MedicAlert Foundation is a 3-star charity that is financially transparent. It a below-average results reporting grade and overhead spending outside Ci's reasonable range.

Founded in 1961, MedicAlert Foundation Canada (MedicAlert) aims to ensure that all Canadians have vital medical information on hand in the event of an emergency. It sells custom ID bracelets that help paramedics, police, and emergency responders view a patient’s medical details. It recommends ID bracelets for people with fatal allergies, degenerative diseases, communication disorders, drug prescriptions, and implanted devices. MedicAlert Foundation Canada is an affiliate of MedicAlert Foundation International, which was founded in California and now spans ten national affiliates. The charity’s office is in Toronto.

MedicAlert’s core programs include Membership Services, the No Child Without program, and its Education program. MedicAlert reports it spent $3.9m on its programs in 2023.

Membership Services: 78% of program spending. For $40 to $60 each year, depending on the type of annual plan, Canadians can subscribe to MedicAlert’s ID services. The charity provides subscribers with a custom engraved ID bracelet, a mobile app to update their medical details, and a 24/7 support line. In 2022, the charity upgraded their 13 technological systems to help keep subscriber information safe. As of August 2023, 20 of Ontario’s 82 school boards agreed to adopt the program (25%)

No Child Without: 7% of program spending. No Child Without offers free subscriptions to children with health conditions between the ages of four and 14. It works with 6,000 schools to administer the program, which has reached more than 45,000 children since founding. In 2022, MedicAlert started the S.A.F.E Program. This program helps make kids aware of common medical conditions that might affect their peers. It is designed to promote a safe and secure learning environment. In 2022, 

Education: 4% of program spending. MedicAlert ensures that frontline officers as well as dispatchers for 911 are trained to use all aspects of MedicAlert in an emergency.

The remaining 10% of program spending went toward IDEA and Safe and Found. The IDEA initiative helps to subsidize MedicAlert’s services for marginalized groups, such as Indigenous people and low-income families. The Safe and Found program helps keep those with dementia who wander away from where they live safe.

In 2023 MedicAlert Foundation Canada received $969k in donations. It received $3.2m in fees for service in 2023, representing 58% of total revenues. Net product sales were $767k in 2023, representing 14% of total revenues.

Administrative costs are 31% of revenues (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs are 35% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 66%. For every dollar donated, 34 cents are available to go to the cause. This falls outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. MedicAlert has been outside Ci’s reasonable range in each year since the start of Ci’s analysis of the charity in 2018.

In 2023 MedicAlert spent $3.9m on its programs, which is 71% of its revenue. In 2023 it had a deficit of $256k.

MedicAlert Foundation Canada has $7.2m in reserve funds (cash and investments). This can cover 184%, or one year and ten months of its annual program spending.

MedicAlert has a licensing agreement with MedicAlert Foundation United States, effective since 2009. The license allows MedicAlert Foundation Canada to use the MedicAlert registered name and branding in exchange for 3% annual royalties on membership fees and product sales. In 2023, MedicAlert paid $133k in annual fees and $25k for inventory purchases to the U.S. charity.

This charity report is an update that has been sent for review to MedicAlert Foundation Canada. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on August 30, 2024, by Grady Simpson.