United Way of Alberta Capital Region
STAR RATINGCi's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics: |
✔+
FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY
Audited financial statements for current and previous years available on the charity’s website.
A
RESULTS REPORTING
Grade based on the charity's public reporting of the work it does and the results it achieves.
n/r
DEMONSTRATED IMPACT
The demonstrated impact per dollar Ci calculates from available program information.
NEED FOR FUNDING
Charity's cash and investments (funding reserves) relative to how much it spends on programs in most recent year.
59%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 59 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About United Way of Alberta Capital Region :
United Way of the Alberta Capital Region is a 4-star charity. It is financially transparent and has a high results reporting grade. Its overhead costs are outside Ci’s reasonable range. With its current reserves, the charity can cover 11 months of annual grants and program costs.
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. Albert, Leduc County, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, and Parkland County.
A Charity Intelligence 2023 Top 100 Rated Charity
UWACR distributes grants to local organizations and runs its own community programs. Program and grant spending goes towards one of the following focus areas: Basic Needs, Children and Youth, Life Empowerment Skills and Education, Strengthening Mental Health, and Community and Social Sector Development. United Way of the Alberta Capital Region does not report a spending breakdown of its programs.
In F2023, UWACR states that it helped 257,000 people through United Way funded programs.
Basic Needs funding helps people access basic needs such as healthy food and housing assistance. In F2023, UWACR helped 75,588 people access meals or food hampers. A total of 201,618 meals and 429,627 hampers were distributed. The charity helped 1,093 people obtain or maintain housing, and disbursed emergency funds to eight individuals and families.
Children and Youth funding supports early childhood development, after-school, literacy, and general support programs that help kids break the poverty cycle and succeed academically. In F2023, 5,430 individuals received early learning and parenting support. 29,674 students participated in healthy development programs. Also, 4,777 children participated in nurturing after-school programs and 643 at-risk youth were supported to stay in school.
Life Empowerment Skills and Education supports job training, skills development, and financial literacy programs. UWACR reports that in F2023, 10,668 people received assistance to build job skills and financial stability. Of these people, 6,482 received help filing their income taxes or access benefits, 2,387 got help obtaining or retaining employment, and 1,799 received financial literacy training.
Strengthening Mental Health funding supports programs that provide mental health counseling, referral services, or domestic violence support. UWACR reports that in F2023, 87,430 people were connected to needed services by skilled staff. The charity also states that 19,445 individuals facing mental health challenges received timely counseling. 18,873 community members attended mental health education sessions and 3,371 people who experienced domestic violence received caring support.
Community and Social Sector Development funding supports research, collaborative initiatives and programs between UWACR and social agencies, schools, organizations, and governments. In F2023, UWACR supported 22,726 agency staff and volunteers to evaluate programs, collaborate on efforts, and research community needs and solutions.
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Results and Impact
United Way of the Alberta Capital Region reports outcomes for each of the focus areas.
For Basic Needs, 97% of surveyed participants reported accessing housing that was safe, adequate, affordable, and permanent.
For Children and Youth, 88% of surveyed participants demonstrated developmentally appropriate skills in one or more of the following areas: personal/social skills, communication skills, gross motor skills, fine motor skills, problem solving skills, coping skills, literacy, numeracy.
For Life Empowerment Skills and Education, 61% of surveyed participants increased their wages or found employment.
For Strengthening Mental Health, 88% of surveyed participants reported referrals provided were relevant to meet their needs.
For Community and Social Sector Development, 95% of surveyed organizations reported that training and resources had strengthened their organizational capacity.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of United Way of the Alberta Capital Region’s results and impact. Charity Intelligence has not yet rated United Way of the Alberta Capital Region on impact. This shows as (n/r).
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Finances
United Way of the Alberta Capital Region received $17.4m in donations in F2023. The charity received $7.0m in government funding (28% of total revenues).
Administrative costs are 9% of revenue (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 32% of donations. This results in total overhead spending of 41%. Per dollar donated to the charity, 59 cents are available for programs. This is outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.
In F2023, UWACR spent $16.5m on grants and programs, which is 70% of total revenues less donor-designated grants. The charity had a deficit of $799k.
United Way of the Alberta Capital Region’s five largest grants to funded partners reported in its audited financial statements are: $821k to the Family Centre of Northern Alberta, $400k to Boys and Girls Clubs Big Brothers Big Sisters of Edmonton, $350k to Canadian Mental Health Association – Edmonton Region, $300k to Bissell Centre, and $235k to e4c. Also included in grants are community partnerships and initiatives costs, which include $2.4m on All in for Youth and $425k on Empower U.
UWACR has net reserve funds of $15.3m ($15.7m in cash and investments less $390k in mortgages). The charity has 11 months of annual program costs and grants covered by its existing reserves.
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 June 26, 2024 by Alessandra Castino.
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending March
|
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 9.2% | 9.8% | 4.7% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 31.7% | 31.6% | 21.9% |
| Total overhead spending | 40.9% | 41.4% | 26.6% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 92.9% | 101.1% | 66.9% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 17,441 | 15,807 | 20,681 |
| Government funding | 6,985 | 9,258 | 16,671 |
| Investment income | 453 | 78 | 99 |
| Other income | 172 | 463 | (44) |
| Total revenues | 25,051 | 25,606 | 37,406 |
| Program costs | 7,416 | 7,288 | 15,561 |
| Grants | 9,042 | 9,289 | 11,061 |
| Donor-designated donations | 1,603 | 2,266 | 2,124 |
| Administrative costs | 2,263 | 2,501 | 1,755 |
| Fundraising costs | 5,526 | 4,997 | 4,533 |
| Total spending | 25,850 | 26,341 | 35,034 |
| Cash flow from operations | (799) | (735) | 2,372 |
| Capital spending | 64 | 63 | 74 |
| Funding reserves | 15,288 | 16,762 | 17,820 |
Note: DEFERRED REVENUES: Ci backed out amortization of deferred capital contributions and adjusted for changes in deferred contributions in donations, affecting revenues by $935k in F2023, ($2.1m) in F2022, and $1.5m in F2021. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS: As with most other United Way Charities, Ci has reported administrative costs as the general and administrative costs allocated to programs. Ci backed out the administrative costs allocated to programs from program costs. AMORTIZATION: Amortization is backed out of fundraising and administrative costs on a pro-rata basis.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
0 |
$250k - $300k |
1 |
$200k - $250k |
0 |
$160k - $200k |
2 |
$120k - $160k |
6 |
$80k - $120k |
1 |
$40k - $80k |
0 |
< $40k |
0 |
Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2023
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Comments & Contact
Comments added by the Charity:
Learn More:
United Way of the Alberta Capital Region 2023 Investment Report
Charity Contact
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 780-990-1000