Founded in 1941, United Way of the Alberta Capital Region (UWACR) raises money to support programs and initiatives that fight poverty in Edmonton and surrounding areas. This includes Fort Saskatchewan, Sherwood Park, Strathcona County, St. Alberta, Leduc County, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, and Parkland County. The charity states that 135,000 people in Alberta live in poverty; the cost of poverty in the province is between $7.1 and $9.5 billion annually.

UWACR distributes grants to local organizations and runs its own community programs, including Homeless Connect, Tools for School, Kid Kits, and All in for Youth. All mission spending goes toward one of three focus areas: Break the Cycle, Lift People Out, and Provide a Safety Net. UWACR states that it helped 283,000 people across all three areas in F2018.

Break the Cycle funding supports early childhood development, after-school, literacy, and general support programs that help kids break the poverty cycle and succeed academically. In its F2018 Community Report, UWACR states that 24,000 students participated in healthy development programs, 6,400 families received early learning and parenting support, 5,000 kids participated in after-school programs, 15,051 schools kits were distributed through Tools for School, and 1,500 school kits were distributed through Kid Kits.

Lift People Out funding helps people access basic needs (healthy food and housing assistance) and also supports employment and financial literacy programs. In F2018, UWACR reports that 4,800 people received help filing income taxes and accessing benefits, 2,100 people got help obtaining and retaining employment, 1,400 people were trained in financial literacy, 4,500 care kits were distributed through Homeless Connect, and 549 Home Kits were distributed to newly-housed families.

Provide a Safety Net funding supports programs that provide mental health counselling, referral services, domestic violence support, or work with at-risk youth. UWACR reports that 19,700 people with mental health challenges got counselling and 2,500 people who experienced domestic violence received support in F2018.

One of UWACR’s new initiatives, All in For Youth, started in F2017 and is currently being piloted in five schools in Edmonton. The purpose of this initiative is to support kids through their elementary and high school experience, with the goal of getting all youth in Edmonton to graduate high school – UWACR believes that graduating is a critical milestone toward breaking the poverty cycle. In F2018, 2,100 students accessed support, 921 kids attended out-of-school programs, 900 students received breakfast, lunch and snacks, 824 family members received short-term interventions, and 238 students received one-to-one mentorship through the All in For Youth program.

United Way of the Alberta Capital Region is a Major 100 – one of Canada’s largest charities in terms of donations. It received $22.8m in donations in F2019. Administrative costs are 8% of revenue (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 10% of donations. Per dollar donated to the charity, 82 cents go to the cause, which is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

Funding reserves of $16.9m include $18.1m in cash and investments net of $1.2m in mortgages. UWACR could fund annual program costs and grants at the F2019 level for just over 11 months with existing reserves.

United Way of the Alberta Capital Region’s five largest grants to funded partners reported in its audited financial statements are: $1.1m to the Family Centre of Northern Alberta, $771k to Boys and Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton, $633k to Canadian Mental Health Association – Edmonton Region, $381k to YMCA of Northern Alberta, and $371k to Bissell Centre. Also included in grants are community partnerships and initiatives costs, which include $3.3m on All in for Youth and $279k on Empower U.

This charity report is an update that has been sent to United Way of the Alberta Capital Region for review. Comments and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on August 13, 2019 by Katie Khodawandi.