Children's Aid Foundation of Canada

25 Spadina Road
Toronto, ON M5R 2S9
President & CEO: Valerie McMurtry
Board Chair: Daniel Barclay

Charitable Reg. #:10807 6480 RR0001

STAR RATING

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

[Charity Rating: 4/5]

✔+

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.

n/r

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.

69%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 69 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About Children's Aid Foundation of Canada:

Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada is a 4-star charity with an above-average results reporting score. It has overhead costs within Ci’s reasonable range and has reserve funds to cover program costs for four years and eight months.

Founded in 1979, Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada (CAFC) works to improve the lives of children and youth in the child welfare system. CAFC states that young people in government care are 200 times more likely to experience homelessness and enrol in post-secondary education at half the rate of the general population. According to the charity, as many as 82% of children in care have been diagnosed with special needs. CAFC tailors its work to three main groups: children and families at risk, children and youth in care, and youth transitioning out of care.

In F2023, CAFC granted $4.7m to 34 programs for youth transitioning out of care. The charity states that roughly 2,300 Canadian youth “age out” of the child welfare system each year and have to leave government care. These former foster care kids are more likely to suffer from alcoholism, drug abuse, and depression as adults. Additionally, youth from care earn an average of $326,000 less income throughout their lifetime. To combat these barriers, CAFC provides employment services, post-secondary scholarships and awards, mental health resources, housing support, and life skills development. In F2023, CAFC supported 3,936 youth transitioning out of care.

In F2023, CAFC granted $2.7m to 19 programs for children and families at risk of entering the welfare system. The charity reports that 235,000 children and youth across Canada are at risk of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. CAFC aims to prevent children from separating from their families and entering the welfare system through early intervention programs, health and wellness support, and financial support. In F2023, CAFC supported 2,800 families.

CAFC granted $2.7m to 24 programs for children and youth in care in F2023. According to the charity, over 63,000 children and youth in Canada live in foster homes, institutional settings, or with extended family because of neglect, abuse, or abandonment. CAFC helps these children access the resources and support they need to succeed in school, such as mentoring, extracurricular activities, technology, and transportation. In F2023, CAFC helped 8,366 children and youth in government care.

In F2023, the charity also invested $2.4m in nine Black-focused initiatives and ten Indigenous-focused initiatives. CAFC reports that 33% of the families and youth supported by its programs identify as Indigenous, and 20% identify as Black.

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Results and Impact

In F2023, Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada reported that 12,422 people benefitting from its programs reported improved social-emotional well-being. 5,351 people reported increased stability, 4,139 people reported increased permanence, and 3,915 people reported improved health and well-being. Additionally, 2,888 people reported improved academic achievement and 1,075 people reported increased employment and employability.

The charity’s Journey to Zero program provides support and resources to families to allow children to stay at home rather than be moved into foster care. The program’s pilot stage, which ended in F2023, served 422 families. For 86% of these families, children did not enter foster care.

CAFC’s National Mental Health Youth Fund provides mental health support to children in the process of leaving government care. The charity states that 98% of participants reported that their mental health had improved and 91% reported increased feelings of wellness and stability.

While Charity Intelligence highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada’s results and impact. This charity is not yet rated on impact (n/r).

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Finances

In F2023, Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada received $14.4m in donations and special events revenue. The charity also received $1.6m in government funding, representing 9% of revenues.

Administrative costs are 10% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 21% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 31%. For every dollar donated, 69 cents go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

CAFC has reserve funds of $73.3m, of which $13.9m is donor-endowed. Excluding donor-endowed funds, CAFC could cover four years and eight months of annual program costs with existing reserves.

In F2022, CAFC granted to 69 organizations, including $3.8m to Children’s Aid Society of Toronto (CAST). Disbursements to CAST made up 49% of total grants reported in the charity’s CRA T3010 filings in F2022.

Charity Intelligence sent an update of this report to Children’s Aid Foundation of Canada for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 6, 2023 by Kiara Andrade.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending March
202320222021
Administrative costs as % of revenues 10.4%7.2%5.3%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 20.7%13.8%9.2%
Total overhead spending 31.1%21.0%14.5%
Program cost coverage (%) 475.3%543.5%326.6%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202320222021
Donations 12,01513,78918,151
Goods in kind 738321730
Government funding 1,6031,8022,647
Business activities (net) 120128156
Special events 2,3511,612728
Investment income 6173,35213,119
Total revenues 17,44421,00435,530
Program costs 4,7163,8753,311
Grants 8,4628,04314,603
Administrative costs 1,7481,2711,195
Fundraising costs 2,9692,1181,738
Total spending 17,89515,30720,847
Cash flow from operations (451)5,69714,683
Capital spending 0(1,325)(82)
Funding reserves 73,26074,66469,203

Note: Ci presented fundraising revenues gross rather than net of expenses, affecting revenues and expenses by $1.4m in F2023, $823k in F2022, and $505k in F2021. To report on a cash basis, Ci did not include sale of capital assets in revenues, affecting total revenues by nil in F2023, ($1.7m) in F2022, and $2.0m in F2021. The charity reported deferred revenues of $60k in F2023, $56k in F2022, and $34k in F2021. Ci could not break out changes in government vs. non-government deferred revenues and therefore could not adjust for them.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 28

Avg. compensation: $95,193

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
1
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
1
$160k - $200k
2
$120k - $160k
2
$80k - $120k
4
$40k - $80k
0
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2022

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

No comments have been added by the charity.

Charity Contact

Website: www.cafdn.org
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 416 923 0924

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Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001