team and board bios. It provides space to record information about the organization as well as programs and projects within that organization. These measures were developed with extensive stakeholder engagement and are based on existing and common organizational profiles—and in the case of the financial measures, drawn from scholarly and practitioner literature. It is the information ”used in most exchanges most of the time” Created to contextualize the impact data collected using the Common Impact Data Standard, the Common Form facilitates the review, analysis and aggregation of data. This enables assessors to “compare fair,” so that geography, size and age could be considered when comparing impact data.

    The Common Form allows software, databases and websites to: ● enable the representation of precise definitions of the organization ● foster data interoperability of information between organizations ● make the details of an organization interpretable by a computer ● empower your clients to apply for grants, loans or investments directly from their impact data’s home base As we expand the roster of aligned impact management and grant/fund management softwares, the Common Form ontology will allow social purpose organizations who want to share their data, and the linked details, to do so at very little cost.

  • The Common Form:

    ​

Classes

Financial Indicators c

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#FinancialIndicators
Description
  • The FinancialIndicators class is a subClassOf FinancialInformation, and captures financial indicators for the organization with no prepared financial statements or XBRL reports. It has the following properties: ● hasCurrentAssets: Current assets of the organization for the specified year in dollars. ● hasTotalAssets: Total assets of the organization for the specified year in dollars. ● hasTotalLiabilities: Total liabilities of the organization for the specified year in dollars. ● hasTotalRevenues: Total revenues of the organization for the specified year in dollars. ● hasTotalExpenses: Total expenses of the organization for the specified year in dollars. ● hasEndowment: Specifies the amount of the organization’s endowment. ● hasInventory: Specifies the amount of the organization’s inventory. ● hasDeferredRevenue: Specifies the amount of the organization’s deferred revenue. ● hasSalesRevenue: Specifies the amount of the organization’s sales revenue. ● hasGovernmentGrants: Specifies the amount of the organization’s government grants. ● hasFundRaising: Specifies the amount of the organization’s fundraising. ● hasTotalOverhead: Specifies the amount of the organization’s total overhead. ● hasDepreciationExpense: Specifies the amount of the organization’s depreciation expenses. ● hasInvestmentExpense: Specifies the amount of the organization’s investment expenses.

  • Financial indicators for an organization with no prepared financial statements or XBRL reports.

Sub Class Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfThing c
Restriction

Financial Information c

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#FinancialInformation
Description
  • The FinancialInformation class is used to specify the organization’s financial information. It has the following properties: forYear: The year of the financial information. hasPreparedFinancialStatement: Links to the type of prepared statement. hasXBRLReport: Links to the instance of Organization’s XBRL report. hasFinancialIndicators: Links to the instance of the Organization’s financial indicators.

  • The organization's financial information for a year.

Sub Class Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfThing c
Restriction

Financial Statement c

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#FinancialStatement
Description

The type of prepared financial statements for the organization.

Sub Class Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfThing c

Funding Request c

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#FundingRequest
Description
  • The FundingRequest class specifies information about the organization or project’s request for funding. It has the following properties: ● fundsRequested: Specifies the amount of funds requested for the organization or project. ● fundsReceived: Specifies amount awarded by funding agency. ● fundsIntension: Specifies the intended use of the funds, such as for the organization or a project/program. ● hasImpactModel: Links to a CIDS impact model instance. ● hasImpactModelFile: Links to an impact model defined in a file. ● servesGeographicRegion: A string that specifies the region. ● servesMarket: A string that specifies the market to be served. ● servesPopulation: Links to one or more BeneficiaryStakeholder which define the stakeholders served. ● requestedFrom: One or more organizations that the funds are requested from.

  • Information about the organization's or project's request for funding.

