World Vision Canada
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.
High
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.
73%
CENTS TO THE CAUSE
For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 73 cents are available for programs.
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OVERVIEW
About World Vision Canada:
World Vision Canada is a 5-star rated charity with High impact on its international development programs. It is Canada’s largest international food charity helping those at risk of starvation and malnutrition, especially in fragile communities.
Founded in 1957, World Vision Canada (WVC) is a Christian international aid charity. Its primary goal is improving the lives of impoverished children worldwide. In order to accomplish this, it works to reduce poverty, and improve nutrition, education, healthcare, and water access in poor regions of the world. WVC also directly runs programs to protect children. The majority of WVC’s spending goes towards its livelihoods program, which focuses on food distribution and encouraging economic growth. WVC states that an estimated 238 million people in 48 countries are facing high levels of acute food insecurity. This is an increase of 21.6 million since 2022.
A Charity Intelligence 2023 Top 10 International Aid Impact Charity.
WVC is shifting its work to focus away from medium-developed countries to highly vulnerable communities where the need is greatest. Specifically, it works in communities with unstable governments and high rates of poverty. Children who live in fragile communities are more likely to face hunger, violence, and exploitation. In F2023 and F2022, 45% of WVC’s program spending was in the most fragile communities (43% in F2021).
WVC’s Livelihoods program is its largest program, making up 55% of its program spending. This program primarily consists of food distribution but also includes economic support for developing regions. In F2023, WVC distributed 65,722 metric tons of food. This number is down from 87,019 in F2021 and 67,690 in F2022. WVC attributes the decrease to a shift in priorities towards food voucher distribution. In F2023 WVC distributed $101m in food vouchers, up from $68m in F2022.
VWC established six new sponsorship communities in F2023. It also responded to 28 emergencies in 31 countries, such as Sudan, Turkey, and Syria.
WVC’s livelihoods programs reached 5.7 million people.
WVC’s Health programs focus on providing medical aid to people in need, with a special focus on malnutrition in children. It accounted for 14% of WVC’s program spending. In F2023, WVC provided 3.4 million doses of deworming medication to children. It shipped 2.1 million ready-to-use therapeutic food packages, and treated 81,740 girls and boys for malnutrition.
In F2023, WVC’s health programs reached 8.8 million people.
WVC’s Child Protection programs account for 14% of its program spending. The programs aim to improve the lives of children in impoverished regions directly by establishing child protection units and referring child protection cases. It also provides psychosocial support to children and works to ensure children get birth certificates. In F2023, WVC established 469 child protection units. It followed up on 21,627 child protection cases, and provided 22,839 children with birth certificates.
Overall, WVC reached 2,779,614 people with its child protection programs.
WVC’s Water programs account for 9% of its overall program spending. The programs focus on providing communities with access to clean water and supporting sanitation. WVC states 446,000 children under five die every year due to inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene. In F2023, WVC constructed 761 water sources. This is a drop from 6,764 in F2022, which the charity states is due to a shift in its focus towards sanitation infrastructure. In F2023, WVC built 15,393 sanitation facilities, compared to 773 in F2022.
In F2023, WVC reached 1,032,844 people with its water programs.
WVC’s Education programs account for 7% of its overall program spending. The programs aim to encourage gender equity in education and encourage the development of literacy skills. In F2023, WVC provided 92,536 reading materials and 196,792 school supplies. It provided curriculum training to 3,514 teachers. 150,522 girls and boys attended in-school or after-school literacy activities supported by WVC.
In F2023, WVC’s education programs reached 1.7 million people.
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Results and Impact
In F2023, 14 communities sponsored by World Vision Canada became self-sufficient. WVC reports that its Savings 4 Transformation project, a subprogram of its livelihoods program, generates five dollars of economic benefit per participant per dollar invested. In F2023, 30,383 farmers reported that they were applying sustainable agricultural practices after receiving training from WVC. This number has increased from 12,507 in F2022.
Across 21 counties in South Sudan, 63% of women reported having control over the resources that contribute to their food security in 2023. This number has increased from 32% in 2020.
