Canadian Liver Foundation

3100 Steeles Avenue East, Suite 801
Markham, ON L3R 8T3
President & CEO: Gary Fagan
Board Chair: Morris Sherman

Website: www.liver.ca
Charitable Reg. #: 10686 2949 RR0001
Sector: Health
Operating Charity

Charity Rating

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Donor Accountability

Grade: B

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

Financial Transparency

Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity's website [ Audited financial statement for most recent year ]

Need for Funding

Funding Reserves Program Costs

Spending Breakdown

Cents to The Cause

♦ ♦ ♦
95¢
75¢
avg
65¢
50¢
2014 2015 2016
For a dollar donated, cents funding the cause after fundraising and admin costs, excluding surplus.

Full-time staff #25

Avg. Compensation $66,328

Top 10 Staff Salary Range

$350k + 0
$300k - $350k 0
$250k - $300k 0
$200k - $250k 0
$160k - $200k 1
$120k - $160k 0
$80k - $120k 1
$40k - $80k 8
< $40k 0
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2016

About Canadian Liver Foundation:

Founded in 1969, Canadian Liver Foundation (CLF) states that it was the first organization in the world to focus on supporting research and education on the causes, diagnoses, prevention and treatment of liver diseases. CLF’s mission is to promote liver health and provide hope for people living with liver disease by funding liver research, increasing public awareness education, running support programs, and advocating for liver health. CLF states in its most recent 2016 annual report that liver disease affects more than eight million Canadians.

CLF spent $2.2m on research programs and grants in F2016 (61% of total program costs and grants). This included $390k in operating grants, $100k in team grants, $36k on summer studentships, and $48k on graduate studentships. CLF’s F2016 team grant went to an initiative on hepatocellular carcinoma led by Dr. Ian McGilvray at University Health Network (University of Toronto) investigating how nanoparticles can be used to knock out a specific class of immune cells that liver cancer cells use to evade the immune system and grow. This grant is CLF’s largest multi-year research grant to date, totaling $1.2m over three years. CLF also distributed three graduate studentships, nine summer studentships and one operating grant, which went to Dr. Hemant Shah at University Health Network (University of Toronto), whose research focuses on increasing Hepatitis C virus testing in First Nations communities.

F2016 research program spending included $486k on the Canadian National Transplant Research Program (CNTRP) and $382k on the Canadian Network on Hepatitis C (CanHepC). CLF runs CNTRP in partnership with Canadian Institutes of Health Research. The program focuses on improving survival rates and quality of life for Canadians who undergo liver transplants. CanHepC is a research network consisting of over 100 researchers, trainees and others involved in hepatitis C research and treatments across Canada and globally. Through this program, CLF aims to decrease incidence and prevalence of Hepatitis C, as well as improve health outcomes of those with the disease.

Education and support programs made up 21% of program costs and grants in F2016. One of CLF’s education programs is the LIVERight Health forum, which educates people on how they can positively impact their liver health. CLF held five forums that over 1,000 people attended in F2016. CLF’s national 1-800 Help Line responded to 2,357 inquiries over the phone and by email in F2016, and the charity’s website had more than 2.2m visitors over the year.

Awareness programs made up 14% of program costs in F2016. After the success of its Could You Have It Hepatitis C testing campaign in F2015, CLF ran a follow-up campaign that reached over two million people online through more than 25 million media impressions in F2016. CLF reports that more than 6,500 people filled out its online risk assessment form because of the campaign. 

CLF also advocates at all levels of government to emphasize the importance of liver-related health issues. In F2016, CLF made seven submissions to federal and provincial governments for new Hepatitis C therapies. After a two-year collaboration with Health Canada regarding improved reporting standards on the dangers of acetaminophen, CLF saw success in September 2016 when the government agency announced new labelling standards for drugs containing the compound.

Financial Review:

Canadian Liver Foundation is a big-cap charity with total donations of $6.4m in F2016. Administrative costs are 20% of revenues and fundraising costs are 26% of donations. Per dollar donated to the charity, $0.54 goes towards its programs and grants, which falls outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. CLF’s funding reserves of $6.7m can cover annual program costs and research grants for 1.9 years.

Grants of $2.2m in F2016, $1.7m in F2015 and $1.3m in F2014 represent CLF's research grants and program costs as reported in the audited financial statements.

CLF reports using external fundraisers as part of its fundraising activities. In its most recent F2015 T3010 CRA filing, CLF reports spending $938k on external fundraisers that raised $1.9m on behalf of the charity. This produces an external fundraising ratio of 50%.

CLF’s audited financials report research commitments for multi-year research grants of $903k in F2017, $520k in F2018 and $230k in F2019. Following F2016, CLF’s Board committed to fund $536k for new Liver Research in Canada projects and $175k in designated liver research grants.

This charity report is an update that is currently being reviewed by Canadian Liver Foundation. Comments and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on August 4, 2017 by Katie Khodawandi.

Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending December 		201620152014
Administrative costs as % of revenues 19.6%19.2%22.2%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 26.7%25.5%28.3%
Program cost coverage (%) 190.5%203.3%211.1%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s 		201620152014
Donations 6,2716,4285,886
Government funding 1654260
Business activities (net) 20342211
Investment income 51491395
Total revenues 7,1546,6036,552
Program costs 1,3701,2531,227
Grants 2,1601,7421,252
Administrative costs 1,2991,2491,367
Fundraising costs 1,6751,6401,665
Cash flow from operations 6507181,041
Funding reserves 6,7246,0915,233
Note: Ci gathered government funding from the charity’s T3010 CRA filing and backed the amounts out of donations. Ci also gathered program, administrative and fundraising costs from the charity's T3010 CRA filings. Ci reported chapter gaming revenue net of direct expenses, reducing revenues and expenses by $8k in F2016, $31k in F2015 and $53k in F2014. Ci backed out amortization on a pro-rata basis from program, administrative and fundraising costs. Ci reported all research expenses in grants and backed the amounts out of program costs.

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