Penny Appeal Canada is a 4-star, financially transparent charity. It has a B+ results reporting grade, which is above average. Its overhead spending is within Ci’s reasonable range, and its reserve funds could cover just under two months of annual program costs. 

Founded in 2005, Penny Appeal Canada (PAC) is an international development Muslim charity that works to break the cycle of poverty through sustainable food, water, and education solutions. The charity is the Canadian arm of Penny Appeal UK. PAC operates emergency support, short-term relief, and longer-term sustainable interventions in Canada, Africa, and the Middle East. With its affiliate teams, the charity operates programs in over 30 countries. PAC has three main programs: Emergency Response, Feed our World, and Education First. In 2025, it spent $11.0m on its programs and grants.  

Emergency Response represented 61% of program spending in 2025. The program provides emergency assistance to people affected by crises and disasters, including food, water, shelter and healthcare. In 2025, PAC supported a local health clinic in the West Bank, providing 7,896 units of medicine and 1,128 units of medical supplies and reaching 24,176 individuals. In Gaza, PAC provided 2,900 warm meals, 1,985,000 litres of water, 5,750 bags of bread and 950 baskets of fruits and vegetables, reaching 301,424 people.

Feed Our World represented 26% of program spending in 2025. The program provides food to vulnerable and food-insecure families through initiatives such as Eid al-Adha meat distributions and Aqiqah. In 2025, PAC distributed 15,320 packages of Qurbani meat to 77,761 people across nine countries during Eid al-Adha. Through its Aqiqah program, PAC sourced and sacrificed more than 217 goats and distributed 5,236 kg of halal meat to 2,808 families.

Education First represented 8% of program spending in 2025. In Syria, PAC funded the restoration of the Khan Shaykhun School in Idlib, restoring 10 classrooms and enabling 550 students to return to school. In Canada, PAC supported more than 6,000 students with backpacks, school supplies and hygiene kits. The initiative also provided free haircuts and braiding services, with more than 40 barbers and stylists participating.

The remaining 6% of program spending was spent on Orphan Kind, Cold Days Warm Hearts, and Thirst Relief. These programs support vulnerable people by providing help to orphaned children, winter assistance and clean water.

In 2025, Penny Appeal Canada received $13.4m in Canadian donations (85% of revenue) and $351k in international donations. It also received $1.9m in donated goods.

The charity spent $11.0m on its programs and grants in 2025, which was 79% of total revenue (excluding donated goods). It ran a deficit of $348k.

Fundraising costs were $2.6m, which was 20% of donations, and administrative costs were $645k, which was 4% of revenue. Total overhead was 24%, meaning that for every dollar donated, 76 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

At the end of 2025, PAC had $1.5m in funding reserves (cash and investments). These reserves could cover its annual program costs for just under two months.

Penny Appeal uses external fundraisers. The charity paid fundraisers $258k to collect $1.3m. It cost 21 cents to raise a dollar using external fundraisers.

Charity Intelligence has sent this charity profile update to Penny Appeal Canada for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on August 11, 2026 by Ava Anderson.