Engineers Without Borders

312 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, ON M6J 1A8
CEO: Boris Martin
Board Chair: Rebecca Kresta

Charitable Reg. #:89980 1815 RR0001

STAR RATING

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

[Charity Rating: 3/5]

✔+

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.

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.

53%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 53 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About Engineers Without Borders:

Engineers Without Borders is a three-star charity with low funding reserves and an average results reporting grade. It is financially transparent but has overhead costs outside of Ci's reasonable range.

Founded in 1999, Engineers Without Borders (EWB) is a charity that aims to eliminate poverty and inequality. EWB invests in local businesses and supports innovators across the globe to address the root causes of poverty. The charity mainly works in Sub-Saharan Africa but wants to impact communities around the world. EWB’s main charitable programs are Investing in Ventures, Investing in People, and Public Education and Awareness. In F2021, the charity spent $1.6m on its programs.

In F2021, Engineers Without Borders spent $742k on its Investing in People program, which represents 45% of total program spending. This program works with engineers, university students, and other skilled professionals to create solutions to important global problems. In F2020, EWB launched the Virtual Talent xChange, which partners skilled professionals with social ventures in Africa. During the year the charity had five partnerships with businesses.

The charity spent $512k on its Investing in Ventures program, which represents 31% of total program spending. This program involves making long-term investments in small and growing businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa to promote innovation and stimulate economic growth. The charity reports that Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of early-stage entrepreneurship on the planet, with over 250 million people working for small and growing business. In F2020, EWB supported 24 social ventures in the region, including a $50,000 investment in the company MPost.

In F2021, EWB spent $385k on its Public Education and Awareness program, which represents 24% of total program spending. This program involves advocacy campaigns which aim to increase the Canadian government’s funding of local enterprise in Africa. In F2020 the charity launched two national campaigns, had 60 meetings with MPs, and sent 150 letters to the Minister of Finance.

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Results and Impact

Engineers Without Borders reports that in 2017, the learning platform M-Shule helped improve the exam scores of 400 students in Nairobi by an average of 23%. M-Shule is one of the small businesses supported by EWB.

While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of EWB’s results and impact.

This charity is not yet rated on impact (n/r).

 

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Finances

In F2021, Engineers Without Borders received $1.6m in Canadian donations. It also received $316k in federal government funding (14% of total revenue) and $372k in venture generated revenue (16% of total revenue). EWB’s government funding decreased 83% from F2020. Administrative costs are 12% of total revenue. Fundraising costs are 35% of Canadian donations. This results in total overhead spending of 47%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 53 cents go to the cause. This is not within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. EWB has $1.4m in net funding reserves, which can cover annual program costs for around ten months.

In F2021, Engineers Without Borders paid external fundraisers $12k to raise 0$. In F2020, it paid external fundraisers $14k to raise $0. In F2019, the charity paid external fundraisers $68k to raise $0.  

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Engineers Without Borders for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June, 22nd 2022 by Arjun Kapur.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending October
202120202019
Administrative costs as % of revenues 11.6%10.9%13.1%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 35.4%40.6%29.6%
Total overhead spending 47.0%51.4%42.6%
Program cost coverage (%) 85.7%64.8%39.7%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $s
202120202019
Donations 1,583,5401,613,1262,352,441
Government funding 316,2081,842,9652,385,034
Fees for service 371,565428,197575,586
Business activities (net) 033,043177,341
Other income 32,4121,89842,234
Total revenues 2,303,7253,919,2295,532,636
Program costs - International 897,4181,717,3713,197,906
Program costs - Canada 741,509989,915934,317
Administrative costs 267,595425,284723,381
Fundraising costs 560,162654,389695,049
Total spending 2,466,6843,786,9595,550,653
Cash flow from operations (162,959)132,270(18,017)
Funding reserves 1,405,3671,754,5401,640,228

Note: Ci included deferred Canadian donations as revenue, affecting total revenue by ($155k) in F2021, ($167k) in F2020, and $316k in F2019. Ci also removed the amortization of deferred lease inducements from donations, affecting revenue by ($20k) in F2021, F2020, and F2019. Amortization was removed from administrative costs.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 39

Avg. compensation: $36,715

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
0
$160k - $200k
0
$120k - $160k
1
$80k - $120k
4
$40k - $80k
5
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2021

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

No comments have been added by the charity.

Charity Contact

Website: ewb.ca/en/
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: (866) 481 3696

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Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001