Backpack Buddies
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.
A-
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
n/r
DEMONSTRATED IMPACT
The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.
NEED FOR FUNDING
Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.
85%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 85 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About Backpack Buddies:
Backpack Buddies is a 5-star charity with an above-average results reporting grade of A-. For every dollar donated, 86 cents are available to go towards the cause. Its reserve funds can cover 11 months of annual program costs.
Founded in 2012 and officially named Community First Foundation, Backpack Buddies gives bags of food to children in need on Friday afternoons. Many children rely on school programs for meals, but these only run on weekdays. Backpack Buddies works to decrease food insecurity over weekends for children across British Columbia. In fiscal 2023 (year ended March), Backpack Buddies spent $3.0m on its program.
A Charity Intelligence 2024 Top 100 Rated Charity.
Backpack Buddies’ main program is delivering bags of food to kids in need. In F2023, Backpack Buddies delivered 160,840 bags of food to 5,360 kids compared to 127,225 bags of food delivered to 3,646 kids in F2022. In F2023, Backpack Buddies served 66 communities and had 365 distribution partners across BC. In F2023, Backpack Buddies was able to provide 1,302,345 meals with all of the food distributed in the bags. In order to distribute this food, the charity drove 49,687 kilometers around the province.
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Results and Impact
In F2023, Backpack Buddies delivered 723,780 lb of food to 5,360 kids. This averages to about 129 lb of food per child.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Backpack Buddies’ results and impact. This charity is not yet rated on impact (n/r).
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Finances
In F2023, Backpack Buddies received $3.4m in donations, up 22% from $2.8m received in F2022. In F2023, the charity also received $394k in government funding, representing 9% of total revenues. Administrative costs are 3% and fundraising costs are 10%. For every dollar donated, 86 cents are available to go towards the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. In F2023, Backpack Buddies spent $3.0m on its program which represents 73% of total revenues.
In F2023, Backpack Buddies had $2.8m in its reserve funds (cash and investments). The current reserve funds can cover 11 months of annual program costs.
Profile updated on August 21, 2024 by Abby Stout.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending March
|
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 3.6% | 4.6% | 6.0% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 11.6% | 8.9% | 0.8% |
| Total overhead spending | 15.2% | 13.4% | 6.8% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 90.5% | 95.4% | 115.9% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $s |
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 3,394,821 | 2,776,100 | 3,243,297 |
| Government funding | 394,287 | 7,850 | 76,064 |
| Investment income | 1,931 | 649 | 116 |
| Other income | 5,214 | (20,138) | 197,355 |
| Total revenues | 3,796,253 | 2,764,461 | 3,516,832 |
| Program costs | 3,042,418 | 2,199,331 | 1,759,843 |
| Administrative costs | 136,473 | 126,558 | 211,982 |
| Fundraising costs | 392,723 | 246,019 | 25,884 |
| Total spending | 3,571,614 | 2,571,908 | 1,997,709 |
| Cash flow from operations | 224,639 | 192,553 | 1,519,123 |
| Capital spending | 83,900 | 212,931 | 27,829 |
| Funding reserves | 2,754,080 | 2,097,261 | 2,039,255 |
Note: DEFERRED REVENUE: To report on a cash basis, Ci adjusted for deferred contributions. This affected total revenues by $46k in F2023, ($45k) in F2022, and ($45k) in F2021. Ci also adjusted for deferred capital contributions affecting total revenues by $5k in F2023, ($29k) in F2022, and $135k in F2021. ACTIVITY-BASED COSTING: Backpack Buddies does not use activity-based costing, so Ci used the charity’s T3010 filing with the CRA to report program, administrative, and fundraising costs.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
0 |
$120k - $160k |
0 |
$80k - $120k |
3 |
$40k - $80k |
7 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2023
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Comment added on October 9, 2024:
At Backpack Buddies, we believe it is possible for every child in BC to have enough food to eat and that when we promise to provide food for a child, they can count on us for as long as they need us. These two principles guide the use of every dollar we raise. It means that we manage every dollar with great care. We invest in the health of our organization so that good people stay with us for the long term, and we have a stable organization that families can count on to be here for years to come. It means that we invest in fundraising and the care of our donors so that we can continually grow to reach more and more children. We make sure to speak for children that cannot speak for themselves, encouraging governments, large companies, and our communities to support the most vulnerable children. It means we must keep reserve funds on hand so that we can keep our promise to children to support them, as long as they need us, no matter what unexpected financial storms arise. We make sure that every dollar provides food security for children in our program today and helps us reach more children across BC every year. We are proud of Our Five Star, Top 100 Rating by Charity Intelligence, that recognizes Backpack Buddies for living these values every day.
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: (604) 807-0347