8345 Winston Street
Burnaby, BC V5A 2H3
CEO: David Long
Board Chair: Fiona Macdonald

Charitable Reg. #:10744 9787 RR0001

STAR RATING

Ci's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics:

[Charity Rating: 5/5]

✔+

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.

A+

RESULTS REPORTING

Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.

High

DEMONSTRATED IMPACT

The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.

NEED FOR FUNDING

Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.

81%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 81 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society:

Greater Vancouver Food Bank is a 5-star charity with High impact and a high results reporting grade. The charity has $23.8m in reserve funds that can cover 2.6 years of annual program costs.

Founded in 1983, Greater Vancouver Food Bank's (GVFB) mission is to provide healthy food to those in need. The charity states that due to increases in the inflation rate, more people are struggling to make ends meet. In F2022, GVFB helped 7,726 new food bank clients. It aims to provide high quality food and promote food access through local partners.

A Charity Intelligence 2023 Top 100 Rated Charity

In total, GVFB distributed 8.0 million pounds of food in F2022 (7.1 million in F2021). The food was distributed through three main channels: GVFB Food Centres, Community Agency Partners, and other local food banks. The charity reports that it received $12.5m in donated foods and other products in F2022. It spent $4.0m on community programs and $3.9m in food purchases, but gives no further spending breakdown by program.

Greater Vancouver Food Bank collects, buys, and distributes food at its four centres. These centres are in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, and the North Shore. In F2022, GVFB distributed a total of 8.0 million pounds of food. This food helped 20,781 people (16,133 in F2021), of which 60% were adults, 26% were children, and 14% were seniors. In F2022, following the floods in BC, GVFB sent 14.0k pounds of food to affected areas like Lytton and Merritt.

Greater Vancouver Food Bank donated food and equipment to 119 local Community Agency Partners (CAP) in F2022. Of these 118 organizations, 96 were in Vancouver. In F2022, GVFB opened another warehouse, the Vancouver CAP Market. GVFB distributed 3.3 million pounds of food through its CAPs in F2022 (3.0 million in F2021). In F2022, Greater Vancouver Food Bank launched its second Grants program. It distributed $224.2k to help their CAPs run their operations.

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Results and Impact

Greater Vancouver Food Bank reports that in F2022 it distributed on average 23.0 pounds of food per person. This is compared to 20.3 pounds of food per person in F2021.

While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Greater Vancouver Food Bank’s results and impact.

Charity Intelligence has scored Greater Vancouver Food Bank as High impact based on its demonstrated impact per dollar spent.

A Charity Intelligence 2022 Top 10 Canadian Food Bank

Impact Rating: High

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Finances

Greater Vancouver Food Bank had total cash donations of $15.0m in F2022. It also received $12.5m in donated food and other goods, representing 45% of total revenues.

Administrative costs are 4% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 15% of cash donations. This results in total overhead spending of 19%. For every dollar donated, 81 cents go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

The charity has $23.8m in reserve funds. These are GVFB’s cash and investments. In F2020, the reserve funds were $13.4m, so there has been a 77% increase in funding reserves. This is because over the past three years the charity has spent significantly less than it has brought on. Excluding the cost of donated goods, GVFB could cover 255% or 2.6 years of its annual program costs with reserves.

Charity Intelligence sent an update of this report to Greater Vancouver Food Bank for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated June 5, 2023, by Alessandra Castino.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending June
202220212020
Administrative costs as % of revenues 3.9%2.6%3.0%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 14.8%9.8%10.2%
Total overhead spending 18.7%12.4%13.1%
Program cost coverage (%) 255.3%308.6%244.9%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202220212020
Donations 15,00419,64016,597
Goods in kind 12,53512,89210,593
Government funding 99136508
Investment income 8117191
Total revenues 27,71832,84027,790
Program costs 9,3357,2045,475
Donated goods exp 12,53512,89210,594
Administrative costs 1,078837823
Fundraising costs 2,2171,9241,688
Total spending 25,16522,85718,580
Cash flow from operations 2,5529,9839,210
Capital spending 5558972,190
Funding reserves 23,83122,23013,407

Note: Ci adjusted for deferred donations, which affected revenues by ($1.3m) in F2022, ($62k) in F2021 and $1.2m in F2020. Ci included changes in fair value of investments in investment income. This affected revenues by ($289k) in F2022, $16k in F2021, and ($27k) in F2020. Ci excluded gains on the disposal of capital assets from donations. This affected revenues by ($50k) in F2022, ($9.2k) in F2021, and ($13k) in F2020. Ci reported government funding from the charity’s T3010 filings with the CRA and removed the amounts from donations. Ci removed amortization from program, admin, and fundraising costs on a pro-rata basis.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 70

Avg. compensation: $60,646

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
1
$160k - $200k
1
$120k - $160k
0
$80k - $120k
3
$40k - $80k
5
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2022

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

The following comments were received and updated on October 18, 2021. 

The Greater Vancouver Food Bank is dedicated to running an efficient, sustainable organization that addresses food insecurity in the communities we support.  We strive to continuously make the most effective use possible of the contributions entrusted to us by our generous donors. We value and include our clients’ voices in the assessment of our current programs at the GVFB and the development of future programming. Our unique position in the food system allows us to share robust data with stakeholders who are addressing and working toward solving hunger in British Columbia.

 

Charity Contact

Website: www.foodbank.bc.ca
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 604-876-3601

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Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001