This is our beginning, we have not served the community since 19…, however, we are going to do the very best we can from here on in. Clarity NPO is the vision of all the mentors that have come before it, too many to thank, but it is now in the hands of you and our founder, Grant T. Smith.
Grant holds the accounting designation CPA, CA, and has a BFA Honours from York University in Toronto. We do not think that tells his story, but…
York University introduced this young thespian to a life of service, for it was there that he first fell in love with building teams, first managed large groups of people, and first taught. These remained his passions, as he went on to be the production manager at many well known Canadian theatres including:
- Alberta Theatre Projects in Calgary
- Magnus Theatre in Thunder Bay
- The Lighthouse Theatre in Port Dover
- Grand Bend’s Huron Country Playhouse
In the early 2000s, on the very day that he became a CA (now CPA, CA), he applied to serve on his first of a series of Boards of Directors, usually as treasurer and often on the executive. Since that day, Grant has served on numerous Boards, as the organizations have shifted, and service has become increasingly more important.
About ten years ago, Grant decided to build a new team and started Clearline, the CPA firm that he led for the next decade. Clearline was created to build teams and Grant’s goal was to develop new accounting professionals and cultivate strong, thoughtful leaders who would go on to support others. While leading the team at Clearline, the firm grew from one person to over forty people and opened four offices.
In January 2019, feeling that his current circumstances had become too much about profit and not enough about service, he begin Clarity NPO. Here, the focus is right in his comfort zone.
Home for Grant is in New Westminster with Joanne, to whom he has been blissfully married for over a quarter of a century. They share the house with Flint, who graciously allows them to stay, as long as they feed, walk and dote on him, which they do with great pleasure. Between them they have four amazing children and two spectacular grandchildren.