Founded in 1991, Alberta Ecotrust Foundation (AEF) aims to partner with groups across the environmental sector to create healthy ecosystems for all Albertans. It funds grants for local environmental projects, creates resources for charities and non-profits, and works with the city of Edmonton to promote sustainability.

Alberta Ecotrust Foundation runs three core programs: Environmental Grants, Capacity Building, and Collaboration.

Environmental Grants were 71% of program costs in F2020. AEF’s main grant fund, the Alberta Ecotrust Environmental Grant Program, offers funding for both Major Projects and Community Projects. While Major Projects are comprehensive initiatives with the potential for significant environmental benefits, Community Projects refer to smaller projects that focus on local opportunities for sustainability. In 2019, AEF funded 18 Major Projects and 10 Community Projects, engaging 9,294 people in community service.

AEF also provides EcoCity Edmonton Grants, which fund local projects that aim to help Edmonton reach its goal of becoming a carbon-neutral city. In 2019, the charity funded eight EcoCity projects that involved 2,190 participants. To support environmental research in Edmonton, AEF offers CitiesIPCC Legacy Research Grants. It helped to fund four research projects on clean energy and climate resilience in 2019.

Capacity Building and Collaboration represented 29% of program costs. These programs aim to offer support, resources, and connections to help underfunded environmental groups. AEF reports that 55% of the environmental groups it works with are charities, 46% are rural-based, and 44% are volunteer-led.

AEF does not disclose any fundraising costs in its audited financial statements. The charity instead reports fundraising costs on its T3010 filing with the CRA, which is only available for F2019. Overhead costs are likely understated for F2020.

Alberta Ecotrust Foundation received $1.3m in donations and special events revenue in F2020, as well as $202k in government grants. During the year, AEF also received funding from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), a non-profit organization, to create two new internally-restricted endowment funds. It recognized $573k as revenue and received an additional $43.1m in endowment contributions, which Ci classified as other income.

Administrative costs are less than 1% of revenues and fundraising costs could not be obtained due to the unavailable T3010 filing. In F2019, the most recent year that fundraising costs could be obtained, administrative costs were 7% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs were 2% of donations and special events funding. This resulted in total overhead spending of 9%. For every dollar donated to the charity, 91 cents went to the cause. This was within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Alberta Ecotrust Foundation has $44.4m in funding reserves, which can cover around 27 years of annual program and grant costs. Its funding reserves spiked in F2020 due to the addition of $42.4m in internally-restricted cash from the FCM. This funding will help to launch the Calgary Climate Innovation Fund and the Edmonton Climate Innovation Fund, two new grant funds to support urban climate change projects.

Charity Intelligence has sent this update to Alberta Ecotrust Foundation for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on August 23, 2021 by Eric Zhao.