David Foster Foundation

212 Henry Street
Victoria, BC V9A 3H9
CEO: Michael Ravenhill
Board Chair: David Foster

Charitable Reg. #:10700 4210 RR0001

STAR RATING

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

[Charity Rating: 1/5]

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

Audited financial statements available only through official request for information from Charities Directorate.

D+

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.

55%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 55 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About David Foster Foundation:

David Foster Foundation is a 1-star charity. It is not financially transparent and it has $43.0m in funding reserves that can cover annual program costs for over 27 years. The charity's overhead costs are outside Ci's reasonable range for overhead spending and it has a low results reporting grade. Before you donate, read Ci's report.

David Foster, the Canadian Grammy Award winner, founded David Foster Foundation (DFF) in 1986. DFF’s mission is to support Canadian families with children in need of organ transplants by helping families with their non-medical expenses. The foundation also strives to increase public awareness of the importance of becoming a registered organ donor. The charity reports that there are currently over 4,000 Canadians waiting for organ transplants and of those on the waitlists, there will be one death every 30 hours. DFF reports that less than 25% of Canadians have registered to be organ donors. The charity does not provide a breakdown of its spending on its programs. 

Through the financial support program, the foundation supports families with children in need of a transplant with many costs. This may include travel, accommodation, food, clothes, basic personal items, and rent or mortgage assistance. DFF reports having helped over 1,450 families since its creation. The charity reports that it supported 29% of Canadian families whose child received a liver, kidney, heart or lung transplant in 2022. DFF does not disclose details regarding how it helped these families or if it supported any other children who didn’t receive an organ. 

David Foster Foundation also runs a public awareness program in hopes of increasing the number of organ donors in Canada. DFF reports having digital billboards in Vancouver, Toronto, and Montreal displaying messages highlighting the importance of organ donation. 

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Results and Impact

Charity Intelligence did not find any reported outcomes on the charity’s website. This may not be a complete representation of David Foster Foundation’s results. This charity is not rated on impact (n/r).

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Finances

David Foster Foundation is not financially transparent. Its audited financial statements are not posted on its website nor provided when requested. Charity Intelligence's financial review uses the F2023 unaudited financial statements. This is the most recent information we have received from the Charities Directorate from our request for information. The CRA best practices recommend that charities with over $250k in donations provide audited financial statements.  

DFF received $5.5m in donations and special events revenue in 2023. Donations and special events revenue have increased by 257% since 2021. Administrative costs are 6% of revenues (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 39% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 45%. For every dollar donated, 55 cents are available for programs. This is outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. This is partially due to fundraising costs having increased by 592% since 2021.

In 2023, DFF spent $1.6m on its programs and grants, which is 21% of total revenues. The charity had a surplus of $3.5m.

DFF has $43.0m in reserve funds. These are the charity’s cash and investments. Reserve funds increased by 20% since 2021. The charity could cover almost 28 years of annual program costs with current reserves.  

Schedule 8 of the charity’s T3010 filing with the CRA reports that the charity did not meet its disbursement quota for the fiscal year F2023. DFF’s disbursement quota requirement for F2023 was $2.0m, but the charity only disbursed $1.6m.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to David Foster Foundation for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming 

Updated on August 6, 2024 by Alessandra Castino.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending December
202320222021
Administrative costs as % of revenues 6.4%3.6%17.2%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 38.5%16.4%19.8%
Total overhead spending 44.8%19.9%37.0%
Program cost coverage (%) 2,767.8%2,367.1%3,103.3%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202320222021
Donations 1,5298141,535
Special events 3,9499,3820
Investment income 2,009(1,238)5,029
Total revenues 7,4878,9586,565
Program costs 1,4921,5291,146
Grants 621026
Administrative costs 348363264
Fundraising costs 2,1081,670305
Total spending 4,0103,6641,721
Cash flow from operations 3,4775,2944,844
Capital spending 000
Funding reserves 43,01138,59935,761

Note: ACTIVITY BASED COSTING: Ci reported program, administrative, and fundraising costs from the charity’s T3010 filings with the CRA. AMORTIZATION: Ci removed amortization from program, administrative, and fundraising costs on a pro-rata basis. INVESTMENT INCOME: Ci included unrealized gain on investments, realized gain on investments and foreign exchange gain, this increased investment income by $879k in F2023, ($2.1m) in F2022, and $4.0m in F2021. DFF USA: The charity reports transfers with the David Foster Foundation USA but there is not enough detail for Ci to adjust accordingly. 

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 4

Avg. compensation: $137,111

Top 10 staff salary range:

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

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2023

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

No comments have been added by the charity.

Charity Contact

Website: www.davidfosterfoundation.com
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 250-475-1223

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Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001