Founded in 1920, Mennonite Central Committee Canada (MCC Canada) is a Christian charity that helps communities around the world respond to disasters and develop sustainably. MCC Canada works with Mennonite Central Committee U.S. to form MCC International, which works with local churches to reach developing communities in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, the United States, and Canada. In F2018, MCC International worked with 508 churches to run 716 projects (down from 767 in F2017) in 57 countries (up from 56 in F2017).  

A Charity Intelligence 2019 Top 10 International Impact Charity

Mennonite Central Committee Canada spent $35.9m on international programs in F2018: it allocated $19.5m (54%) to development projects, $12.7m to disaster responses (35%), and $3.7m to justice and peacebuilding projects (11%). Major disaster responses during the year included Hurricane Matthew in Haiti, the drought in Kenya, and the conflict in Jordan. MCC International shipped 24,530 relief kits (up 46% from 16,787 kits in F2017) and reports that 186,650 people received emergency food assistance, 5,720 people received financial support such as cash transfers, and 3,490 people received housing assistance.  

MCC Canada’s development projects focus on improving education, health, and food and water access in developing countries. In F2018, MCC International shipped 78,035 school kits (51,062 kits in F2017), 774,069 lb of canned meat (579,643 lb in F2017), 69,375 hygiene kits (55,115 kits in F2017) and 10,396 infant care kits (9,992 kits in F2017). It also built 2,606 latrines and reached 47,339 children through early childhood, formal, and non-formal education. It trained 991 healthcare workers and caregivers, tested 24,507 people for HIV, provided 69,822 people with food assistance, gave 31,281 people agricultural supplies, offered agricultural training sessions to 43,611 people, and connected 10,152 households to an improved water source.  

Mennonite Central Committee Canada spent $1.8m on programs in Canada: it allocated $689k to peacebuilding projects (39%), $302k to migration assistance (17%), $262k to restorative justice projects, and the remainder to education, food security, health, relief, and conflict prevention initiatives. It helped 715 refugees resettle in Canada during the year (120,000 refugees total from 1979 to 2018 through its private refugee sponsorship program) and trained 27,327 people in conflict transformation, peacebuilding or mediation.  

Mennonite Central Committee Canada is a Major 100 charity, meaning it is one of Canada’s 100 largest charities in terms of donations. MCC Canada received $26.1m in donations in F2018. Government funding of $8.9m represents 24% of total revenue for the year. Administrative costs are 8% of revenue (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 3% of donations. Per dollar donated to the charity, 89 cents go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.  

Funding reserves of $8.9m can cover annual program spending for under three months.  

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Mennonite Central Committee Canada for review. Comments and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on July 24, 2019 by Katie Khodawandi.