Charities and your hard-earned dollars

How much should a Canadian charity be spending on fundraising and overhead? How should you judge? If you’ve ever looked at a charity’s financial report and wondered whether they were spending too much or too little, you’re not alone.

The answer, although not as simple as it sounds, is to look at the big picture. When it comes to assessing a charity’s fundraising, the Canadian Revenue Agency does not rely solely upon the fundraising ratio. Other factors can be the size of the charity, its stage of growth, and its internal fundraising evaluation processes.

These are all factors to be taken into consideration when trying to evaluate an organization as a donor. There may be very legitimate reasons for a charity per cent in 2016 was typical of many Canadian nonprofit organizations. This organization neither seeks nor accepts government funding in order to remain independent. Most non-governmental organizations do, and they take their fundraising costs and divide them into the total pot of income — government funds included — which makes them look lower as a percentage of the private income raised.

In summary, there is no specific rule to go by when trying to make this assessment. An overall evaluation of the financial health history of the organization is a better guide. When deciding to support a charity, do your research and don’t be afraid to ask questions for more information.

At the Manuel’s River walking trail there’s a ‘Poem Place’. The wooden shelf/sign on the trees says, “Pick a rock, one or two, and write a poem for me and you”. Many of the small, smooth stones bear little sayings, names and pieces of poems.

Group events such as a litter pick-up can be organized as a fund-raiser to make possible a charitable donation. Articles on this page explore decision-making when it comes to choosing charities and your approach to giving.