In 1985, Rick Hansen embarked on the Man in Motion World Tour to raise funds for spinal cord injury research and rehabilitation. As a Paralympic athlete, Rick wheeled 40,000km over two years and raised $26m. After the tour, the Rick Hansen Foundation (RHF) was created in 1988 to continue raising funds and awareness to create a world without barriers for people with disabilities. The foundation reports that 1 in 7 Canadians have a disability and that number will rise to 1 in 5 by 2036. It is focused on raising awareness, building accessible spaces and funding spinal cord injury research. The foundation’s head office is in Richmond, British Columbia.

RHF spent $10.4m (60% of program costs in F2017) on spinal cord injury research to improve the health and quality of life for people with disabilities. It collaborates with the Rick Hansen Institute (RHI) and the Blusson Spinal Cord Centre for its research. In F2017, the RHF granted $9.7m to the RHI, representing 89% of the Institute’s total revenue. The RHI has driven improvements in care for more than 3,500 Canadians with spinal cord injuries, released over 200 peer-reviewed publications, and engaged with 39 health care sites around the world. The Blusson Spinal Cord Centre acts as a global hub for collaboration in spinal cord injury research. In F2017, it reports that it engaged 4,500 people in cure-focused research.

The foundation spent $2.7m (16% of program costs) on awareness programs and initiatives which educate the public about the importance of accessibility and the issues facing people with disabilities. Its Ambassador Program engages people with disabilities to share their stories to raise awareness about the many barriers they face. In F2017, 175 presentations were given by Ambassadors in schools and communities across Canada. In F2017, RHF also gained more than 4,500 new followers on its social media channels.

RHF spent $2.2m (12% of program costs) on accessibility initiatives and services to improve physical accessibility in the built environment. In 2017, RHF launched the Access4All Canada 150 Project which granted over $1.5 million to 55 schools and community groups across Canada. It also developed an Accessibility Certification in 2017 which uses a rating system to determine the accessibility of commercial, institutional, and multi-family residential buildings. In addition, the RHF Accessible Cities Award launched to measure and showcase the best accessibility programs and practices of cities across Canada. The 2017 award winners were Winnipeg, Richmond and Edmonton.

The foundation spent $1.0m (6% of program costs) on education and outreach. It reports that 150,000 students across Canada were reached by the RHF School Program, which provides administrators and teachers with resources such as lesson plans and tools to run disability awareness events. The RHF Youth Leadership Summit was started in 2017. It brought together 50 youth leaders from across the country with a goal of educating youth on the importance of access and inclusion and developing ideas to action in their communities.

RHF spent $1.2 on other programs (6% of program costs).

Impact and Results: From an end-of-year survey on the Rick Hansen Foundation School Program (RHFSP), 100% of educators who used resources in 2017 reported they intend to use them again. The survey also showed that 81% of educators reported students have an increased awareness of how physical barriers impact people with disabilities, and 78% of educators reported students are more aware of what they can do to make the physical environment more accessible for others.

Rick Hansen Foundation is a medium-sized charity with donations of $3.0m in F2017, a 35% increase compared to F2016. It also received $12.7m in government funding in F2017, representing 72% of RHF’s total revenue. Administration costs are 8% of total revenues and fundraising costs are 56% of donations. For every dollar donated to the foundation, $0.36 goes towards its programs and grants, which falls well outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. The increase in donations caused the foundation’s fundraising ratio to decrease from 76% in F2016 to 56% in F2017. RHF has total funding reserves of $8.0m, which include $104k of donor-endowed funds. Excluding its donor-endowed funds, the foundation can cover its annual programs and grants for less than 6 months, indicating a need for donations.

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

Updated on August 8, 2018 by Derek Houlberg.