Note: Ci included changes in fair value of investments in investment income, affecting revenues by $1.7m in F2023, ($3.8m) in F2022, and $2.3m in F2021. Ci reported product sales, events promotions, and fees revenues in business activities. Ci reported income from WWF family in other revenue, affecting it by $834k.

The following comments have been provided by the charity on August 12, 2024. Updates may be forthcoming.

World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) is the country’s largest international conservation organization. For more than 50 years, we have connected the power of a strong global network operating in 100 countries with on-the-ground conservation efforts across Canada. Our long-term vision is simple: a Canada with abundant wildlife, where nature and people thrive.

But without urgent action, that future is at risk.  

Regenerate Canada is our bold, 10-year plan to fight the dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change with one of the best, most effective tools around: nature. We will steward, restore and protect ecosystems that store carbon and provide habitat for wildlife — ensuring at-risk species can recover while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Drawing on scientific research and Indigenous guidance, our conservation work will drive towards three goals, designed to get our future back on track:

• Restore at least one million hectares of habitat
• Protect and steward at least 100 hundred million hectares of vital ecosystems
• Reduce carbon emissions by 30 million tonnes

FINANCIAL STEWARDSHIP

Financial stewardship is key to achieving our conservation goals and fulfilling donor expectations. To do that, we ensure we have a strong internal control environment, effective governance over all operations, and an annual independent audit of our financial records.

In the ’23 fiscal year (July 2022 to June 2023), we were able to invest in our mission to Regenerate Canada while keeping administrative costs fiscally responsible — for every dollar spent, 72 cents went to conservation efforts.* During this period, we invested $20.5 million directly into our conservation work and $7.97 million was spent on fundraising and administration.

YOUR IMPACT: THREE YEARS OF REGENERATE CANADA

Long-lasting, meaningful change doesn’t happen overnight, and short-term planning can focus on the trees and miss the forest. By setting a 10-year plan with shorter three-year milestones, we can think big while checking in periodically to assess our progress. Our fiscal year ’23 annual report is the first of these check-ins. 

With donors and supporters across the country by our side, we supported the creation of new marine protected areas and won higher standards of protection for wildlife in them. We published crucial reports identifying where restoration and stewardship can have the biggest impact for wildlife and climate, and then set the groundwork for exponential growth towards our restoration goals. We took responsibility for reconciliation by supporting Indigenous partners and helping to advance Indigenous-led conservation, where and when requested, with our work, our words and our financial support.

Below are just a few of the ways WWF-Canada’s work — and the incredible support of our donors — helped to Regenerate Canada in the past year:

• Protected 41,860 square kilometres of ocean from harmful vessel discharges thanks to tens of thousands of supporters who advocated restrictions in marine protected areas as part of our No Dumping campaign. 
• Provided $3,467,251 in grants and other funding to various charities, Indigenous organizations, local conservation groups, academics and our WWF colleagues in Nepal, Mexico and other national offices to support work protecting monarch butterflies, tigers and other at-risk wildlife.
• Positively impacted more than 75 species at risk, including barren-ground caribou, southern resident killer whales, Chinook salmon and rusty-patched bumblebees. 
• Planted over 35 million native trees, shrubs, plants, flowers, grasses and seeds, including supporting the Secwepemcúl’ecw Restoration and Stewardship Society restore 250 hectares of forest impacted by wildfires in B.C.’s central interior.
• Supported the final steps towards a Nunavut Land Use Plan that protects caribou calving grounds and other important ecosystems in the Arctic through scientific and Indigenous-led research, community consultations and our own reviews. 
• Mitigated the impacts of industrial development in key wildlife habitats. Our outreach led to mandatory ship slowdowns by Baffinland Iron Mine Corps in the 10-million-hectare Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area. And our lawsuit against Chevron Canada and Exxon Mobil led to the relinquishment of oil and gas permits off the coast of B.C.

In the world of conservation, victories aren’t always swift but rather the culmination of years of work by many people and groups working together. Our donors and partners make finding those long-term solutions to some of nature’s biggest challenges possible. Learn more about our impressive track record here.

In addition to our annual report, we keep our donors informed on their efforts to help nature and people thrive through our Living Planet magazine, Fieldnotes newsletter, blogs, and stewardship reports.

*WWF-Canada’s reported spending ratio is calculated as a percentage of total expenditure rather than a percentage of donations.