Kinvia is a 5-star charity with High Demonstrated Impact. It has a B+ Results Reporting grade, which is above average. Its reserve funds and overhead spending are both within Ci's reasonable range.

Founded in 1986, Kinvia (formerly known as Canadian Feed the Children) is an international aid charity focused on building sustainable, self-reliant food systems. The charity works with local partners to help children, youth, and their communities overcome barriers to access nutritious and culturally appropriate food through increasing local capacity, sharing knowledge, and supporting income generation, education, gender equality, and climate resilience. 

In 2024, Kinvia spent $7.2m on its programs and grants and reached 268,047 people in 133 communities across five countries. The charity runs programs in Indigenous communities in Canada, Bolivia, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Uganda. It does not report a program spending breakdown, although its program costs in Canada are 66% of total program costs in 2024. 

School Nutrition programs provide meals for children in schools and in after-school programs. The charity reports often families face a difficult choice to either feed their children or to send them to school. In 2024, Kinvia provided 3,515,586 snacks and meals to 13,600 children through school and after-school programs. 2,651 people received training in nutrition, food use, and cooking. The charity reports 5,972 students and 675 households are supported by home, school, or community gardens.

Gender Equality programs work to increase women representation in the agriculture and business industries. In 2024, 4,778 people (60% women) received agricultural training and 2,666 people (70% women) received agricultural inputs (such as seeds, tools, or plants). 8,159 members (79% female) participated in 613 Village Savings and Loan Associations or microfinance groups. In 2024, 2,412 people (85% women) participated in business skills training and 1,653 people (79% women) launched 1,502 business ventures.

Education programs work to improve girls' access to education by addressing systemic barriers. The charity provides school materials, runs school food programs, and builds sanitation facilities to help girls stay in school. In 2024, 3,066 people (80% women) received sexual and reproductive health training. Kinvia provided school supplies and equipment to 37,000 students across 53 schools. In 2024, 720 girls participated in gender equality clubs and 9,629 (63% female) youths participated in after-school programs.

Working alongside Indigenous Peoples in Canada, through its Indigenous Food Sovereignty program, the charity engages children, youth, adults, and Elders in traditional practices related to food growing, gathering, preserving, and sharing to increase food sovereignty. The charity reports that the food insecurity rate among Indigenous families is 48%. In 2024, Kinvia provided 342,775 snacks and meals to 6,025 children through school food programs. The charity also trained 4,081 people on nutrition, cooking, and food use, and helped build 519 gardens that support over 1,125 families and 1,085 students. In 2024, 13,000 lb of fresh produce were grown in gardens and forests, which provided food for 488 homes.  

Kinvia’s audited financial statements use activity-based costing, which is a best practice. Ci used the charity’s T3010 filing with the CRA to report government funding.

Kinvia received $7.2m in donations in 2024. The charity spent $7.2m on its programs, which is 90% of revenue, and recorded a deficit of $1.4m.

Kinvia spent $1.3m on fundraising, which is 19% of donations, and $937k on administration, which is 12% of revenue (excluding investment income). Total overhead spending is 31%. For every dollar donated, 69 cents are available to go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.

Kinvia has $3.9m in reserve funds (cash and investments). These reserves can cover annual program costs for six months, which is within Ci’s reasonable range.  

Kinvia uses external fundraisers. In 2024, Kinvia paid $90k to fundraisers, who collected $200k. It cost 45 cents to raise a dollar through external fundraisers. It is likely more cost efficient to donate directly to the charity.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Kinvia for review.

Updated on August 8, 2025 by Liam Chapleau.