David Suzuki Foundation is a 4-star charity. It has a B- Results Reporting grade, which is below average. It holds reserve funds within Ci's reasonable range. For every dollar donated to the charity, 69 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci's reasonable range.

Founded in 1990, David Suzuki Foundation (DSF) works to conserve and protect the natural environment. DSF is based in Vancouver, with offices in Toronto and Montreal. The charity focuses its work on three main areas: Climate Solutions, Thriving Nature, and Sustainable Communities. While the charity provides a financial breakdown of its program spending in the audited financial statement, DSF does not breakdown its spending based on these three main areas. The charity spent $10.9m on its programs in F2024.

Climate Solutions supports change at federal and provincial levels to encourage climate action. DSF’s goal is to cut carbon pollution in half by 2030, and completely eliminate it by 2050, replacing it with 100% renewable energy. Some of the projects in this area include sustainable transportation, sustainable cities, and carbon pricing. DSF reports that in February and March 2024, more than 1,000 people wrote letters to the government requesting stronger electricity regulations.

Thriving Nature focuses on respecting, protecting, and restoring nature to sustain life. By 2030, DSF aims to protect the most at-risk ecosystems and species. By 2050, DSF hopes to conserve and restore nature so that it supports biodiversity. Some of the projects in this area include oceans, pollinators, pesticides, and the boreal forest. In F2024, more than 75,000 of DSF’s community members opposed the plan to build highway 413. The charity reports that 80% of Ontarians don’t want the project.

Sustainable Communities aims to improve peoples’ lives and reduce emissions communities produce. DSF states that “if everyone on Earth lived the way we do in North America, we’d need 3.4 planets to sustain us”. DSF’s 2030 goal is to reduce our ecological footprint by a third and live within Earth’s finite limits by 2050. Some of the projects in this area include environmental justice, public transit advocacy, and nature-based solutions. DSF runs municipal climate solutions projects in five major cities across Canada: Regina, Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Edmonton.

David Suzuki Foundation received $12.1m in Canadian donations in F2024, which is 82% of revenue. It also received $2.5m in investment income, a 77% increase from $1.4m in F2023. The charity spent $10.9m on its programs, which is 74% of revenue. DSF recorded a surplus of $67k in F2024, which is less than 1% of revenue.

DSF spent $2.5m on fundraising, which is 20% of donations, and $1.3m on administration, which is 11% of revenue (excluding investment income). Total overhead spending is 31%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 69 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.

DSF has $22.5m in reserve funds, of which $8.9m are donor endowed. Excluding donor-endowed funds, the charity’s reserves can cover 1 year and 4 months of its annual program costs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range.  

DSF uses external fundraisers. Its T3010 filing with the CRA discloses only the amount paid to fundraisers, but not the amount collected. This is a mandatory filing. In F2024, DSF paid external fundraisers $479k.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to David Suzuki Foundation.

Updated on May 27, 2025 by Liam Chapleau.