United Way of Saskatoon & Area

100-506 25th Street East
Saskatoon, SK S7K 4A7
CEO: Sheri Benson
Board Chair: Kurt Wintermute

Charitable Reg. #:11927 6509 RR0001

STAR RATING

Ci's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics:

[Charity Rating: 3/5]

✔+

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.

67%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 67 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About United Way of Saskatoon & Area:

United Way of Saskatoon and Area is a 3-star charity. It has a B- Results Reporting grade, which is below average. Its overhead spending is within Ci’s reasonable range. The charity’s reserves can cover program costs for eight months, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.

Founded in 1959, United Way of Saskatoon and Area (UWS) raises funds to improve lives in Saskatoon. The charity grants to local organizations that focus on community building, poverty, and child development. Over 400 people are homeless in Saskatoon on a given night. A child who does not reach their reading grade level by Grade three is four times more likely to drop out of high school. UWS spent $980k on its programs and granted $1.6m to community agencies in the fiscal year ending in March (F2025).

UWS’s program spending goes towards picking viable organizations to fund and to run its in-house program. It runs United Way Summer Success Literacy Camps to prevent kids from losing progress in their literacy abilities over the summer. 109 students attended the camps in F2025.

Building Strong Communities received 42% ($700k) of grants in F2025. UWS granted to 18 organizations that aid people with mental health issues. The grantees provided 2,334 counselling sessions and 3,406 LGBTQ2S+ people were provided support.

Poverty to Possibility received 36% ($607k) of grants in F2025. UWS granted to six organizations that provide basic needs to people in need. Its grantees provided housing to 76 homeless individuals. The organizations helped 159 individuals with mental health issues find and maintain housing.

All That Kids Can Be received 22% ($364k) of grants in F2025. UWS granted to eight organizations that focus on children’s education.

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Results and Impact

United Way Summer Success Literacy Camps helped 90% of students maintain or improve their reading levels over the summer.

There were 24,000 people who made distress calls to organizations funded by UWS’ Building Strong Communities. 99% of them reported the service was helpful for their situation.

Of the 159 individuals who were assisted by organizations funded by UWS’ Poverty to Possibility, 100% reported an improved quality of life.

Organizations funded through All That Kids Can Be improved the grades of 90% of children with learning disabilities. 88% of children and youth reported an increased self-esteem and 87% of children reported having a supportive relationship with their adult mentor.

While Ci highlights these results, they may not completely reflect UWS’ results and impact.

United Way of Saskatoon and Area is not yet rated on impact (n/r). This does not affect the star rating.

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Finances

United Way of Saskatoon and Area’s audited financial statements follow activity-based costing, a best practice. The charity received $3.2m in donations in F2025, which is 88% of revenue. It received $150k in government funding and $78k in investment income.

UWS spent $980k on its programs and granted out $1.6m. The total of $2.6m is 73% of revenue. The charity ran a deficit of $430k, meaning it drew on its reserves to fund its programs. It spent $794k on fundraising, which is 25% of donations, and $283k on administration, which is 8% of revenue. For every dollar donated to the charity, 67 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

United Way of Saskatoon and Area has $1.8m in its reserves (cash and investments). These funds can cover program costs for eight months, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.

The charity has funding agreements with 11 agencies. It has committed to grant $624k in F2026.

Updated on July 30, 2025 by Joshua Leduc. This update has been sent to the charity and changes may be forthcoming.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending March
202520242023
Administrative costs as % of revenues 8.0%4.6%5.1%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 25.1%30.9%27.9%
Total overhead spending 33.1%35.5%33.0%
Program cost coverage (%) 70.3%46.6%106.7%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $s
202520242023
Donations 3,168,2983,093,6944,233,021
Government funding 149,8801,805,74126,256
Investment income 77,655116,65067,690
Other income 200,007153,850519,780
Total revenues 3,595,8405,169,9354,846,747
Program costs 979,727840,1101,167,821
Grants 1,648,8283,811,9531,707,108
Donor-designated donations 321,047392,395429,408
Administrative costs 282,546231,703244,909
Fundraising costs 793,913955,8281,180,761
Total spending 4,026,0616,231,9894,730,007
Cash flow from operations (430,221)(1,062,054)116,740
Capital spending 19,77810,96319,757
Funding reserves 1,847,4722,165,7183,066,283

Note: 1. Ci adjusted for deferred donations, which affected donations by ($124k) in F2025, ($281k) in F2024, and $145k in F2023.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 12

Avg. compensation: $95,761

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
0
$160k - $200k
1
$120k - $160k
3
$80k - $120k
1
$40k - $80k
5
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2024

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

No comments have been added by the charity.

Charity Contact

Website: www.unitedwaysaskatoon.ca
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 306-975-7700

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Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001