Note: Ci included changes in fair value of investments in investment income, affecting revenues by ($400k) in F2020, $330k in F2019, and ($115k) in F2018. Ci reported product sales, events promotions, and fees revenues in business activities. Ci reported income from WWF family in other revenue. 

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.

To achieve this vision, WWF-Canada has an ambitious 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.

WWF-Canada is grateful to our donors, partners and volunteers who kept supporting our mission even in the face of an unprecedented pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic raised questions about our true relationship with nature and challenged us to find new ways to deliver our work, raise funds, engage communities and make an impact for nature and people.

For the safety of our participants and in accordance with local public health guidelines, we cancelled the CN Tower Climb and our Kids Run for Nature, two of our most significant fundraising events.  But despite these challenges, and in response to the growing climate emergency, people across Canada gave generously. We were able to successfully raise over $28.1 million for the fiscal year, which ended June 30, an increase from the previous year of $25.3 million. We are thankful for the trust, support and investment you have made in our work.

We were also able to invest even more in our mission while keeping administrative costs fiscally responsible – for every dollar, 73 cents went to the cause. During this period, we invested $18.6 million directly into our conservation work and 24.4 per cent was spent on fundraising and administration. With a diverse donor base made up of individuals, foundations, government and companies, we have the financial resilience and courage to take our next steps for the future of conservation.

No matter where our staff was working — in the field, in the office or at home — we continued to make progress on conservation issues ranging from ocean protections to wildlife recovery. Below are just a few of the ways WWF-Canada’s work—and your incredible support—has benefitted students, local conservation efforts, Indigenous partners and wildlife in Canada and abroad:

• 12,068 post-secondary students enrolled in the Living Planet @ Campus program, where they engaged in activities to protect and restore nature. This year, the first cohort of 19 students earned their Living Planet Leader certification, which will support their efforts to create change in their future careers by demonstrating their sustainability skills and experience to potential employers..
• Worked with 5,474 gardeners to restore 39,348 hectares of backyard and balcony native plant habitat for wildlife in Ontario’s Carolinian zone (this region has more species of rare plants and animals than anywhere else in the country). In the long-term, this will help improve community resilience to climate change.
• Supported Katzie First Nation in efforts to recover an important historic and cultural food source: chinook salmon. We continued our partnership with Katzie First Nation to restore four salmon spawning sites in B.C.’s Fraser River equal to 11,326m2, and have begun to see salmon returning. Chinook salmon are important to Katzie First Nation and the primary prey for Canada’s most endangered whale population, the southern resident killer whale.
• Supported local efforts to address pressing environmental concerns in the North by granting $250,000 for 10 projects in partnership with university researchers, government scientists and Inuit organizations.
• Supported Australian wildfire recovery efforts by sending $588,800 in Canadian donations to WWF-Australia in response to one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history. This supported rescue and rehab for affected wildlife as well as habitat recovery and future-proofing the country.
• Promoted solutions and recommendations to improve Canadian wildlife recovery efforts by releasing Living Planet Report Canada 2020 on the state of wildlife in Canada. This report includes research on wildlife threats that was published in the scientific journal FACETS.

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.

Financial stewardship is key to achieving our conservation and fundraising 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 addition to our annual report, we keep our donors informed on their efforts to help nature and people thrive through our Living Planet magazine, webinars, Fieldnotes e-newsletter, blogs, Wildlife Wednesdays and stewardship reports.