Alzheimer Society of B.C.

About Alzheimer Society of B.C.:

Founded in 1981, Alzheimer Society of B.C. works across the province to alleviate the personal and social consequences of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias. It promotes public awareness and researches for causes, treatments, and cures. Alzheimer Society helps by providing information, resources, education, support and counselling to those affected by Alzheimer’s and related diseases.

Alzheimer Society of B.C. offers the First Link Program, which connects individuals and families affected by Alzheimer's disease or other dementias with services and support as soon as possible after diagnosis. In F2016, over 2,400 health care professionals were connected with over 12,500 people.

Minds in Motion is a fitness and social program for people experiencing early stage memory loss due to Alzheimer's disease or related diseases. A certified fitness instructor conducts the fitness portion of the program and a facilitator ensures participants are welcomed and involved in activities such as billiards, Nintendo Wii and ping pong games, or just enjoying social time and light refreshments in a relaxed atmosphere.

Educational programs delivered 21 workshops to 900 health-care providers in 14 cities to develop foundational knowledge of dementia, key communication strategies and to learn the value of a person-centred approach to care. Transition to and Life in Residential Care workshops were delivered 573 times to almost 10,000 participants in 83 communities. The goals of these workshops are to prepare caregivers for the time when the person with dementia may need additional support.

The charity also supports research directed at finding the cure for Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and improving the lives of individuals and families in the province who are living with the disease. In F2016, 5% of the Alzheimer Society Research Program fund was dedicated to research.  

Financial Review:

Alzheimer Society of B.C. is a big-cap charity with $8.2m in donations and special events revenues in F2016. Administrative costs were 12% of revenues and fundraising costs were 23% of donations. As such, for every $1 donated, 65 cents went to the cause. This falls within Charity Intelligence’s reasonable rage for overhead spending. The charity has funding reserves of $9.7m which can cover annual program costs 1.6 times.

This charity report is an update that is currently being reviewed by Alzheimer Society of B.C.; Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on June 8, 2017 by Juliana Badovinac.