SOS Children's Villages Canada is a 3-star charity. It is financially transparent and has an above average results reporting grade of B+. For every dollar donated, 57 cents are available to go to the cause. This falls outside of Ci's reasonable range for overhead spending.

Founded in 1969, SOS Children’s Villages Canada (SOS Canada) is the Canadian branch of SOS Children’s Villages based in Austria. SOS supports children who have lost parental care or are at risk of losing it through family-based care programs in over 130 countries. Children live in homes with a trained local caregiver and other children in a family-like environment. These villages typically have between 10-15 homes, a nursery school, a primary school, and a medical centre. In 2025, SOS Canada spent $5.7m on its programs and grants. The charity runs five main programs: Care and Protection, Education and Livelihoods, Family and Community Strengthening, Emergency Response, and Health.

Care and Protection represented 50% of program spending in 2025. This program provides supportive family environments for children whose families cannot care for them. In 2025, SOS Canada supported 378 alternative care projects across 105 countries and provided care to 70,300 children and young people.

Education and Livelihoods represented 25% of program spending in 2025. The program supports education and skills development for children, youths, and parents. In 2025, it reached 1.3 million participants, including 2,013 young people who received employability skills training and more than 5,500 children and youths who continued their education from early childhood to post-secondary.

Family and Community Strengthening represented 15% of program spending in 2025. The program supports families and communities through training and awareness initiatives. In 2025, it reached 2,599,900 people, including 1,346 parents who received training in parenting, child development, nutrition, and water, sanitation, and hygiene.

Emergency Response represented 9% of program spending in 2025. The program provides emergency assistance to people affected by crises and disasters. In 2025, it reached 3,826,800 million people, including more than 126,000 Venezuelans with emergency assistance, 42,000 people with emergency support, and 21,608 people with mental health and psychosocial services. SOS Canada also responded to emergencies in Colombia, Gaza, Jamaica, and Ukraine.

Health represented 1% of program spending in 2025. The program supports the health and well-being of children and families through services such as nutrition and mental health support.

SOS Children’s Villages Canada’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a best practice. This means its expenses are clearly defined between program, administrative, and fundraising categories.

In 2025, SOS Canada received $7.8m in donations, which was 91% of total revenue. It also received $458k in government funding. The charity spent $5.7m on its programs and grants, representing 67% of total revenue. It ran a deficit of $729k.

Fundraising costs were $2.3m, which was 29% of donations, and administrative costs were $1.1m, which was 13% of revenue (excluding investment income). Total overhead was 43%, meaning that for every dollar donated, 57 cents are available to go to the cause, which is outside of Ci's reasonable range. The charity has been outside the reasonable range for the past three years.

At the end of 2025, SOS Canada had $5.1m in funding reserves (cash and investments), including $140k in donor-endowed funds. Excluding donor-endowed funds, these reserves could cover program costs for just over 10 months, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.

The most recent T3010 filing at the time of this update was from 2024. SOS Canada reports in its T3010 that it paid external fundraisers $1.5m to collect $2.2m in donations. This means it cost SOS Canada 68 cents to raise $1 using external fundraisers. The charity reports that it uses external fundraisers to grow a monthly recurring donor base, so the cost per dollar raised is lower as donors will continue to donate over time. It is likely more cost efficient to directly donate to the charity.

This charity report is an update that has been sent for review to SOS Children’s Villages Canada. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on July 24, 2026, by Ava Anderson.