Note: Ci used the charity’s T3010 filing to report international donations, decreasing Canadian donations by ($6.9m) in F2023, ($398k) in F2022, and ($nil) in F2021. Ci adjusted for deferred donations, affecting revenue by ($12k) in F2023, ($948k) in F2022, and ($393k) in F2021. Ci included unrealized investment loss, affecting revenue by ($261k) in F2023, ($5.7m) in F2022, and ($nil) in F2021. Ci excluded amortization of free rent and lease inducements, affecting revenue by ($13k) in F2023. Ci used the charity’s T3010 to report government revenue, affecting revenue by $15k in F2023.  

Comment added by Make-A-Wish June 26, 2024

Cents to Cause

• In Make-A-Wish Canada’s fiscal year 2023 (October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023), for every $1 spent, 73 cents was spent directly on wish delivery and administration for services to children and families in Canada, and 27 cents on fundraising costs to ensure that our programs run efficiently and effectively.

• We respect Charity Intelligence’s choice to recast financial information to compare different organizations, and we applaud their efforts to hold all charities accountable to donors, partners and program participants. Make-A-Wish Canada is professional audited annually by KPMG LLP, and our fully audited statements are available on makeawish.ca.

• Our funding comes from a variety of sources, including individual donors, corporate partners, grants and other institutional supporters, however Charity Intelligence selectively recognizes sources of revenue. Make-A-Wish Canada receives significant funding which is excluded from Charity Intelligence calculations including gifts from international corporate partners (including Disney), and significant in-kind support (such as flights from WestJet and travel insurance from Blue Cross).  This considerable revenue is recognized by the Canada Revenue Agency which oversees all registered charities in Canada and is essential to our operating model. Charity Intelligence does not recognize this revenue and was not willing to make the appropriate corrections due to their standard methodology.  If this revenue was included in their calculations, this would significantly reduce fundraising costs reported by Charity Intelligence, and significantly increase cents to the cause which would be an accurate reflection of our operating model.

• Make-A-Wish Canada complies with all regulatory requirements, including those laid out by the Canada Revenue Agency. We have also submitted our application for the Imagine Canada Accreditation Program, and we are in the process of earning our Imagine Canada Accreditation Trustmark, so you can feel confident knowing your donations are being used responsibly.

• Transparency and accountably are core values at Make-A-Wish Canada. If you are here, these values are important to you, too. We encourage donors to research and be informed about where their donations are spent. Please visit us online at makeawish.ca and read our annual report to see how we delivered results for children in 2023.

• Thanks to our supporters we increased wishes by 44% in 576 communities across Canada last year, and our wishes benefitted over 375,000 Canadians through the impact of a wish.

Learn more:

Make-A-Wish Canada's 2023 Annual Report.

Pediatric research journal article on the impact of Make-A-Wish experience on health care use. This October 2018 article finds that Make-A-Wish experiences may reduce hospital visits. This research involved 496 US children's hospital visits with an average cost per wish in 2016 of US$10,130.