Samaritans Purse Canada is a 3-star charity with Fair demonstrated impact. It has average disclosure with a B results reporting grade. It holds reserves within Ci’s reasonable range. For every dollar donated to Samaritans Purse Canada, 88 cents are available to go to the cause.

Founded in 1973, Samaritan's Purse Canada (SPC) is a Christian relief and development charity that provides emergency aid, disaster response, and long-term development programs to people affected by war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine around the world. It runs programs focused on food security, clean water and sanitation, medical care, shelter, and child protection. The charity is the Canadian chapter of Samaritan’s Purse (SPI) that has international headquarters in the U.S. and additional branches in Australia, Germany, South Korea, and the United Kingdom.

The charity reports that global hunger has reached record levels, with over 2 billion people worldwide lacking regular access to sufficient or nutritious food. It states that 25,000 people, including more than 10,000 children, die every day from hunger and related causes. SPC also reports that unsafe water and poor sanitation kill over 800,000 people each year, and that more than 1,000 children under five die daily from preventable waterborne diseases. 

Franklin Graham, President and CEO of Samaritan's Purse Canada, has stated strong disbelief in homosexuality and Islam, to which Samaritan's Purse has responded.

Many of the results reported below represent Samaritan’s Purse International, not just Samaritan’s Purse Canada’s programs.

SPC runs four main programs: International Community Programming and Ministry Support Services; Operation Christmas Child; International Disaster Response; and North American Ministries. In the fiscal year ending December 2025, SPC spent $35.0m on its programs.

International Community Programming and Ministry Support Services accounted for 41% of total program spending in 2025. The charity funds a wide range of long-term development and medical work abroad, including surgical missions, food security and agriculture training, water and sanitation infrastructure, and targeted procedures such as heart surgeries, cleft palate repairs, and cataract operations for children and adults in underserved regions. In 2025, its surgical specialty teams made seven trips to five hospitals. They performed 135 orthopedic and fistula procedures and treated 1,233 patients at dental clinics. Its food security work distributed 614 metric tons of food. It also trained over 24,000 people in improved agriculture and provided food to 94,996 people. On water and sanitation, Samaritans Purse installed 6,635 household water filters and built 1,117 latrines and 1,309 hand-washing stations, giving 46,805 people access to clean water sources. Through the Children's Heart Project, 65 children from Mongolia, Bolivia, and Uganda received heart surgeries. Volunteer teams also performed cleft lip and palate surgeries for 258 patients and cataract surgeries for 1,392 people across Cambodia, Liberia, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Operation Christmas Child accounted for 38% of total program spending in 2025. SPC packs and distributes gift-filled shoeboxes to children globally, each paired with a Gospel message. A follow-up subprogram, The Greatest Journey, offers discipleship courses to children who receive a shoebox gift. In 2025, 12.2 million shoebox gifts were packed and distributed. Six million children participated in The Greatest Journey, with more than 330,000 volunteer teachers delivering the course worldwide. Nearly 93,000 volunteers served at processing centres in Canada and the United States, with over 95,800 ministry partner teams and more than 210,500 year-round volunteers supporting the program globally.

International Disaster Response accounted for 18% of total program spending in 2025. This program funds the charity's emergency response to natural disasters, famine, and armed conflict outside North America. It deploys field hospitals, emergency food, and relief supplies to crisis zones. In 2025, the charity treated more than 4,100 patients and distributed over 618,000 pounds of relief supplies in Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa. In Sudan, Samaritans Purse airdropped more than 2,700 tons of corn, beans, and salt, and cared for 9,149 people at an Emergency Field Hospital. In the Middle East, it sent 15 relief flights carrying more than 200 tons of supplemental nutrition pouches and treated over 1,700 patients. In Ukraine, the charity provided emergency food to 196,657 people and treated more than 6,900 patients across 81 villages. Following the earthquake in Myanmar, Samaritans delivered more than 104 tons of relief supplies and treated over 5,800 patients.

North American Ministries accounted for 3% of total program spending in 2025. It covers the charity's Canadian disaster relief work, home rebuilding for disaster survivors, and Operation Heal Our Patriots, its program for wounded military veterans and their spouses. Through Operation Heal Our Patriots, the charity reports welcoming 166 couples to its Alaska program in 2025, with 89 couples rededicating their marriages and 93 people professing new faith in Christ.

Samaritan’s Purse Canada’s audited financial statements use activity-based costing, which is a best practice.

In 2025, SPC earned $77.0 million in revenue. Canadian donations made up $33.9 million of that, with a further $5.4 million from international donations, for total donations of $39.3 million (51% of revenue). The charity also received $36.6 million in goods in kind (48% of revenue).

Administrative costs are 7% of revenues (less investment income). Fundraising costs are 5% of donations. Total overhead is 12%. For every dollar donated to Samaritan’s Purse Canada, 88 cents are available for programs. This is within Ci's reasonable range.

In 2025, SPC spent $35.0m on programs (45% of total revenue). International programs accounted for $28.0m (80%) and Canadian programs accounted for $7.0m (20%). It recorded a $1.5m deficit, meaning it dipped into its reserve funds. The charity spent $904k on capital projects.

In 2025, SPC had reserve funds of $27.8m, which means the charity can cover roughly nine and a half months of annual program costs. This is within Ci's reasonable range.

This charity update has been sent to SPC for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. Updated by Nick Reszetnik on July 16, 2026.