Unison is a 3-star charity. It is not financially transparent and has an A- results reporting grade, which is above average. Its overhead spending is 65%, which is not within Ci’s reasonable range. Its reserve funds can cover program costs for one year and eight months, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.

Founded in 1973, Unison (formerly Kerby Centre) provides social programs and resources to seniors. The charity aims to improve seniors’ mental, physical, social, and emotional well-being. It offers programs online and in Calgary and Medicine Hat in Alberta. In Calgary, it offers programs at Kerby Centre, Dalhousie Community Centre, and Wild Rose Church. In Medicine Hat, it offers programs at Veiner Centre and Strathcona Centre. Unison reports that up to 10% of seniors experience abuse in Canada, often at the hands of a trusted family member. The charity also reports that only 15% of people aged 66-79 are physically active.

The charity spent $4.9m on its programs in 2024. Unison runs five main programs: Active Aging, Elder Abuse Shelter and Outreach, Seniors Supports, food programs, and wellness programs. Through all of Unison’s programs, volunteers provided 65,011 hours of service in 2024. The charity did not provide a spending breakdown for its programs.

Active Aging offers activities for seniors to learn new skills and connect physically, emotionally, and socially. These activities include academic courses, sport drop-ins, finance presentations, workshops, travel trips and more. In 2024, volunteers provided 13,016 hours of service. Unison had 207 in-person programs, 29 travel trips, and 15,919 online classes. In 2024, 43,901 people participated in the charity’s courses and its online programming had 5,679 registrants.

Elder Abuse Shelter and Outreach offers shelter to older adults escaping abuse while working with caseworkers to transition abuse victims back into the community. Unison also has an Elder Abuse Response Team to identify and investigate high-risk cases of elder abuse. In 2024, it provided 4,872 safe nights at its shelter with an average length of stay of 97.6 nights.

Seniors Supports aims to assist seniors in handling their paperwork regarding housing, benefits and pensions, taxes, and other legal issues. Unison also provides affordable transportation for low-income seniors to support their independence in its Veiner Vintage Transport program. In 2024, volunteers provided 9,270 hours of service. The charity filed 5,974 tax returns at its free tax clinic, which supported 5,568 seniors. Volunteers drove 26,700 km to transport seniors for its Veiner Vintage Transport program.

Its food programs aim to combat hunger and promote community through various programs called Thrive Food Security, Meals on Wheels, and its Kerby Café and Veiner Bistro. These programs’ initiatives include grocery store deliveries, free food markets, food baskets, meal deliveries, community activities and more. In 2024, Unison delivered 32,155 meals and 818 grocery store orders. It served 2,238 clients at community bread markets, 10,713 seniors at free food markets, and 342 Meals on Wheels clients.

Its wellness programs consist of a Wellness Connection Centre, an Adult Day Program, and Unison Connect. The Wellness Connection Centre aims to support the mental, emotional, and spiritual health of older adults. Its Adult Day Program provides stimulating activities for older adults with health challenges. Unison Connect aims to help older adults by connecting them with social supports, such as housing, food, transportation, and social support. In 2024, volunteers provided 1,274 hours of service for Unison’s Adult Day program and served 2,794 clients at its Wellness Connection Centre.

Unison’s audited financial statements follow line-item costing, which is not a financial reporting best practice. This means Ci referred to the charity’s T3010 filings with the CRA Charities Directorate to allocate program, administrative, and fundraising costs.

Unison received $1.5m in donations in 2024, which is 19% of total revenue. It got $3.8m in government funding, which is 49% of revenue. This is a 25% increase from the $3.0m in 2023. It earned $1.8m from fees for its services, which is 23% of revenue. Unison spent $4.9m on its programs in 2024, which is 64% of revenue. In 2024, it recorded a surplus of $247k (3% of revenue).

Unison spent $531k on fundraising costs, which is 36% of donations. It spent $2.0m on administrative costs, which is 29% of revenue. Unison has total overhead spending of 65%. For every dollar donated to Unison, 35 cents are available to go to the cause. This is not within Ci’s reasonable range of 65-95.

Unison has $8.1m in reserve funds (cash and investments). Its reserve funds can cover 167% or one year and eight months of its annual program costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.

This report is an update that has been sent to Unison for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 10, 2025, by Leah DeFrancesco.