Heart & Stroke
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
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.
65%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 65 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About Heart & Stroke:
Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada is a 3-star charity. It has an A- Results Reporting grade, which is above average. It holds reserves that can cover over 4 years of its annual program and grant costs, which is outside of Ci's reasonable range. For every dollar donated to the charity, 65 cents are available to go to the cause, which is just within Ci's reasonable range.
Founded in 1952, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (Heart & Stroke) raises awareness and funds research to fight against heart disease and stroke. According to Heart & Stroke, over 800,000 people in Canada live with heart failure, and another 100,000 are diagnosed every year. The charity states that by 2030, it is expected to cost the economy $2.8 billion per year. It reports that the odds of surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest is 10%.
In F2024 (year ended August), Heart & Stroke spent $51.3m on its programs and grants. Heart & Stroke runs two programs: Health Promotion and Community Programming, and Research.
Health Promotion and Community Programming represented 74% ($37.8m) of program costs in F2024. Heart & Stroke states that eight in ten cases of stroke and heart disease can be prevented through lifestyle and behaviour changes. Heart & Stroke generates awareness to prevent heart disease and strokes. In F2024, the charity trained 11,200 people in lifesaving techniques for cardiac arrest. Its resuscitation training program issued 470,000 certifications, a 4% increase from F2023. To promote healthy habits in children, Heart & Stroke runs a fundraising event: Jump Rope for Heart. In F2024, over 820,000 students participated in this fundraising event, a 10% increase over the previous year.
Research represented 26% ($13.5m) of program costs in F2024. Heart & Stroke funds research to develop breakthroughs related to heart diseases and strokes. In F2024, 1,005 researchers, trainees, and contributors received funding from Heart & Stroke. The charity granted 297 research awards in F2024. The five largest grant recipients according to its T3010 filings were University of Alberta ($1.3m), University of Calgary ($1.1m), UHN Foundation ($823k), University of Western Ontario ($736k), and University of British Columbia ($725k).
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Results and Impact
Health Promotion and Community Programming:
Heart & Stroke reports that after ten years of awareness campaigns, the number of people who can name at least two of the FAST signs of stroke has doubled. The charity did not provide specific statistics related to this change.
Its advocacy efforts to provincial governments increased the access to defibrillators, including full automated external defibrillators (AED) in British Columbia, an AED registry in Ontario, and $3.5m to improve AED access in Quebec.
The government of Canada announced a 12% vape tax increase on July 1, 2024, an increase Heart & Stroke advocated for.
The federal government allocated $1 billion over five years to a national school nutrition program. This will provide healthy meals to an estimated 400,000 kids annually.
The federal government passed a national pharmacare plan, following years of Heart & Stroke advocacy. The budget allocated $1.5 billion over five years to support the plan’s first phase.
Research:
In 2015, Heart & Stroke's ESCAPE trial revealed that treating major strokes by removing blood clots through blood vessels cuts deaths by 50%. In 2019, Heart & Stroke discovered a molecule linked to 1 in 5 cases of heart failure. In 2023, a Heart & Stroke researcher began targeting a specific gene, GATA2, which could be the key to preventing atherosclerosis.
The largest breakthrough in reducing strokes is the new drug, semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegocy) for people with obesity and Type 2 diabetes.
While Charity Intelligence highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Heart & Stroke’s results. Heart & Stroke has not yet been rated on impact (n/r). Not having an impact score does not affect Heart & Stroke's overall star rating.
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Finances
Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada received $104.3m in donations in F2024. It spent $51.3m on its programs and grants, which is 37% of revenue. The charity recorded a surplus of $50.0m, which is 36% of revenue.
Heart & Stroke ran a lottery that raised $31.3m and cost $21.3m, earning $10.0m net of expenses. For every dollar given through a lottery, the charity retains just 32%.
Heart & Stroke spent $34.0m on fundraising, which is 33% of donations, and $2.5m on administration, which is 2% of revenue (excluding investment income). Total overhead spending is 35%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 65 cents are available to go to the cause, which is just within Ci’s reasonable range.
