Crohn's and Colitis

About Crohn's and Colitis:

Founded in 1974, Crohn’s and Colitis Canada (CCC) is the only national, volunteer-based charity whose focus is to find cures for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Both diseases are forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). These diseases inflame the lining of the GI tract and disrupt the body’s ability to digest food, absorb nutrition, and eliminate waste. CCC states that over 270,000 Canadians are living with IBD and that number is expected to rise to over 400,000 Canadians (one in 100) by 2030. There is currently no cure for Crohn’s or Colitis. CCC runs three programs: research granting, patient programs, and education, advocacy, and awareness.

CCC’s research program is the charity's largest program and accounts for almost 75% of program expenditures. In F2018, CCC invested $6.2m into research projects focused on developing better treatments. The charity funded 48 research projects and initiatives in F2018. 

The charity’s patient program works to improve the lives of people living with Crohn’s and Colitis. This program supported over 19,000 people in F2018. CCC gave out ten IBD scholarships; this is a one-time $5,000 scholarship to a student of any age, living with IBD, who is enrolled in a Canadian post-secondary institution.

Through the education/advocacy/awareness program, CCC advocates for policy and legislative changes and tries to end the stigma around these diseases. The charity’s goal is to ease the burden of living with these diseases. In F2018, CCC had over 400,000 unique visitors to its website and 300 million media impressions.

Results and Impact:

In F2018, after six years of research, CCC published its second “Impact of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Canada” report which details new findings about the disease, how people are living with IBD, and how to better care for them.  The projects funded by CCC resulted in 2,134 articles and book chapters being published. As a result of CCC’s advocacy program, Canadian compassionate care benefits have expanded from six to 26 weeks. Compassionate care benefits are employment insurance benefits paid to people who must be away from work temporarily.

Financial Review:

Crohn’s and Colitis Canada is a large charity with donations and special events fundraising of $15.7m in F2018. Administrative costs are 8% of revenues and fundraising costs are 25% of donations and special events fundraising. For every dollar donated to the charity, 66 cents go to its programs and grants. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. CCC has funding reserves of $14.3m including $565k in donor-endowed funds. Excluding donor-endowed funds, funding reserves can cover program and granting costs at F2018 level for 18 months.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Crohn’s & Colitis Canada for review. Comments and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 3, 2019 by Stefan Tetzlaff.