Rick Hansen Institute

About Rick Hansen Institute:

Founded in 2010, Rick Hansen Institute (RHI) was formed through the merging of: the result of SCI Solutions Alliance, Rick Hansen SCI Registry, and SCI Translational Research Network merging into one entity. RHI mission is to create a world where nobody lives with paralysis after a spinal cord injury (SCI).  In Canada, there is an estimated 86,000 people living with a spinal cord injury.

RHI runs four main programs: Cure, Consumer, Care, Commercialization. In F2018, RHI spent $10m on its programs. The cure program represented 64% or spending, the consumer program represented 19% of spending, the care program represented 10% of spending and the commercialization program represented 6% of spending.

Cure focuses on understanding the biological effects of spinal cord injuries and works to develop new treatment methods. The charity’s Consumer program works to involve more patients in research to improve knowledge and increase awareness about SCI’s. The program informs people with SCI about treatment options so they can make informed health decisions. RHI’s Care program focuses on the creation and implementation of best practices and standard care for people with SCI to prevent complications after the injury. Lastly, the Commercialization program focuses on increasing investment into the development of new therapies, medical devices and applications for people with SCI’s.

Results and Impact:

In F2018, RHI’s research team had their findings published in a special issue of the Journal of Neurotrauma. The Journal of Neurotrauma is a peer-reviewed medical journal that is officially recognized by the National Neurotrauma Society and the International Neurotrauma Society.

Financial Review:

Rick Hansen Institute is a large charity receiving $6m in donations in F2018. The majority of the organization’s funding comes from the Rick Hansen Foundation (https://www.charityintelligence.ca/charity-details/244-rick-hansen-foundation). In F2018, RHI received $5.95m in donations from the Rick Hansen Foundation, this represented almost 99% of all donations received in F2018.  

Administrative costs are 2% of revenues. For every dollar donated, 98 cents go to its programs. This is outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead expenditures. RCI has net funding reserves of $3.2m. This can cover program costs for almost 4 months.

This charity report is an update that is being reviewed by Rick Hansen Institute. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 5, 2019 by Stefan Tetzlaff.