MedicAlert Foundation Canada

895 Don Mills Road, Suite 600, Morneau Shepell Centre II
Toronto, ON M3C 1W3
President & CEO: Leslie McGill
Board Chair: Leslie Quinton

Charitable Reg. #:10686 3293 RR0001

STAR RATING

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

[Charity Rating: 2/5]

✔+

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.

15%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 15 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About MedicAlert Foundation Canada:

MedicAlert Foundation is a 2-star charity. It is financially transparent, but has high fundraising costs of 64%. Before you give, read Charity Intelligence’s report.

Founded in 1961, MedicAlert Foundation Canada (MedicAlert) aims to ensure that all Canadians have vital medical information on hand in the event of an emergency. It sells custom ID bracelets that help paramedics, police, and emergency responders view a patient’s medical details. It recommends ID bracelets for people with fatal allergies, degenerative diseases, communication disorders, drug prescriptions, and implanted devices. MedicAlert Foundation Canada is an affiliate of MedicAlert Foundation International, which was founded in California and now spans ten national affiliates. The charity’s office is in Toronto.

MedicAlert’s core programs include Membership Services, the No Child Without program, and its Education program. 

Membership Services: 82% of program spending. For $40 to $60 each year, depending on the type of annual plan, Canadians can subscribe to MedicAlert’s ID services. The charity provides subscribers with a custom engraved ID bracelet, a mobile app to update their medical details, and a 24/7 support line. In F2022, the charity upgraded their 13 technological systems to help keep subscriber information safe. As of August 2023, 20 of Ontario’s 82 school boards agreed to adopt the program (25%)

No Child Without: 7% of program spending. No Child Without offers free subscriptions to children with health conditions between the ages of four and 14. It works with 6,000 schools to administer the program, which has reached more than 45,000 children since founding. In F2022, MedicAlert started the S.A.F.E Program. This program helps make kids aware of common medical conditions that might affect their peers. It is designed to promote a safe and secure learning environment. In F2022, 

Education: 7% of program spending. MedicAlert ensures that frontline officers as well as dispatchers for 911 are trained to use all aspects of MedicAlert in an emergency.

The remaining 3% of program spending went toward IDEA. The IDEA initiative helps to subsidize MedicAlert’s services for marginalized groups, such as Indigenous people and low-income families.

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Results and Impact

In F2022, MedicAlert partnered with University of Guelph to estimate the results of its programs. This research found that every dollar MedicAlert spends on helping those with Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia generates $9.03 in returns for the community. 

MedicAlert Foundation also worked with the University of Waterloo to conduct research on its users with Alzheimer’s. The research found that 90% of people living with dementia who are registered with MedicAlert and wander away from where they live are found with no apparent injuries or compromised health. 

While Charity Intelligence highlights these results, this may not be a complete representation of MedicAlert Foundation Canada’s results and impact. 

This charity is not yet rated on impact (n/r).

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Finances

MedicAlert Foundation Canada received $703k in donations in F2022. This represents only 12% of its total revenues of $5.7m. It also received $4.7m in membership fees, representing 83% of total revenues in F2022. Net product sales were $600k in F2022, or 11% of total revenues. Fundraising costs are 64% of donations and administrative costs are 21% of revenues (less investment income). Total overhead spending is 85%. For each dollar donated, 14 cents go to the cause. This is outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending and has been since 2018.

Reserve funds of $7.2m can cover program costs at the F2022 level for one year and eight months. 

MedicAlert has a licensing agreement with MedicAlert Foundation United States, effective since 2009. The license allows MedicAlert Foundation Canada to use the MedicAlert registered name and branding in exchange for 3% annual royalties on membership fees and product sales. In F2022, MedicAlert paid $165k in annual fees and $23k for inventory purchases to the US charity.

Charity Intelligence has sent this update to MedicAlert Foundation Canada for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on October 25, 2023 by Emily Downing.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending December
202220212020
Administrative costs as % of revenues 21.6%26.1%27.7%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 63.8%24.9%28.8%
Total overhead spending 85.4%51.0%56.5%
Program cost coverage (%) 168.5%155.4%181.8%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202220212020
Donations 703879705
Government funding 0196409
Fees for service 4,7484,7155,043
Business activities (net) 601807609
Investment income (385)1,040470
Other income 26712
Total revenues 5,6917,6437,247
Program costs 4,2785,4124,658
Administrative costs 1,3141,7251,877
Fundraising costs 448219203
Total spending 6,0407,3566,738
Cash flow from operations (349)287509
Capital spending 77375
Funding reserves 7,2098,4138,471

Note: Ci reported product sales net of product costs under business activities (net), affecting revenues and expenses by ($1.2m) in F2020, ($1.5m) in F2019, and ($1.9m) in F2018. Ci included investment income, as well as realized and unrealized gains, affecting revenues by $470k in F2020, $682k in F2019, and ($129k) in F2018. In F2020, MedicAlert reported government wage subsidies in other income. Ci reclassified wage subsidies as government funding and removed the amounts from other income. Ci removed amortization from administrative costs.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 61

Avg. compensation: $64,345

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
0
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
2
$160k - $200k
3
$120k - $160k
0
$80k - $120k
5
$40k - $80k
0
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2022

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

Ci reported product sales net of product costs under business activities (net), affecting revenues and expenses by ($828k) in F2022, ($1,0m) in F2021m and ($1.2m) in F2020. Ci included investment income, as well as realized and unrealized gains on investments, affecting income by ($385k) in F2022, $1.0m in F2021, and $470k in F2020.  F2021 and F2020, MedicAlert reported government wage subsidies in other income. Ci reclassified wage subsidies as government funding and removed the amounts from other income. Ci removed amortization from administrative costs.

Charity Contact

Website: www.medicalert.ca
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 1-800-668-1507

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Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001