Founded in 1982, Osteoporosis Canada (OC) is the only national organization serving people who have, or are at risk for, osteoporosis. It supports Canadians living with osteoporosis through education, advocacy and investing in research. Its vision is a Canada free of osteoporotic fractures. OC notes that 2 million Canadians are affected by osteoporosis, and at least 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men will break a bone due to osteoporosis in their lifetime. It states that fractures from osteoporosis are more common than heart attack, stroke and breast cancer combined. The charity’s office is in Toronto.

OC provides services to individuals with osteoporosis which include free publications, a bilingual toll-free information line, educational programs, referrals to self-help groups and community resources, and its website. The charity also works with healthcare professionals to develop practice guidelines and standards for physicians to use in their clinical practice. In F2017, it allocated 20% of its program expenses to education, advocacy and program development, and 60% to its Ontario Strategy. It’s Ontario Strategy is a collaboration between the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Ontario Women’s Health Council, Osteoporosis Canada, and health care and research professionals, with an objective of reducing the risk of hip and other osteoporotic fractures.

Results and Impact: In Osteoporosis Canada’s 2017 Impact Report, the charity reports to have had 1,995 Facebook post likes, 650 Twitter retweets and 4,010,758 website page visits in F2017.  

Osteoporosis Canada is a medium-sized charity with $2.6m in donations in F2017. It also received $4.7m in government funding, representing 61% of its total revenue in F2017. Administrative costs are 18% of total revenues and fundraising costs are 36% of total donations. For every dollar donated to the charity, $0.46 goes towards its programs, which falls well outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. OC has funding reserves of $3.8m which can cover less than 10 months of annual program costs, indicating a need for donations.

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

Updated August 2, 2018 by Derek Houlberg.