In Jigiya, Mali, families that endured at least one month without enough food decreased from 75% in 2020 to 60% in 2023.
WVC’s health programs treated 81,740 children for malnutrition, leading to 3,674 recoveries in F2023. This is a considerable drop from F2022’s 7,079 recoveries with 22,735 cases treated. However, by collaborating with the UN’s World Food Program (WFP), WVC contributed to 576,430 recoveries. WVC donors contributed 23% of the funds raised for the WFP in F2023.
WVC reports that children who complete its literacy programs demonstrate reading skills that are at least two years more advanced than children who don’t. WVC states that a dollar invested in its literacy programs generates $20 of social value. In the Kasal region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the fraction of grade three and grade five students who can read with comprehension increased from 27% in 2020 to 58% in 2023.
WVC reports that every dollar in its positive parenting programs (subprograms of Child Protection) generates more than $4 in mental health benefits. WVC reports that 25,509 people in F2023 demonstrated increased knowledge on child protection risks, up from 26,034 in F2022. Across 21 counties in South Sudan, the proportion of women who could identify gender-based violence response services increased from 50% in 2020 to 75% in 2023. In the Bhandaria community in Bangladesh, women aged 20-24 who have been married by 18 decreased from 58% in 2018 to 24% in 2023.
WVC reports that its water programs saved 4,901 lives, preventing 2.5 million cases of disease. In F2023, 395,296 people gained access to safe drinking water. 317,555 people gained access to sanitation, an increase from 204,916 in F2022. According to a 2023 WVC analysis of its water programs, a dollar donated returns 14 dollars of social value. WVC certified 185 communities as “open defecation free” in F2023.
WVC also does advocacy work, working with the Canadian government to pass legislation that aligns with its goals. In F2023, bill S-211 passed (requiring the reporting of child labor in supply chains) and Bill C-41 (allowing certain forms of aid in terrorist-controlled areas) were passed.
World Vision Canada's 2023 annual report is world-class in its results reporting. It is well worth the read to fully appreciate the tremendous scale of WVC's work around the world.
While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of World Vision Canada’s results and impact.
Charity Intelligence has given World Vision a High impact rating based on demonstrated impact per dollar spent.
Impact Rating: High
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Finances
In F2023, World Vision Canada received $221.2m in Canadian donations and $204.9m in goods in kind, a considerable increase from $145m in F2022. WVC received $41.4m in government funding. It received $23.7m in international donations in F2023, including grants from United Nations programs. WVC is one of Canada’s largest charities by donor support. It is a Major 100 charity.
WVC’s fundraising costs are 23% of its donations, up from 18% in F2022. Its administrative costs are 5% of its overall revenue. Its overhead spending is therefore 27% of its revenue, meaning that for every dollar donated, 73 cents are available to go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.
WVC has total reserve funds of $41.6m, meaning that it can cover F2023 levels of program spending for 2 months. WVC has a need for funding.
Like most large Canadian charities partnered with international organizations, most Canadian donations are pooled with its international partner. World Vision Canada transferred to World Vision International $390m in F2023, $342m in F2022, and $341m in F2021 in donations and donated goods.
WVC reports using external fundraisers in its T3010 filing with the CRA. In F2023 it paid external fundraisers $614k to raise $61m, for a cost of less than 1 cent per dollar raised.
This charity report is an update that has been sent to World Vision Canada for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.