Sub Class Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfThing c
Restriction

Organization c

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#Organization
Description
  • The cfo:Organization class is defined as a rfds:subClassOf cids:Organization which provides the basic properties related to organization structure and behavior and impact models. cfo:Organization extends cids:Organization with the following properties: hasFinancialInformation: Links to instances of FinancialInformation. hasFundingRequest: Links to instance of FundingRequest which specifies the funds requested. hasProject: Links organization to its projects. hasBios Links to a file containing the organization’s executives’ and Board’s, or project/program biographies. servesPopulation: Links to one or more BeneficiaryStakeholder which define the stakeholders served. hasBylaws: Specifies the Organization’s bylaws as text. hasIndigenousHeritage: Specifies the Organization’s Indigenous heritages as text. hasPartners: Links to organizations it partners with. hasBusinessPlanFile: Links to a file containing the organization’s business plan. imagineCanadaProgram: Specifies whether the organization participates in the Imagine Canada Standards program. hasBCorpScore: B-Corp score for the organization. hasBCorpProfile: Links to a file containing the organization’s B-Corp profile. hasCharityDataProfile: Links to a file containing the organization’s charity data profile. hasFundingRequest: Links to instances of FundingRequest. The Charity Number or Business Number of the cids:Organization is specified using the org:hasID property as defined in org:Organization.

  • An organization described with Common Form information. Extends cids:Organization with financial information, funding requests, projects and descriptive details such as bylaws, bios and B-Corp profile.

Sub Class Of
Restriction

Prepared Financial Statement c

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#PreparedFinancialStatement
Description
  • The PreparededFinancialStatement class is a subClassOf FinancialInformation, and captures prepared financial statements for the organization. It has the following properties: hasType: Defines the type of prepared financial statements that the organization will share. forYear1: URI linking to the prepared statement for Year 1. forYear2: URI linking to the prepared statement for Year 2. forYear3: URI linking to the prepared statement for Year 3.

  • Prepared financial statements for the organization.

Sub Class Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfThing c
Restriction

Project c

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#Project
Description
  • The Project class specifies information about the organization’s project when they request funding for a specific project or program. It has the following properties: ● hasProjectName: Name of the project for which funds are requested. ● hasProjectObjectives: Description of project objectives. ● hasProjectDescriptionFile: Link to file describing the project. ● hasProjectPartners: Links to partner organizations. ● hasBudgetFile: Link to file describing the project budget. ● hasFundingRequest: Links to the project;s funding request.

  • Information about the organization's project or program when it requests funding for that project or program.

Sub Class Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfThing c
Restriction

Xbrl Report c

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#XBRLReport
Description
  • The XBRLReport class is a subClassOf FinancialInformation, and captures prepared XBRL reports for the organization. It has the following properties: ● forYear1: URI linking to the prepared report for Year 1. ● forYear2: URI linking to the prepared report for Year 2. ● forYear3: URI linking to the prepared report for Year 3.

  • Prepared XBRL reports for the organization.

Sub Class Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfThing c
Restriction

Beneficial Stakeholder c

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cids#BeneficialStakeholder

Impact Model c

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cids#ImpactModel

Organization c

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cids#Organization
Super Class Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#Organization c

Object Properties

has financial indicators op

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasFinancialIndicators
Description

Links to the instance of the organization's financial indicators.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfObjectProperty op

has financial information op

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasFinancialInformation
Description

Links an organization to instances of FinancialInformation.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfObjectProperty op

has funding request op

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasFundingRequest
Description

Links an organization or project to a FundingRequest, which specifies the funds requested.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfObjectProperty op

has partners op

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasPartners
Description

Links to organizations the organization partners with.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfObjectProperty op

has prepared financial statement op

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasPreparedFinancialStatement
Description

Links to the organization's prepared financial statements.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfObjectProperty op

has project op

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasProject
Description

Links an organization to its projects.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfObjectProperty op

has project partners op

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasProjectPartners
Description

Links a project to its partner organizations.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfObjectProperty op

has xbrl report op

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasXBRLReport
Description

Links to the instance of the organization's XBRL report.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfObjectProperty op

requested from op

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#requestedFrom
Description

One or more organizations that the funds are requested from.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfObjectProperty op

serves population op

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#servesPopulation
Description

Links to one or more BeneficialStakeholder instances, which define the stakeholders served.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfObjectProperty op

has funding request op

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cids#hasFundingRequest

has impact model op

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cids#hasImpactModel

has type op

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cids#hasType

Datatype Properties

cf data property dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty
Description

Parent property of all Common Form datatype properties.

