Founded in 1987, Pacific Salmon Foundation (PSF) is dedicated to the conservation and restoration of wild Pacific salmon and their habitat in British Columbia and the Yukon. PSF promotes awareness and guides sustainable practices to ensure the future of these fish. PSF’s main programs focus on researching Pacific salmon, supporting community groups, and preserving habitat. Since it’s inception, PSF has funded over 3,200 projects and granted over $60 million to salmon conservation efforts.

The Community Salmon Program is Pacific Salmon Foundation’s major grants program and made up 38% of F2018 program and granting costs. Through this program, PSF funds volunteer and community groups that run salmon conservation and restoration programs. In F2018, grants totaling $1.6 million funded 204 projects in 87 communities. Since its inception, programs supported by the charity have planted over 430,000 trees and shrubs and rehabilitated more than 1.7 million square meters of streams.

The Salish Sea Marine Survival Project (SSMSP) is one of Pacific Salmon Foundation’s major research programs and accounted for 29% of F2018 program and granting costs. SSMSP funds various projects working to ensure the survival of salmon in the Salish Sea, the network of coastal waterways in the southwestern portion of British Columbia and northwestern portion of Washington. In 2017, PSF launched a pilot project studying the stomachs of salmon caught by local fishermen. Through this project, PSF analyzed more than 1,000 fish and identified herring as the most important prey for Chinook and Coho salmon. This was part of a larger study looking into the populations of prey fish, an essential food source for salmon. Through the SSMSP, PSF and partners have removed over 87 tonnes of debris from sites around the Strait of Georgia. PSF also supports projects to restore eelgrass beds in 25 estuary sites (areas where fresh and saltwater mix) in the Strait of Georgia.

The Salmon Watershed, and Rivers Inlet Salmon Recovery initiatives collectively focus on preserving salmon habitat to restore the population of salmon. In F2018, its programs collectively accounted for 24% of program and granting costs. In September, PSF collected salmon eggs from the Chuckwalla and Kilbella rivers in Rivers Inlet, British Columbia. These eggs were transported to the Percy Walkus Hatchery and PSF estimates that 130,000 baby salmon will be released back into the two rivers as a result.

Pacific Salmon Foundation is a large charity with total donations and special events revenues of $6.2m in F2017. Founded in 2001, the Pacific Salmon Endowment Fund (the Society) is a separate registered charity that manages a grant of $30m from the federal government to fund activities related to supporting Canada’s West Coast salmon. PSF manages annual funds allocated by the Society, which totaled $1.5m in F2017 and is included in government funding. The Society reimburses PSF $100k annually for managing the allocated funds – this fee is included in fees for service.

Administrative costs were 5% of revenues (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs were 13% of donations in F2017. For every dollar donated to the charity, 82 cents go to its programs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. PSF holds net funding reserves of $4.7m. The charity’s reserves can cover program costs for seven months.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to Pacific Salmon Foundation. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 31, 2019 by Stefan Tetzlaff.