MADA Community Centre is a 5-star charity with Good demonstrated impact. It is financially transparent, has an above-average results reporting grade, and reasonable overhead spending. MADA's interest-bearing debts exceed its funding reserves (cash and investments), indicating a need for funding.

A Charity Intelligence 2025 Top 100 Rated Charity.

Founded in 1993, MADA Community Centre (MADA) is a Jewish charity that combats poverty in Montreal, Quebec. The charity gives food and other necessities to those in need through its programs. MADA provides all its services free of charge. The charity states that 20% of people on the Island of Montreal live in poverty. It also states that people are struggling with the effect of food inflation, with prices increasing by 25% over the last three years. The charity runs four main programs: Food Bank (Chez Makolet), Holiday Meals, Cafeteria/Meal Sharing (Meals à Partager), and Shabbat to Share. In 2025, MADA spent $4.0 million on its programs (excluding the cost of donated food).

The Food Bank program represented 43% of program spending in 2025. This program provides fresh produce, packaged foods, and household essentials to those in need. MADA states each order usually contains between $200 and $2,500 worth of food and essentials, depending on the recipient’s needs. In 2025, MADA distributed 83,092 food and supply baskets and 2,452 pallets of fruit and vegetables, reaching a total of 7,579 people.

The Holiday Meals program received 17% of program spending in 2025. MADA distributed 8,455 Holiday Boxes in 2025. It also served 2,131 Passover Seder and Rosh Hashanah festive meals at ten Montreal locations.

The Cafeteria/Meal Sharing program received 17% of program spending in 2025. This program offers ready-made kosher meals to those struggling with meal preparation. This includes physical, financial, and age-related struggles. In 2025, MADA distributed 360,513 Meals à Partager meals and 86,996 cafeteria meals, reaching a total of 2,266 people.

The Shabbat to Share program received 14% of program spending. MADA served 89,310 Shabbat to Share meals to 739 recipients in 2025.

The remaining 9% of program spending supported Clothing and Furniture Distribution and Social, Educational & Special Events.

MADA Community Centre’s audited financial statements follow line-item costing, which does not align with financial reporting best practices. This means Ci had to refer to its T3010 filings with the CRA to report administrative and fundraising costs.

In 2025, MADA received $4.6m in donations, representing 82% of revenue. It also received $524k worth of donated goods and $498k in government funding.

MADA spent $4.0m cash on its programs in 2025, accounting for 72% of total revenue, running a surplus of $316k (6% of total revenue). It also used $505k worth of donated goods.

Administrative costs were $244k, which was 4% of revenue (excluding investment income), and fundraising costs were $330k, which was 7% of donations. Total overhead was 12%, meaning that for every dollar donated, 88 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

MADA Community Centre has $271k in gross funding reserves and $1.9m in interest-bearing debt. Excluding interest-bearing debt, MADA could cover its annual program costs for just under one month.

In 2025, MADA paid external fundraisers $81k who collected $700k in donations. This means it cost MADA 12 cents to raise $1 using external fundraisers.

This charity report is an update that has been sent for review to MADA Community Centre. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on August 7, 2026 by Ava Anderson.