Heart & Stroke has $252.7m in reserve funds (cash and investments), of which $6.9m was donor endowed. Excluding donor-endowed funds, the charity’s reserves can cover its annual program costs for 4 years and 9 months. This is outside of Ci’s reasonable range for reserve funds.
Heart & Stroke's $258.7m in cash and investments earned $22.7m, at a 10% rate of return. Over the past five years, its investments averaged a 4% rate of return.
Heart & Stroke uses external fundraisers. In F2024, it paid fundraisers $7.0m to collect $32.5m. In F2024, it cost 22 cents to raise a dollar through external fundraisers.
This charity report is an update that has been sent to Heart & Stroke for review.
Updated on June 5, 2025 by Liam Chapleau.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending August
|
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 2.2% | 2.9% | 2.5% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 32.6% | 33.5% | 32.2% |
| Total overhead spending | 34.8% | 36.4% | 34.7% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 482.3% | 418.2% | 344.3% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 104,298 | 90,720 | 93,554 |
| Government funding | 820 | 912 | 762 |
| Lotteries (net) | 10,048 | 9,559 | 14,584 |
| Investment income | 22,709 | 11,636 | (3,764) |
| Total revenues | 137,875 | 112,827 | 105,136 |
| Program costs | 37,779 | 32,209 | 30,344 |
| Grants | 13,519 | 14,775 | 18,107 |
| Administrative costs | 2,547 | 2,922 | 2,769 |
| Fundraising costs | 33,990 | 30,412 | 30,081 |
| Total spending | 87,835 | 80,318 | 81,301 |
| Cash flow from operations | 50,040 | 32,509 | 23,835 |
| Capital spending | 64 | 502 | 2,328 |
| Funding reserves | 252,673 | 201,985 | 172,547 |
Note: 1. Lottery Costs: Ci reports lotteries net of expenses. This affected revenue and expenses by ($22.3m) in F2024, ($24.6m) in F2023, and ($21.4m) in F2022. 2. Research Awards Payable: Ci included the change of research awards payable within grants. This affected grants by ($20.6m) in F2024, ($7.2m) in F2023, and ($6.1m) in F2022. 3. Amortization: Ci removed amortization from fundraising, administration, and program costs on a pro-rata basis. Amortization was $348k in F2024, $492k in F2023, and $1.3m in F2022. 4. Deferred revenue: Ci included deferred revenue within government funding and donations. Total deferred adjustments affected revenue by ($3.0m) in F2024, $240k in F2023, and $250k in F2022.
Salary Information
$350k + |
3 |
$300k - $350k |
1 |
$250k - $300k |
3 |
$200k - $250k |
3 |
$160k - $200k |
0 |
$120k - $160k |
0 |
$80k - $120k |
0 |
$40k - $80k |
0 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2024
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Comment added August 27, 2024:
Heart & Stroke has been at the forefront of tackling the most pressing issues related to heart disease, stroke and vascular cognitive impairment. We drive life-saving medical breakthroughs and bring together the brightest minds to improve diagnosis, care and support.
Since 1952, we have invested over $1.7 billion into lifesaving research, helping to cut the death rate from heart disease and stroke in Canada by more than 75%.
Our critical priorities include:
As one of Canada’s largest and most effective health charities, we measure our effectiveness by our ability to drive change in new knowledge and innovation, health policies, health systems and support programs for people at risk of or living with heart disease and stroke.
In F2023, donations to Heart & Stroke supported many advancements, including:
While we’ve made significant progress, there’s still more work to be done. As our population ages and more younger people are being diagnosed, the urgency to beat heart disease and stroke grows.
We can’t lead this fight alone. We are grateful for the generous support from donors that drives our mission forward. With your help, we can fund critical advances that prevent heart disease and stroke, save lives, and improve recovery.
If you’d like to learn more about our work and how your support will translate into impact, please visit: https://www.heartandstroke.ca/what-we-do.
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 888-473-4636