Aunt Leah's
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.
A+
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
Good
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.
74%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 74 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About Aunt Leah's:
Aunt Leah's is a 5-star charity with best practices in financial transparency and a Good impact rating. This charity has a high results reporting grade and low funding reserves, indicating a need for funding.
Founded in 1988, Aunt Leah’s helps those previously in foster care live independently. It also helps women avoid losing custody of their children. The 2020 Vancouver Homeless Count Report indicates 32% of those surveyed were connected to foster care. In 2024 the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) extended its services to 27 years of age, providing income support, life skills and education support and counseling services. The charity states that while this increases support, it does not yet address the unique needs of youth. Aunt Leah’s runs four major programs: Housing, Employment, Education and Life Skills. Charity Intelligence calculates it spent $4.6m on its programs in F2023.
A Charity Intelligence 2024 Top 100 Rated Charity.
The Housing program received 67% of program spending. The charity runs five housing programs that provide housing to youth and families at risk. In F2023, Aunt Leah’s provided 170 individuals with stable housing. Included in that 170 were 14 young mothers and their 18 children. The charity reduces the number of children entering the foster care system by giving housing and guidance to young mothers. In F2023, it supported 11 foster youth who aged out of foster care in Lale House. Three of those young adults are now pursuing post-secondary education. Three more have moved to stable long-term housing.
The Employment program received 13% of program spending. Aunt Leah’s employment training program guides youth to define goals, improve skills and pursue their career paths. Employment workers help youth develop individualized employment plans. 66 people participated in the training program. Aunt Leah’s thrift offers work experiences to foster youth in its thrift donation center and store. In F2023 the charity began working with The Refill Shop. This gives youth experience working in the retail sector.
The Education program received 11% of program spending. The charity states only 45% of youth in care graduated high school in 2020. This is much lower than the 84% graduation rates of those not in care. The Education program focuses on helping clients graduate High School. It also provides support for achieving other educational goals. In F2023, 175 youth participated in the program.
The Life Skills program received 9% of total program spending. The Life Skills program provides expert one-to-one coaching, and in-person workshops. It focuses on building the skills needed for foster youth to live independently. In F2023, Aunt Leah’s provided 1,233 counseling sessions. In F2023, the charity gave 1,516 bags of groceries and meals to 207 youth. Alongside building life skills, the charity connected 90 youth to basic government income support.
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Results and Impact
In F2023, of those who finished an Aunt Leah’s program, 95% maintained housing 12 months later.
In F2023, 39% of participants in the employment program found employment. The Bootstraps program works with youth to advance skills and places them with employers in their chosen career path. In F2023, 32 youth received Bootstraps placements.
In F2023, 24 high need youth received financial support. These funds support living expenses and allow youth to focus on their education. 53% of participants in the Education program graduated high school.
For the past 20 years, Aunt Leah’s has advocated to extend the age at which youth age out of care. In 2024, the Ministry of Children and Family Development extended its services from 19 to 27 years of age in BC.
Ci has given Aunt Leah's a Good impact rating based on demonstrated impact per dollar spent.
This may not be a complete representation of Aunt Leah’s results.
Impact Rating: Good
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Finances
Charity Intelligence has consolidated Aunt Leah’s and Aunt Leah’s Properties (associated foundation) in the following financial analysis.
In F2023 Aunt Leah’s received $3.8m in cash donations and special events fundraising. The charity received $2.4m in government funding, representing 37% of total revenues.
Administrative costs are 13% of revenues (excluding investment income). Fundraising costs are 13% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 26%. For every dollar donated, 74 cents go to the cause. This falls within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.
In F2023 Aunt Leah’s spent $4.6m on its programs, which is 72% of its revenue. In F2023 it had a surplus of $416k.
Aunt Leah’s has $2.1m in gross funding reserves and $912k in interest-bearing debt. This results in net funding reserves of $1.1m. Excluding $50k in donor-endowed funds, the net funding reserves can cover 24%, or three months of program costs.
Aunt Leah’s materially restated its financial statements in 2023.
This charity report is an update that has been sent for review to Aunt Leah’s. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.
Updated on May 31, 2024, by Grady Simpson.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending March
|
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 12.7% | 8.5% | 4.6% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 13.2% | 14.0% | 22.1% |
| Total overhead spending | 25.9% | 22.5% | 26.6% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 23.9% | 22.0% | 17.5% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 3,038 | 2,802 | 1,476 |
| Government funding | 2,444 | 2,310 | 2,955 |
| Business activities (net) | (72) | 163 | 14 |
| Special events | 736 | 890 | 1,078 |
| Investment income | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Other income | 217 | 192 | 228 |
| Total revenues | 6,364 | 6,356 | 5,752 |
| Program costs | 4,569 | 4,551 | 4,738 |
| Administrative costs | 809 | 537 | 262 |
| Fundraising costs | 498 | 517 | 564 |
| Total spending | 5,875 | 5,605 | 5,564 |
| Cash flow from operations | 489 | 751 | 188 |
| Capital spending | 853 | 331 | 72 |
| Funding reserves | 1,143 | 1,051 | 878 |
Note: DEFERRED ADJUSTMENT: Aunt Leah’s uses deferred accounting. To show donors information on a consistent basis, Ci adjusted for these deferred revenues. This affected non-government revenues by ($250k) in F2023, $165k in F2022, and ($511k) in F2021. Deferred adjustments affected government revenues by $26k in F2023, ($121k) in F2022, and $44k in F2021. BUSINESS ACTIVITIES: Business activities represent sales net of social enterprise expenses. This affected revenues and expenses by ($945k) in F2023, ($811k) in F2022, and ($655k) in F2021. AMORTIZATION: Ci removed amortization for the operating charity on a pro rata basis from program, administrative and fundraising costs in F2023, F2022 and F2021. Ci removed amortization from the administrative costs for the foundation.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
0 |
$120k - $160k |
0 |
$80k - $120k |
3 |
$40k - $80k |
7 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2023
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Comment received and added on October 7, 2024:
We support youth from foster care and mothers at risk of losing custody of their children, who have been pushed to the margins of society due to poverty and lack of housing.
Fifty percent of our programming, which receives no government funding, is unique. Rather than provide time-limited services, we offer youth and mothers the time they need to stabilize, gain confidence, and create a safe environment that allows them to transition to stable housing and employment. We believe that this flexible, holistic approach—combined with the strengths and resilience of the young people themselves—is key to the success we can achieve.
Learn more:
Aunt Leah's 2023 Annual Report
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: (604) 525-1204