Alzheimer Society of Alberta & Northwest Territories is a 2-star charity. It is financially transparent but has a below-average results reporting grade and overhead spending outside of Ci’s reasonable range.

Founded in 1988, Alzheimer Society of Alberta & Northwest Territories (ASANT) is one of the ten provincial arms of Alzheimer Society of Canada. The charities work together towards a common goal of a world without dementia. Alzheimer Society of Alberta & NWT currently has one provincial office and six regional centers across Alberta and Northwest Territories, located in Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Red Deer and Central Alberta, and Yellowknife. According to the charity, Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia, and over 49,000 of the 597,000 Canadians living with dementia are Albertans.

ASANT’s mission is to bring awareness to Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias; help alleviate personal and social consequences of the disease; provide education and support programs; and promote and fund research on the cause, prevention and cure of dementia. The charity’s major programs include Support Services, Information and Education, and Research. The charity has not yet published its F2022 annual report. This profile is based on the F2021 annual report. In F2021, ASANT spent $1.6m on programs and services (92% of program spending) and $139k on research (8% of program spending).

Support Services: ASANT offers province-wide peer support groups, telephone support and resources through its First Link service for those with dementia and their care partners. In F2021, ASANT received over 2,000 referrals to First Link and assisted around 8,000 clients from over 400 communities across Alberta and Northwest Territories.

Information and Education: Alzheimer Society of Alberta & NWT helps people understand Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, find strategies to live with dementia, and access community-based resources. It also runs the ASANT Cafe, an online learning platform for people with dementia and their caregivers that offers discussion boards and educational resources.

Research: ASANT funds research through two major programs: the Alberta Alzheimer Research Program (AARP) and the Alzheimer Society Research Program (ASRP). ASANT co-funds AARP with the Alberta Prion Research Institute and Alberta Innovates, while Alzheimer Society's national headquarters control ASRP.

In F2022, Alzheimer Society of Alberta & NWT received $5.1m in donations and special events fundraising revenue. Administrative costs are 12% of revenues (excluding investment income), and fundraising costs are 37% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 49%. For every dollar donated, 51 cents go towards the charity’s programs, which is outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. 

The charity has $8.4m in reserve funds. It can cover 4.2 years of its annual program costs with its reserves. 

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Alzheimer Society of Alberta & NWT for review. Comments and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on July 20, 2023 by Krystie Nguyen.