War Child Canada is a financially transparent five-star charity with small funding reserves and good demonstrated impact. It has reasonable overhead spending but an above average results reporting grade. 

Founded in 1999, War Child Canada (WCC) is a charity that supports women and children affected by conflict. Its mission is to prevent conflict in Africa and the Middle East by investing in local communities. According to War Child Canada, one in three women will experience physical or sexual violence at some point in their lives. WCC reports that 99% of its staff are hired locally. War Child International is a global network of three main charities: War Child Canada, War Child Holland, and War Child UK. The three charities share a common mission but were each founded and operate independently. These charities all receive funding from affiliated War Child charities. War Child USA is affiliated with WCC; the War Child charities in Australia and Ireland are affiliated with War Child UK; and the branches in Germany and Sweden are affiliated with War Child Holland.

In F2021, War Child Canada spent $11.0m on international programs. It works in seven regions: Afghanistan (32% of program spending), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (25%), Sudan (22%), South Sudan (12%), Uganda (8%), Yemen (less than 1%), and the Middle East (less than 1%). WCC groups its programs into three main categories: Education, Legal Protection, and Poverty Reduction. It does not provide a spending breakdown for its programs.

The charity’s Education programs provide access to formal education for children who have been forced to leave school due to war. WCC develops special curriculums, trains teachers, and provides schools with essential learning and hygiene supplies. It also runs radio-based education programs to help kids learn from home. In F2020, WCC educated 146,800 people through its programs. It also helped reopen 70 schools and completed 350 educational radio broadcasts in Uganda.

WCC’s Legal Protection programs aim to protect the rights of women and children in areas affected by conflict. The charity runs legal clinics that provide free representation to women and children who are victims of abuse. In F2020, WCC helped 156,400 people access the justice system and learn about their rights.

WCC’s Poverty Reduction programs aim to provide job opportunities to poor people in conflict areas. The New Business Support program trains women and young adults to build local businesses. The Food and Farming Support program provides supplies and training to farmers so that they can feed their communities. In F2020, the charity reached 272,400 people through its Poverty Reduction programs.

In F2021, War Child Canada received $5.7m in Canadian donations and special events revenue. During the year, it received $4.6m in international donations (29% of total revenue), $4.9m in government funding (31% of total revenue), and $273k in donated goods (2% of total revenue). WCC receives some of the donations collected by War Child USA. Transactions between related parties are not disclosed in WCC’s financial statements.

Administrative costs are 7% of total revenue. Fundraising costs are 16% of Canadian donations and special events revenue. This results in total overhead spending of 23%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 77 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. War Child Canada has $3.9m in net funding reserves which can cover annual program costs for around four months.

Charity Intelligence has sent this update to War Child Canada for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 4th, 2022 by Arjun Kapur.