The University of Western Ontario is a 5-star charity with an A- results reporting score, which is above average. It is one of Canada’s largest charities. It has reserve funds to cover program costs for 1 year and 8 months. Its overhead costs are within Ci’s reasonable range. For every dollar donated to the charity, 82 cents are available for the cause.

Founded in 1878, the University of Western Ontario (Western) is a public university in London, Ontario. It aims to combine research excellence with a transformational student experience. Western offers 12 faculties, plus the School of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies. It has professional programs in medicine, business, law, and engineering. According to the Center for World University Rankings (2023), Western is in the top 1% of universities worldwide. Western’s main programs are education and research. It does not disclose a program spending breakdown on its website.

A Charity Intelligence 2024 Top 100 Rated Charity.

Education: In the fiscal year ending in April 2023 (F2023), the University of Western Ontario had 34,917 students. The charity reports that it has over 4,698 international students from 118 countries. Western offers over 400 possible combinations of undergraduate majors, minors, and specializations. It also offers 88 graduate degree programs, including interdisciplinary programs. In F2023, Western awarded $11.6m in scholarships, awards, and financial aid to full-time students.

Research: Western is a founding member of the U15, Canada’s most distinguished group of research universities. It has 82 Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada. Western works with WORLDiscoveries, which functions as a department of the university. WORLDiscoveries gets licensing opportunities and establishes new start-ups to support researchers. Western has 248 active licenses and 50 active spin-off companies through WORLDiscoveries.

Ci used the University of Western Ontario’s T3010 filing with the CRA to allocate program, administrative, and fundraising costs. Its T3010 filing reported $51.4m less in total expenses than its audited financial statement. Ci adjusted for this difference within program costs. 

Western is a Major 100 charity, one of Canada’s largest charities in terms of donations. In F2023, it received $71.4m in donations. Western also received $507m (35% of total revenue) in government funding and $524m (36% of total revenue) in tuition fees in F2023. In F2023, Western earned $122m in investment income (9% of total revenue). This represents a 4% annual return. Its average annual investment return from F2013 to F2023 is 6%. In F2023, Western spent $1.1b on its programs, which is 80% of its revenue.

Administrative costs are 3% of total revenue (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 15% of donations. This results in a total overhead spending of 18%. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. For every dollar donated, 82 cents are available for the cause.

In F2023, Western had a surplus of $223m (16% of total revenue) and spent $96.0m on capital expenditures.

At the end of F2023, Western has $2.7b in net funding reserves, which includes $855m in donor-endowed funds. Its net funding reserves, excluding donor-endowed funds, can cover 168% or 1 year and 8 months of its annual program costs.

This charity report is an update that was sent for review to the University of Western Ontario. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Profile created on May 29, 2024 by Thea Clark