Founded in 1948, Arthritis Society funds arthritis research, advocacy, and patient support to improve health outcomes among people affected by arthritis. Arthritis is a collection of conditions affecting joints and other tissues. It causes pain, restricts mobility, and diminishes quality of life. Arthritis Society reports that one in five Canadians is currently living with arthritis. Without serious attention to the disease, the charity estimates that one in four Canadians will be living with arthritis by 2040. Currently, there is no cure. Arthritis Society’s national office is in Toronto. 

Arthritis Society spent $9.0m on programs and services and $3.6m on research in F2021.

Advocacy: Arthritis Society advocates on behalf of Canadians affected by arthritis to drive policy and raise awareness. The charity meets with federal and provincial officials, publishes policy papers, and runs public awareness campaigns. Its advocacy efforts focus on creating a national pharmacare program, expanding access to pain control treatments, and growing investment in arthritis research. In F2021, the charity reported having 67 meetings with policy makers.

Information and Support: Arthritis Society runs information and support programs for people affected by arthritis. Its website is a go-to source of evidence-based information, resources, and online tools to help those living with arthritis manage the disease and reduce its impact on their lives. Arthritis Society reported reaching 2.1 million Canadians with information in F2021, including providing 62,183 people with direct or one-on-one support through its educational programs.

Research: This program represented 28% of Arthritis Society's total program spending in F2021. Informed by patient priorities, Arthritis Society funds research that focuses on joint pain, osteoarthritis, inflammatory arthritis, childhood arthritis, and workplace policies and accommodations for those with arthritis. In F2021, Arthritis Society funded 78 lead researchers across 25 research institutes. The charity aims to invest $30m in arthritis research by 2025.

Arthritis Society received $20.1m in donations in F2021. It also received $7.5m in government funding, representing 25% of total revenues. Administrative costs are 10% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 39% of donations. For every dollar donated, 51 cents go to the cause. This is outside of Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. 

Arthritis Society has funding reserves of $9.2m, of which $2.4m is donor-endowed. Excluding donor-endowed funds, the charity can cover just over six months of annual program costs using its funding reserves. 

Arthritis Society uses external fundraisers as part of its fundraising activities. In F2020, it paid external fundraisers $1.0m to raise $1.7m at a cost of 59 cents per dollar raised.  

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Arthritis Society for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on August 27, 2021 by Rachel Leteta.