Islamic Relief Canada is a 3-star charity and one of Canada's largest charities, with a Fair demonstrated impact. The charity is financially transparent and has an above-average results reporting grade.

Founded in 2006, Islamic Relief Canada (IRC) is a Muslim charity working to end poverty, illiteracy, and disease. The charity is the Canadian arm of Islamic Relief Worldwide. Islamic Relief Worldwide comprises a network of national offices and field partners across 50 countries. According to the charity, one in five children live in extreme poverty worldwide, and 821 million people go hungry each day.

Islamic Relief Canada runs three main international programs: Seasonal Projects; Development Projects and Orphan Sponsorship; and Emergency Response. It also runs Our Help at Home, a social services program in Canada. In F2022, the charity funded 170 projects, helping 3.3 million people worldwide.

Emergency Response – 41% of total program spending ($30.4m): In F2022, Islamic Relief Canada helped 1.4 million people across 21 countries in response to emergencies through 58 projects. IRC currently has nine active emergency and disaster appeals. These include emergency responses in Canada, East Africa, Afghanistan, Palestine, Sudan, Pakistan, Turkey, Yemen, and Syria.

Development Project and Orphan Sponsorship – 24% of total program spending ($17.6m): Islamic Relief Canada also runs development projects focusing on seven core areas: food, health, shelter, education, livelihood, protection, and water. In F2022, it supported 80 development projects in 28 countries.

Orphan Sponsorship – 19% of total program spending ($13.8m): IRC’s sponsorship programs target children orphaned by wars, disasters, droughts, or disease outbreaks. Islamic Relief Canada encourages donors to sponsor orphans and fund their access to clean water, healthcare, and education. In F2022, it sponsored 22,143 children across 26 countries and regions.

Seasonal Projects – 8% of total program spending ($5.6m): IRC provides food packages for communities in need to help them sustain through the festive months of Ramadan and Eid. Each package has 65 pounds of food, which could help a family of five to seven people for one month. In F2022, it supported 177,392 people during the month of Ramadan.

The remaining 9% of total program spending ($6.9m) went to Our Help at Home, a project aiming to respond to domestic emergencies, support at-risk youth, and reduce poverty in Canada.

Islamic Relief Canada is a Major 100 charity, one of Canada’s largest charities in terms of donations, with Canadian donations of $78.0m in F2022. It also received $67k in donated goods, $2.0m in government funding, and $514k in international cash donations. Administrative costs are 4% of revenues (less investment income), and fundraising costs are 13% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 17%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 83 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Islamic Relief Canada has $15.5m in reserve funds, of which $946k is donor endowed. Excluding donor-endowed funds, IRC can cover just over two months of its annual program costs with its reserves.

Charity Intelligence has sent this update to Islamic Relief Canada for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 11, 2023 by Krystie Nguyen.