Alberta Conservation Association

101-9 Chippewa Road
Sherwood Park, AB T8A 6J7
President & CEO: Todd Zimmerling
Board Chair: Bill Abercrombie

Charitable Reg. #:88994 6141 RR0001

STAR RATING

Ci's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics:

[Charity Rating: 3/5]

✔+

FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY

Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.

A

RESULTS REPORTING

Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.

n/r

DEMONSTRATED IMPACT

The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.

NEED FOR FUNDING

Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.

95%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 95 cents are available for programs.



My anchor

OVERVIEW

About Alberta Conservation Association:

Alberta Conservation Association is a three-star charity. It has an A- results reporting grade, which is above average. For every dollar donated to the charity, 95 cents are available to go to the cause, which is just within Ci's reasonable range; however, the charity does not report fundraising costs.

Founded in 1997, the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA) protects fish and wildlife for Albertans to enjoy. Its goal is to maintain wildlife population for Albertans to hunt and fish sustainably. The charity focuses its efforts on four main areas: wildlife, fish, land, and communications.

Land represented 51% of total program spending in F2022. The land program works to restore damaged habitats and protect healthy ones. ACA’s goal is to ensure that all animals have a healthy habitat to live in. The charity added three new conservation sites and expanded two existing conservation sites, totalling to 878 new acres in F2022. ACA manages 37 Landowner Habitat Program Agreements, which conserves 6,715 acres of wildlife and fish habitat.

Wildlife represented 25% of total program spending in F2022. The charity partners with ranches and farms to mitigate the effects of working operations on wildlife habitats, tracks the location and population of animals, and restores water quality by improving wildlife habitat along the shores of waterbodies. The charity captured and translocated 23 wild turkeys to an area suitable for reproducing in F2022. ACA also developed a wildlife tracking app that allows hunters to track populations of animals in specific areas in F2022.

Fisheries represented 17% of total program spending in F2022. Through the fisheries program, ACA conserves and manages fish species populations and habitats in Alberta. The charity focuses on increasing the populations of vulnerable species and improving opportunities for recreational fishing. ACA stocked 122,803 trout into 65 ponds in regions where angling opportunities are limited in F2022. The charity surveyed 89 rivers and nine ponds for information on fish population, distribution, spawning, and water quality.

Communications represented 7% of total program spending in F2022. ACA’s goal is to increase the knowledge and importance of hunting and fishing among Alberta. The charity sent over 1,370 information packages to youth in F2022. ACA’s Kids Can Catch events welcomed 850 adults and children in F2022.

In F2022, the charity spent $1.6m in grants. ACA grants money to support conservation activities that will increase the health of wildlife and fish populations. ACA also funds research projects on wildlife management and graduate students studying biodiversity.

My anchor

Results and Impact

Alberta Conservation Association publishes project results in peer reviewed journals to ensure the scientific community knows about ACA’s work. The charity published five papers in 2021, four in 2020, and six in 2019. Its goal is to publish three papers by March 31, 2025. The charity also helped maintain oxygen levels for year-round survival of stocked trout in 23 waterbodies. This created angling opportunities that would otherwise not exist.

While Charity Intelligence highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Alberta Conservation Association’s results and impact. This charity is not yet rated on impact (n/r).

My anchor

Finances

ACA does not use activity-based costing. This means that its audited financial statements do not report any fundraising or management and administrative costs. To find this information, you need to go to the CRA Charities Directorate's website. As such, Ci used the charity’s T3010 filing with the CRA to report on its costs. ACA’s T3010 expenses reconciled with its audited financials expenses. Rather than being incomplete, for best practices, audited financial statements should disclose the financial information donors look for.

Alberta Conservation Association received $529k in donations in F2022. The charity received $15.2m in government funding, which represents 68% of total revenue. The charity received $5.7m of donated land in F2022 and $1.9m in F2021.

Administrative costs are 5% of revenue (excluding investment income). The charity does not report fundraising costs. This results in total overhead spending of 5%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 95 cents are available to go to the cause, which is just within Ci’s reasonable range.

ACA has $10.7m in reserve funds which can cover 71%, or eight months of annual program costs.

Updated on July 19, 2023 by Liam Chapleau.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending March
202220212020
Administrative costs as % of revenues 5.2%6.4%6.7%
Total overhead spending 5.2%6.4%6.7%
Program cost coverage (%) 70.5%73.9%43.6%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202220212020
Donations 52915601
Goods in kind 5,7101,9440
Government funding 15,16314,15814,673
Investment income 5011,230(304)
Other income 302(181)795
Total revenues 22,20517,16615,765
Program costs 13,59111,93812,315
Grants 1,6351,5471,525
Donated goods exp 5,7101,9440
Administrative costs 1,1241,0241,081
Other costs 017
Total spending 22,06016,45414,928
Cash flow from operations 145713837
Capital spending 59521340
Funding reserves 10,7289,9586,038

Note: CRA reported program, administrative, and granting costs from the charity’s T3010 filings with the CRA. Ci included both realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments in revenues, affecting total revenues by $501k in F2022, $1.2m in F2021, and $452k in F2020. Ci excluded bad debts from expenses, decreasing total expenses by ($nil) in F2022, ($22k) in F2021, and ($nil) in F2020. Ci included donated land within goods in kind, impacting revenue and expenses by $5.7m in F2022, $1.9m in F2021, and ($nil) in F2020. To report on a cash basis, Ci included deferred contributions, impacting revenue in the amount of ($97k) in F2022, ($505k) in F2021, and $523k in F2020.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 72

Avg. compensation: $98,045

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
1
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
1
$160k - $200k
1
$120k - $160k
7
$80k - $120k
0
$40k - $80k
0
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2022

My anchor

Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

No comments have been added by the charity.

Charity Contact

Website: www.ab-conservation.com
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 780-410-1999

Print  
Image

Charity Intelligence researches Canadian charities for donors to be informed and give intelligently. Our website posts free reports on more than 800 Canadian charities, as well as in-depth primers on philanthropic sectors like Canada’s environment, cancer, and homelessness. Today over 500,000 Canadians use our website as a go-to source for information on Canadian charities reading over 1.6 million charity reports. Through rigorous and independent research, Charity Intelligence aims to assist Canada’s dynamic charitable sector in being more transparent, accountable and focused on results.

 

Be Informed. Give Intelligently. Have Impact

 

Charitable Registration Number: 80340 7956 RR0001