Ryan's Well
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.
A
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
Average
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.
81%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 81 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About Ryan's Well:
Ryan's Well is a 5-star, Average-impact charity. It has an A Results Reporting grade, which is above average, and is financially transparent. Reserve funds and overhead spending are both within Ci's reasonable ranges.
Founded in 2001, Ryan’s Well Foundation (Ryan's Well, RWF) works with local partners to provide access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education in the world’s most vulnerable regions. According to Ryan’s Well, more than 785 million people lack access to safe water and over 2 billion people lack access to improved sanitation. Contaminated water sources often carry diseases, which results in approximately 485,000 deaths each year. Women and girls spend 200 million hours every day collecting water, which often comes at the cost of attending school.
A Charity Intelligence 2024 Top 100 Rated Charity.
Ryan’s Well runs two main programs: Build, and Motivate & Educate. In F2024, RWF spent $796k on its programs.
Build represented 83% ($657k) of program costs in F2024. Ryan’s Well Foundation helps create new clean water projects and sanitation projects with local partners in developing countries. In F2024 Ryan’s Well completed 61 water projects: 21 in Ghana, 13 in Northern Uganda, and 27 in Western Uganda. Water projects include building deep wells, protected springs, and rainwater harvesting tanks. The charity did not provide a breakdown of its water projects. RWF also built one sanitation project in Western Uganda. The charity’s Build program reached 105,905 people. Including Build program costs and pro-rated overhead costs ($752k total), it cost RWF $12k per water and sanitation project built, or 14 cents per person reached in F2024.
Educate and Motivate represented the remaining 17% ($139k) of program costs in F2024. Ryan’s Well educates Canadian youth on the importance of clean water and inspires them to act. In F2024, Ryan’s Well delivered 46 presentations to 56,835 people.
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Results and Impact
Ryan’s Well Foundation completed 61 water projects in Ghana, Northern Uganda, and Western Uganda in F2024. These projects reached 105,905 people.
Charity Intelligence has given Ryan's Well an Average impact rating for demonstrated social impact per dollar spent.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Ryan’s Well Foundation’s results and impact.
Impact Rating: Average
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Finances
Ryan’s Well Foundation received $607k in donations in F2024. The charity spent $796k on its programs, which is 125% of revenue. RWF recorded a deficit of $275k, meaning it drew on its reserves to fund its operations.
RWF spent $29k on fundraising, which is 5% of donations, and $85k on administration, which is 14% of revenue (excluding investment income). Total overhead spending is 19%. For every dollar donated to RWF, 81 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.
RWF has $997k in reserve funds (cash and investments). The charity’s reserves can cover 125%, or one year and three months of its annual program costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.
This charity report is an update that has been sent to Ryan’s Well Foundation for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.
Updated on May 21, 2025 by Liam Chapleau.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending March
|
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 14.0% | 9.3% | 8.3% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 4.8% | 4.3% | 3.8% |
| Total overhead spending | 18.7% | 13.6% | 12.1% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 125.2% | 174.1% | 157.6% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $s |
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 607,050 | 842,556 | 920,534 |
| Investment income | 27,796 | 24,435 | 2,889 |
| Total revenues | 634,846 | 866,991 | 923,423 |
| Program costs - International | 657,273 | 610,015 | 641,131 |
| Program costs - Canada | 138,888 | 111,572 | 142,653 |
| Administrative costs | 84,845 | 78,366 | 76,111 |
| Fundraising costs | 28,892 | 36,466 | 35,075 |
| Total spending | 909,898 | 836,419 | 894,970 |
| Cash flow from operations | (275,052) | 30,572 | 28,453 |
| Capital spending | 0 | 2,078 | 1,162 |
| Funding reserves | 997,066 | 1,256,216 | 1,234,885 |
Note: 1. Foreign Exchange Loss/Gain: Ci included foreign exchange gain/loss within program costs. This affected both revenue and expenses by $4k in F2024, ($25k) in F2023, and $9k in F2022. 2. Deferred Donations: Ci adjusted for deferred donations, which affected revenue by ($302k) in F2024, $157k in F2023, and ($139k) in F2022.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
0 |
$120k - $160k |
0 |
$80k - $120k |
1 |
$40k - $80k |
2 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2023
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Added on May 1, 2024
“All I had to do was take 10 steps from my classroom to get to the drinking fountain and I had clean water. Before that day in school, I figured everyone lived like me. When I found out this wasn’t the case, I decided I had to do something about it.” Ryan Hreljac.
The Foundation grew from the passion and courage of one 6-year-old boy, Ryan Hreljac. Ryan was inspired to take action as a grade one student when he learned of the devastating consequences for people without access to safe drinking water. He was remarkably determined as he succeeded in rallying his community to help him raise the funds needed to build one well in Uganda, Africa – one well that has changed everything. Now, more than 2 decades later, Ryan’s Well Foundation’s team of people continue to be committed to providing access to safe water and sanitation as an essential way to improving lives in the developing world. We educate people about the importance of accessing safe water and sanitation services, and look to motivate people of all ages to take action and effect positive change in the world.Ryan’s Well also promotes the importance of clean and safe water to schools through our unique annual School Challenge. Students from all over the world are invited to fundraise towards a specific site where they learn all about the project as well as see the impact they are making.
We invite everyone to visit our website (ryanswell.ca) to read all about the Foundation, including our publications, and also find links to all forms of social media. We post information on our latest projects as well as provide motivational tools, ideas, stories and videos.
Ryan’s Well is a registered Canadian charity #88858 7110 RR0001.
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
email: info@ryanswell.ca
Tel: 613-258-6832