Updated on June 18, 2024 by Ben Dobozy
Financial Review
Fiscal year ending September
|
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Administrative costs as % of revenues | 4.7% | 4.5% | 4.4% |
| Fundraising costs as % of donations | 22.7% | 17.9% | 14.7% |
| Total overhead spending | 27.4% | 22.3% | 19.0% |
| Program cost coverage (%) | 18.8% | 25.5% | 20.6% |
Summary Financial StatementsAll figures in $000s |
2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donations | 221,212 | 237,252 | 236,126 |
| International donations | 23,726 | 20,583 | 38,677 |
| Goods in kind | 204,920 | 144,857 | 140,951 |
| Government funding | 41,407 | 39,194 | 26,706 |
| Investment income | 3,046 | 818 | 1,095 |
| Other income | 812 | 216 | 634 |
| Total revenues | 495,123 | 442,920 | 444,189 |
| Program costs - International | 29,630 | 23,427 | 37,068 |
| Program costs - Canada | 1,755 | 1,901 | 1,986 |
| Grants | 189,880 | 202,088 | 203,623 |
| Donated goods exp | 204,920 | 144,398 | 140,951 |
| Administrative costs | 23,027 | 19,881 | 19,342 |
| Fundraising costs | 50,309 | 42,347 | 34,650 |
| Total spending | 499,521 | 434,041 | 437,621 |
| Cash flow from operations | (4,398) | 8,879 | 6,567 |
| Capital spending | 6,096 | 5,366 | 2,417 |
| Funding reserves | 41,570 | 57,991 | 50,085 |
Note: World Vision Canada's income statement does not present a separate line item for amortization costs. Ci backed out World Vision Canada’s amortization costs from Canadian program costs, international program costs, administrative costs, and fundraising costs on a pro-rata basis. World Vision Canada provided funding to World Vision International of $185.3m in F2023, $197.8m in F2022, and $200.0m in F2021. Ci shows these transfers as grants. WVC also provided gifts-in-kind to World Vision International of $204.9m in F2023, $144.4m in F2022, and $141.0 in F2021. Ci has categorized these as donated goods used in programs. Ci backed out grants reported on the charity’s T1236 filing with the CRA and reported these amounts as grants, reducing international program costs by $4.6m in F2023, $4.3m in F2022, and $3.5m in F2021. Ci adjusted for deferred non-government donations, affecting revenue by ($8.2m) in F2023, $2.7m in F2022, and $3.5m in F2021. Ci also adjusted for deferred government donations, affecting revenue by $318k in F2023 and $1.6m in F2022.
Salary Information
$350k + |
0 |
$300k - $350k |
1 |
$250k - $300k |
0 |
$200k - $250k |
1 |
$160k - $200k |
3 |
$120k - $160k |
5 |
$80k - $120k |
0 |
$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:
World Vision is a global relief, development and advocacy organization, serving children and families in some of the world’s toughest places. From refugee camps to rural villages to sprawling urban slums, we care for girls and boys in more than 90 countries. Our network of global staff works to create lasting change in the lives of children, families and communities in need.
World Vision’s emergency relief work repairs lives and livelihoods. For more than 70 years, we’ve protected and cared for girls and boys who’ve survived the unthinkable in situations like natural disasters, food crises, economic turmoil or civil conflict. After a disaster, our teams continue to partner with communities, rebuilding stronger than before.
Through our work, World Vision has impacted the lives of over 200 million vulnerable children by tackling the root causes of poverty. Our child sponsorship program actively builds healthier communities through programming, education and empowerment. With our community focused solutions, for every child helped, another four benefit. World Vision nurtures and partners with people of different faiths, genders, races and ages – raising up local leaders to help support, protect and transform their communities.
Whether on the ground or in the halls of power, World Vision’s advocacy work is central to all we do. We press governments for programs and policies to secure children’s futures, even as their own countries face threats like civil conflict, food crisis and economic disaster. In regions around world, we teach children to speak up for their God-given human rights – and families and communities to respect and uphold them.
World Vision voluntarily adheres to the highest standards of financial accountability, following best practices for transparency by providing access to our annual impact report, financial statements and donation breakdowns.
Always, World Vision seeks to deliver the greatest-possible impact. Compelled by love, we go boldly into dangerous places to help children who need it the most. In partnership with Canadian donors, we’re making lasting and sustainable change.
Visit World Vision’s website to see how it all fits together and learn how you might get involved!
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In previous years, donors asked why Charity Intelligence's numbers were different from World Vision Canada's. We wrote this article on charity ratios to explain. Funnily enough, it has received over 12,000 views. While it's an old article, it may be of interest.
World Vision Canada - A Case Study on Charity Ratios, August 2017
Charity Contact
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Tel: 905-565-6100