Super Property Of

for year dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#forYear
Description

The year of the financial information.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

for year1 dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#forYear1
Description

URI linking to the prepared statement or report for Year 1.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

for year2 dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#forYear2
Description

URI linking to the prepared statement or report for Year 2.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

for year3 dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#forYear3
Description

URI linking to the prepared statement or report for Year 3.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

funds intension dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#fundsIntension
Description

The intended use of the funds: for the organization, or for a project or program.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

funds received dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#fundsReceived
Description

The amount awarded by the funding agency.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

funds requested dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#fundsRequested
Description

The amount of funds requested for the organization or project.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has b corp profile dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasBCorpProfile
Description

Link to a file containing the organization's B-Corp profile.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has b corp score dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasBCorpScore
Description

The organization's B-Corp score.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has bios dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasBios
Description

Link to a file containing the biographies of the organization's executives and Board, or of a project or program.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has budget file dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasBudgetFile
Description

Link to a file describing the project budget.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has business plan file dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasBusinessPlanFile
Description

Link to a file containing the organization's business plan.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has bylaws dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasBylaws
Description

The organization's bylaws, as text.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has charity data profile dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasCharityDataProfile
Description

Link to a file containing the organization's charity data profile.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has current assets dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasCurrentAssets
Description

Current assets of the organization for the specified year, in dollars.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has deferred revenue dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasDeferredRevenue
Description

The amount of the organization's deferred revenue.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has depreciation expense dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasDepreciationExpense
Description

The amount of the organization's depreciation expenses.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has endowment dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasEndowment
Description

The amount of the organization's endowment.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has fund raising dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasFundRaising
Description

The amount of the organization's fundraising.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has government grants dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasGovernmentGrants
Description

The amount of the organization's government grants.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has impact model file dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasImpactModelFile
Description

Link to an impact model defined in a file.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has indigenous heritage dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasIndigenousHeritage
Description

The organization's Indigenous heritage, as text.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has inventory dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasInventory
Description

The amount of the organization's inventory.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has investment expense dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasInvestmentExpense
Description

The amount of the organization's investment expenses.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has project description file dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasProjectDescriptionFile
Description

Link to a file describing the project.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has project name dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasProjectName
Description

Name of the project for which funds are requested.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has project objectives dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasProjectObjectives
Description

Description of the project's objectives.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has sales revenue dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasSalesRevenue
Description

The amount of the organization's sales revenue.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has total assets dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasTotalAssets
Description

Total assets of the organization for the specified year, in dollars.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has total expenses dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasTotalExpenses
Description

Total expenses of the organization for the specified year, in dollars.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has total liabilities dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasTotalLiabilities
Description

Total liabilities of the organization for the specified year, in dollars.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has total overhead dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasTotalOverhead
Description

The amount of the organization's total overhead.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

has total revenues dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#hasTotalRevenues
Description

Total revenues of the organization for the specified year, in dollars.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

imagine canada program dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#imagineCanadaProgram
Description

Whether the organization participates in the Imagine Canada Standards program (yes, no or inProgress).

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

serves geographic region dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#servesGeographicRegion
Description

The geographic region served.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

serves market dp

IRI https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#servesMarket
Description

The market to be served.

Sub Property Of https://ontology.commonapproach.org/cfo#cfDataProperty dp

Namespaces

owl
http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#
rdf
http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#
rdfs
http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#
xsd
http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#

Legend

c Classes
op Object Properties
dp Datatype Properties

made by p y LODE 3.2.1 with the OntPub profile

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