Founded in 1921, Save the Children Canada works toward a world where every child is safe, healthy, and has economic opportunities. The charity serves immediate needs by providing food, water, and healthcare, and improves lives in the long term through education and promotion of gender equality. 

In F2018, Save the Children Canada allocated $40.2 million to international programs. For international programming, 35% was allocated to programs in East Africa, 20% to West Africa, 15% to the Middle East, 6% to India/Asia, 4% to South America, and 0.3% to Central America. The remaining 18% of international program spending went towards program management. 

In F2017, Save the Children International ran programs in 120 countries, working with 49.1 million children. There were 33.3 million children involved with health and nutrition programs, 9.7 million in educational programs, and 4.4 million in extreme poverty were provided basic needs. The charity distributes emergency supplies in disaster areas, recently providing 7 mobile health teams in Yemen and using an Italian ship to retrieve 2,705 refugees from Syria. It supports eight universities which offer masters programs in children’s rights. 

An estimated 600 million children live in extreme poverty and 168 million work in harmful conditions instead of going to school. The charity’s Children Lead the Way program worked in Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Nicaragua, and Peru, encouraging children to remain in school and avoid dangerous work. Youth in Action is a similar program with an additional mentoring aspect and focus on entrepreneurship. MasterCard Foundation funded the program for six years, providing Save the Children with $39.8 million. 

In F2017, Save the Children Canada allocated 3% of program spending to Canadian programming. The charity provides books, supplies, and social support to children and mothers in First Nations, Metis, and Inuit communities. In F2017, the charity connected 200 women with midwives who provided support during childbirth. Emergency preparedness training was provided to 5,000 youth and adults in Ontario and Manitoba. 

This is the most recent output data available. As of the date this report was updated, Save the Children Canada had yet to publish its annual report for F2018. 

Save the Children Canada is a Major 100 charity with donations of $17.1m in F2018. The charity received $7.3m in government funding (down from $25.2m in F2017), representing 28% of total revenues. In April 2018, the UK government’s Charity Commission opened an investigation into Save the Children’s handling of the allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment. Since this time, the UK government has provided no funding to the charity, but the Canadian government has continued its funding. Donations from Global Affairs Canada since the Save the Children scandal total $7.5m. 

Administrative costs are 11% of revenues (excluding investment income), and fundraising costs are 23% of donations. For every $1 donated, 66 cents go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. Save the Children Canada has $16.7m in funding reserves which can cover program costs for almost five months.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Save the Children Canada for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on August 19, 2019 by Caroline McKenna.