SOS Children's Villages Canada
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.
B+
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.
60%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 60 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About SOS Children's Villages Canada:
SOS Children's Villages Canada is a 3-star charity. It is financially transparent and has an above average results reporting grade. For every dollar donated, 60 cents are available to go to the cause. This falls outside Ci's reasonable range for overhead spending.
Founded in 1969, SOS Children’s Villages Canada (SOS Canada) is the Canadian branch of SOS Children’s Villages based in Austria. SOS Children’s Villages supports children in developing countries who do not have parental care. It creates Children’s Villages, which provide children with a house, a local guardian trained by SOS, and a peer group. These villages typically have between 10-15 homes, a nursery school, a primary school, and a medical centre.
Charity Intelligence calculates SOS Canada spent $6.0m on its programs and grants in 2024. SOS Canada provides a program spending breakdown based on location in its annual report. The charity states that it spent 43% of program spending in Sub-Saharan Africa, 28% in Latin America and the Caribbean, 14% in Asia, 11% in North America and Europe, and 4% in the Middle East and North Africa. However, it does not provide a spending breakdown by program.
SOS Canada reports on the number of people it helped through its programs. The results are as follows for 2024:
- Alternative Care programs provide supportive family environments for children whose families cannot care for them. SOS Canada reports it helped 65,300 people through its Alternative Care programs in 2024.
- Education programs help children get quality education despite conflict and crises in their home countries. SOS Canada reports it helped 1,050,300 people through its Education programs in 2024.
- Health programs provide children and their caregivers with health information and services. SOS Canada reports it helped 113,100 people through its Health programs in 2024.
- Humanitarian (Emergency Aid) programs help children affected by conflict and natural disasters. SOS Canada reports it helped 2,268,600 people through its Humanitarian programs in 2024.
- Economic Empowerment programs help caregivers improve their economic situations. SOS Canada reports that it helped 4,177,500 people through its Economic Empowerment programs in 2024.
SOS Canada reports that it responded to 38 crises and ran over 750 educational programs in 2024.
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Results and Impact
SOS Children’s Villages launched a mobile mental health clinic in Ukraine in April 2024. SOS Canada states that 90% of surveyed clinic participants reported an improvement in their mental health.
SOS Technical Training Institute provides technical training to disadvantaged youth in Karachi, Pakistan. SOS Canada reports that 1,386 students graduated from the Institute in 2024, a 98% graduation rate.
SOS Children's Villages interviewed former program participants. The results are as follows:
- 92% of former participants interviewed have strong family relationships.
- 59% of former participants interviewed have received education and are succeeding in the job market.
- 72% of former participants interviewed are doing well in terms of accommodation, food security, and health.
- 82% of former participants interviewed are doing well in terms of social and emotional well-being.
SOS Canada reports that for every $1 donated, SOS Children’s Villages programs create $4.50 in social impact.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not completely represent SOS Children’s Villages Canada’s results and impact.
Charity Intelligence has not yet rated SOS Canada on impact (n/r). This does not affect the star rating.
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Finances
SOS Children’s Villages Canada’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a best practice. This means its expenses are clearly defined between program, administrative, and fundraising categories.
In 2024 SOS Canada received $9.3m in Canadian donations and $146k in international donations. Administrative costs are 11% of revenues (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs are 30% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 40%. For every dollar donated, 60 cents are available to go to the cause. This falls outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.
In 2024 SOS Canada spent $6.0m on its programs and grants, which is 60% of its revenue. In 2024 it had a cash surplus of $181k.
SOS Canada has $4.5m in reserve funds (cash and investments). Excluding $132k in externally-restricted endowment funds, the reserves can cover 72%, or eight months of program costs.
The most recent T3010 filing at the time of this update was from 2023. SOS Canada reports in its T3010 filing that it paid external fundraisers $1.4m who collected $2.1m in donations. This means it cost SOS Canada 63 cents to raise $1 using external fundraisers. The charity reports that it uses external fundraisers to grow a monthly recurring donor base, so the cost per dollar raised is lower as donors will continue to donate over time. It is likely more cost efficient to directly donate to the charity.
SOS Children’s Villages Canada reports related party transactions. In 2024, it distributed $443 to SOS Children’s Villages British Columbia, $1.7m to SOS Sponsorships, and $3.7m to SOS International.
This charity report is an update that has been sent for review to SOS Children’s Villages Canada. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.
Updated on June 24, 2025, by Grady Simpson.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending December
|
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 10.9% | 13.2% | 6.2% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 29.6% | 36.9% | 23.3% |
| Total overhead spending | 40.5% | 50.1% | 29.5% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 72.3% | 72.9% | 89.5% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 9,320 | 7,641 | 7,066 |
| International donations | 146 | 144 | 1,365 |
| Government funding | 0 | 0 | 4,000 |
| Investment income | 156 | 208 | 47 |
| Other income | 393 | 6 | 140 |
| Total revenues | 10,014 | 8,000 | 12,619 |
| Program costs - International | 0 | 0 | 1,591 |
| Program costs - Canada | 775 | 861 | 500 |
| Grants | 5,227 | 6,748 | 7,996 |
| Administrative costs | 1,070 | 1,031 | 779 |
| Fundraising costs | 2,761 | 2,817 | 1,643 |
| Other costs | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| Total spending | 9,834 | 11,498 | 12,509 |
| Cash flow from operations | 181 | (3,498) | 110 |
| Capital spending | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| Funding reserves | 4,465 | 5,661 | 9,136 |
Note: Endowment Fund: Ci included endowment fund investment income in revenues. This affected revenues by $63k in 2024, $54k in 2023, and ($26k) in 2022. Foreign exchange gain: Ci included foreign exchange gain reported below the line. This affected revenues by $383k in 2024 and $126k in 2022. Foreign exchange loss: Ci included foreign exchange loss reported below the line. This affected expenses by $42k in 2023. Deferred adjustment: SOS Canada uses deferred accounting. To show donors information on a consistent basis, Ci adjusted for these deferred revenues. This affected revenue by ($103k) in 2024, ($988k) in 2023, and ($2.5m) in 2022. Change in amounts payable to SOS International: Ci included change in amounts payable to SOS International. This affected expenses by ($203k) in 2024, $624k in 2023, and ($2.0m) in 2022. Amortization: Ci removed amortization on a pro rata basis from administrative and fundraising costs in 2024, 2023, and 2022.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
1 |
$160k - $200k |
0 |
$120k - $160k |
2 |
$80k - $120k |
5 |
$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:
Comment Added December 2023:
SOS Children’s Villages envisions a world where every child grows up in a nurturing family with the love, respect, and security they need to thrive. We take a holistic child-centred approach to help children, families, and communities succeed in the long term. We strengthen families to prevent child abandonment, provide loving homes for children who lack parental care, educate and empower children to reach their full potential, and advocate for children’s rights so their voices can be heard.
Our impact can be measured over four key categories: breaking the cycle of family separation through care; enabling self-reliance through education and employment; securing a positive and supportive childhood; and empowering children and young people to develop the resilience and support networks they need to set personal goals and move confidently into self-reliant adulthood.
Charity Intelligence Canada is currently updating their model for impact analysis and until this is finished SOS Children’s Villages’ Demonstrated Impact rating will remain N/R. We understand the complexity of this undertaking and look forward to our impact being rated once it’s complete.
In the meantime, we encourage interested individuals to read our program’s impact reports to learn more about how SOS Children’s Villages changes the lives of vulnerable children, their families and people in their communities.
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 613-232-3309