Wildlife Conservation Society Canada is a 4-star charity. It has an above-average results reporting score, low overhead spending, and is financially transparent. 

Founded in 2004, Wildlife Conservation Society Canada (WCS Canada) uses research and advocacy to protect wildlife and wild places. The charity is affiliated with Wildlife Conservation Society, which operates in over 60 countries. WCS Canada runs a national program to influence conservation policy and practices. The charity also works alongside local communities and funds research projects to conserve and learn more about at-risk areas and species. 

According to WCS Canada’s audited financial statements, the charity runs four main programs: National Conservation & Policy, Boreal Forests, Western Arctic, and Outside Canada. On the charity’s website, it breaks programming into four field programs (Northern Boreal Mountains, Ontario Northern Boreal, Western Arctic, and Western Bats) and a larger national initiative. Lean more about WCS Canada’s program breakdown on this page: https://www.wcscanada.org/National.aspx  

In F2022, National Conservation and Policy made up 40% of program spending ($2.5m). In WCS Canada’s Annual Report, this program includes Key Biodiversity Areas (which received $1.1m in F2022) and Bat Conservation ($1.0m), and general National Conservation & Policy ($386k). The Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) program works to conserve areas that are key to protecting biodiversity. As of F2022, WCS Canada helped over 80 sites become registered KBAs. In terms of bat conservation, the charity started a project in F2022 to study how white-nose syndrome impacts Canadian bats. This project involved developing and testing a probiotic to help fight this deadly syndrome. WCS Canada also created the SHAPE of Nature website to make environmental science information accessible to the public and governments to help people make more environmentally conscious decisions. In F2022, the charity funded 13 students through its Weston Family Boreal Research fellowship to train the next generation of conservation scientists. 

In F2022, Boreal Forests represented 31% of program costs ($1.9m). This program conducts research to protect at-risk species and habitats in Ontario, BC, and Yukon. In F2022, WCS Canada tracked 19 new wolverines and 45 new lake sturgeon in Ontario. The charity also created species distribution models for 66 endemic plant species in Yukon and Alaska. Tracking animals gives information about their living patterns and the threats they face.   

In F2022, 19% of program spending ($1.2m) went to the Western Arctic program. WCS Canada continued research in the Arctic Ocean to see how underwater noise affects aquatic life. In F2022, it published four articles about this topic. The charity continued observing the diets and movement patterns of thick-billed murres. It recovered 44 geolocator tags, representing 73% of the total tags it implanted. In F2022, WCS Canada conducted a study to see the amount of microplastics present in seal stomachs. 

The remaining spending for Wildlife Conservation Society Canada includes Outside Canada (7% - $470k) and the Next Generation of Conservation Scientists (3% - $197k). The charity sends funds to other conservation organizations to help achieve its goals globally. 

Included in WCS Canada's main programs are partnership grants of $570,000 made to other Canadian charities. The main partnerships are with Birds Canada ($215,000) and Nature Serve ($137,000) for the KBA program. WCS Canada also gave smaller grants to Canadian universities for collaboration on research.

Wildlife Conservation Society Canada received $4.8m in donations in F2022. It also received $2.4m in Canadian government funding, representing 32% of revenues. Administrative costs are 11% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 4% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 15%. For every dollar donated, 85 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. 

WCS Canada has $3.3m in funding reserves. This means the charity can cover 46% or around six months of annual program costs with its existing reserves. 

Charity Intelligence has sent this update to Wildlife Conservation Society Canada for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming. 

Updated on August 24, 2023 by Clive Stevens.