Nova Scotia SPCA
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✖
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements available only through official request for information from Charities Directorate.
C+
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.
46%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 46 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About Nova Scotia SPCA:
Nova Scotia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is a 1-star charity. It is not financially transparent and has overhead costs outside of Ci's reasonable range. It has a below-average results reporting grade and its reserve funds can cover one year and one month of program costs.
Founded in 1877, Nova Scotia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (NSPCA) helps companion animals in Nova Scotia. The charity follows open-admission and no-kill principles. It works to rebuild animals’ trust, ensure their health and safety, and place them into new homes. NSPCA runs six shelters, four of which have hospitals and four of which have thrift stores.
NSPCA runs four main programs, listed below. The charity spent $5.9m on its programs in 2023. The most recent audited financial statements available at the time of this update were from 2023. The most recent annual report was from 2024.
Shelter Operations received 73% ($4.4m) of program spending in 2023. The charity reports it served 5,304 animals through its shelter in 2024. It also served 4,777 animals through its Pet Pantry. The Pet Pantry is a pet food and litter bank for families in crisis. NSPCA replaced its Pictou shelter with its new North Nova SPCA shelter in 2024. The new shelter is 9,148 square feet and has 45 spaces to house animals. It also houses a veterinary hospital and a thrift store. The charity reports that it served 10,788 animals across its four veterinary hospitals in 2024.
Investigations received 16% ($936k) of program spending in 2023. The investigation team looks into suspected situations of animal cruelty, abuse, or neglect. NSPCA reports it responded to 1,911 calls in 2024. It reports that it served 3,544 animals through its investigations.
The College of Animal Welfare received 7% ($418k) of program spending in 2023. The charity runs a veterinary assistant (VA) program. The VA program provides customer service, animal handling, and patient care training, with a focus on working in a veterinary team. NSPCA is also starting a new veterinary technician program in September 2025. This program will include training on blood testing, anesthesia, and medications.
Veterinary Services and Medication received 4% ($231k) of program spending in 2023. NSPCA reports it served 220 animals through its veterinary services in 2024.
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Results and Impact
NSPCA partnered with PetSmart to help animals get adopted. PetSmart provides space in its stores for animals up for adoption and runs adoption events. NSPCA reports that through this partnership, 45 animals were adopted in 2024.
NSPCA reports that over 90% of animals in its care are adopted or reunited with their owners.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not completely represent Nova Scotia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ results and impact.
Charity Intelligence has not yet rated NSPCA on impact (n/r). This does not affect the star rating.
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Finances
NSPCA is not financially transparent as its audited financial statements are not publicly available online.
NSPCA’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a best practice. Its expenses are clearly defined between program, administrative, and fundraising categories.
In 2023 NSPCA received $5.8m in donations. It also received $3.5m in fees for services. Fees for service are 33% of total revenue.
Administrative costs are 18% of revenues (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs are 36% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 54%. For every dollar donated, 46 cents are available to go to the cause. This falls outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.
In 2023 NSPCA spent $5.9m on its programs, which is 57% of its revenue. In 2023 it had a surplus of $512k.
NSPCA has $7.4m in gross reserve funds (cash and investments) and $872k in interest-bearing debts. This results in net reserve funds of $6.5m. The reserves can cover 109%, or one year and one month of program costs.
This charity report is an update that has been sent for review to Nova Scotia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.
Updated on July 28, 2025, by Grady Simpson.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending December
|
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 18.1% | 12.4% | 12.1% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 36.1% | 26.8% | 34.5% |
| Total overhead spending | 54.2% | 39.1% | 46.6% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 109.4% | 132.8% | 119.4% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 5,837 | 6,158 | 3,285 |
| Government funding | 527 | 321 | 354 |
| Fees for service | 3,474 | 2,926 | 2,489 |
| Investment income | 440 | (261) | 240 |
| Other income | 141 | (224) | 385 |
| Total revenues | 10,419 | 8,920 | 6,754 |
| Program costs | 5,947 | 5,292 | 4,673 |
| Administrative costs | 1,809 | 1,137 | 789 |
| Fundraising costs | 2,108 | 1,648 | 1,134 |
| Other costs | 42 | 39 | 41 |
| Total spending | 9,907 | 8,117 | 6,637 |
| Cash flow from operations | 512 | 804 | 116 |
| Capital spending | 1,604 | 125 | 105 |
| Funding reserves | 6,509 | 7,030 | 5,581 |
Note: Deferred adjustment: NSPCA uses deferred accounting. To show donors information on a consistent basis, Ci adjusted for these deferred revenues. This affected revenue by $508k in 2023, $875k in 2022, and $380k in 2021. Change in receivables from related parties: Ci adjusted for change in receivables from related parties. This affected revenue by $9k in 2023, ($177k) in 2022, and ($430k) in 2021. Gain on disposal of capital assets: Ci did not include gain on disposal of capital assets. This affected revenue by ($2k) in 2021. Interest on long-term debt: Ci backed out interest on long-term debt from administrative costs and reported it as other costs.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
1 |
$120k - $160k |
0 |
$80k - $120k |
5 |
$40k - $80k |
4 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2023
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Charity Contact
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Tel: 1-902-835-4798