4211 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON M2P 2A9
CEO: Meaghan Stovel McKnight
Board Chair: Shaun Usmar

Charitable Reg. #:88129 1918 RR0001

STAR RATING

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

[Charity Rating: 1/5]

✔+

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.

B

RESULTS REPORTING

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

Low

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.

41%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 41 cents are available for programs.



My anchor

OVERVIEW

About Make A Wish Canada:

Make-A-Wish Foundation of Canada is a 1-star charity with low demonstrated impact. The charity has overhead spending outside Ci's reasonable range and can cover almost four years of annual program costs with its reserve funds. Before you give, read Charity Intelligence’s report.

Founded in 1983, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Canada (Make-A-Wish Canada) grants wishes to children with critical illnesses. The charity covers all costs of a qualified child’s wish. Some of the most requested wishes include travel, computer systems, and meeting celebrities. The hope is children will feel happier and stronger after having their wishes come true. Make-A-Wish Canada is an affiliate of Make-A-Wish International, the largest wish-granting organization in the world. Across Canada, there are 14 Make-A-Wish locations. Its head office is in Toronto.

In F2022, Make-A-Wish Canada no longer reports the exact number of wishes provided each year, but it reported that it granted more than 1,000 wishes, compared to 900 in F2021 and 1,000 in F2020. From Make-A-Wish Canada’s total F2022 spending of $28.7m, Ci calculates an average cost per wish of $28,000. 

On October 1, 2019, Make-A-Wish Foundation of Canada, its regional chapters, and Children’s Wish Foundation of Canada merged to form Make-A-Wish Foundation of Canada.

My anchor

Results and Impact

In 2015, Make-A-Wish Israel conducted a study to measure how wishes affect medical outcomes. The results revealed wishes improved a child's physical and emotional health. 

Another study in 2022 surveyed wish kids and their families. Of the surveyed wish recipients, 96% reported that wishes improved their mental and emotional health. 99% said that their child felt happier because of the wish. 92% reported that their family bond became stronger through the experience. The charity does not report the number of past wish kids this survey reached.

While Ci highlights these key results, they may not completely represent Make-A-Wish Canada’s results and impact. 

Charity Intelligence has given Make-A-Wish Canada a Low impact rating based on its demonstrated impact per dollar spent.

Impact Rating: Low

My anchor

Finances

Make-A-Wish Canada had total donations of $22.0m in F2022, representing 97% of its revenue. This compares with donations of $20.3m in F2021 and $23.5m in F2020. It used $15.2m to grant more than 1000 wishes in F2022.

Administrative costs are 9% of revenues, and fundraising costs are 51% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 59%. For every dollar donated, 41 cents go to the cause, which is outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. 

Make-A-Wish Canada has $59.6m in reserve funds, of which $1.5m is donor endowed. Excluding donor-endowed funds, the charity could cover almost four years of its annual program costs.

This charity report is an update sent to Make-A-Wish Canada for review. Comments and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on May 23, 2023 by Krystie Nguyen.

 

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending September
202220212020
Administrative costs as % of revenues 8.8%10.5%17.2%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 50.6%37.7%40.7%
Total overhead spending 59.4%48.2%57.8%
Program cost coverage (%) 385.5%642.4%269.2%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202220212020
Donations 21,96420,25723,530
Goods in kind 3,5104604,756
Government funding 153,2452,802
Investment income (2,876)6,6081,891
Total revenues 22,61330,57032,979
Program costs 15,1609,72919,677
Administrative costs 2,2392,5185,339
Fundraising costs 11,1147,6369,565
Total spending 28,51319,88334,581
Cash flow from operations (5,901)10,687(1,602)
Capital spending 858138
Funding reserves 59,62663,58054,131

Note: Ci included unrealized gains (losses) in investment income, affecting revenues by ($5.7m) in F2022, $4.6m in F2021, and $522k in F2020. Ci adjusted deferred donations of ($958k) in F2022, ($393k) in F2021, and $152k in F2020. Ci removed amortization from administrative costs according to the charity's audited financial statements and removed the remainder of amortization from program and fundraising costs on a pro-rata basis.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 128

Avg. compensation: $84,046

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
1
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
3
$160k - $200k
2
$120k - $160k
4
$80k - $120k
0
$40k - $80k
0
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2022

My anchor

Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

Charity Contact

Website: www.makeawish.ca
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 416-224-9474

Print