Nature Conservancy of Canada

245 Eglinton Ave East, Suite 410
Toronto, ON M4P 3J1
President & CEO: Catherine Grenier
Board Chair: Mike Pedersen

Charitable Reg. #:11924 6544 RR0001

STAR RATING

Ci's Star Rating is calculated based on the following independent metrics:

[Charity Rating: 5/5]

✔+

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.

77%

CENTS TO THE CAUSE

For a dollar donated, after overhead costs of fundraising and admin/management (excluding surplus) 77 cents are available for programs.



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OVERVIEW

About Nature Conservancy of Canada:

Nature Conservancy of Canada is a top-rated 5-star charity with an above-average results reporting score. This charity has reasonable overhead costs and is financially transparent.   

Founded in 1962, Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) works to protect natural areas, plants, and animals while finding solutions to biodiversity loss and climate change. The charity leads large-scale projects to permanently conserve land. NCC partners with the Canadian government and Indigenous communities.  

A Charity Intelligence 2023 Top 100 Rated Charity

In NCC’s strategic plan, it outlines multiple goals with the overarching target to double its impact by 2030. The charity hopes to conserve 1 million additional hectares of land, create solutions to help Canada reach the 30x30 targets, and work in allyship with Indigenous-led conservation efforts. 

In F2022, Nature Conservancy of Canada led 67 projects to conserve land. Over 95% of Canadians live within 100 kilometres of a NCC project. During F2022, multiple new projects started, including the Boreal Wildlands in central Ontario. The Boreal Wildlands is now the biggest conservation agreement in Canada. 

Nature Conservancy of Canada hosted over 300 educational events in F2022 which had over 24,000 participants. In its Annual Report, NCC reports that it led 28 collaborations with Indigenous communities in F2022. One project included working with Kebaowek First Nation to obtain and conserve Fitzpatrick Island.

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Results and Impact

Through its conservation programs, NCC protects habitats for one-third of at-risk species. 

In F2022, NCC protected 99,944 hectares of land and water. Most of this land was from the Boreal Wildlands project which spans nearly 1,500 square kilometres. The land protected is home to 244 different species. NCC has set a goal to conserve at least 135,000 more hectares next year. 

While Ci highlights these key results, they may not be a complete representation of Nature Conservancy of Canada’s results.

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Finances

Nature Conservancy of Canada is a major charity with $72.9m in cash donations in F2022. The charity received $85.9m in government funding, representing 43% of revenue. In F2022, Nature Conservancy of Canada received $24.3m in donated land ($16.6m in F2021). Administrative costs are 7% of revenues (less investment income) and fundraising costs are 16% of donations, including donated land. NCC spends 23% on overhead. This means for every dollar donated, 77 cents go towards the charity’s programs. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. 

NCC has $290.7m in reserve funding, of which $115.9m is donor-endowed and $29.4 is donor-restricted. Excluding donor-endowed funds, NCC could cover 1 year and 9 months of annual program costs with reserves. 

NCC’s audited financial statements do not disclose government funding, administrative costs, or fundraising costs. Ci reported this information from the charity’s unaudited filing with the CRA.   

This charity report is an update that was sent to Nature Conservancy of Canada for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.   

Updated on August 23, 2023 by Clive Stevens.

Financial Review


Financial Ratios

Fiscal year ending May
202220212020
Administrative costs as % of revenues 6.9%7.7%8.4%
Fundraising costs as % of donations 16.4%15.8%16.7%
Total overhead spending 23.3%23.5%25.1%
Program cost coverage (%) 176.9%232.8%166.8%

Summary Financial Statements

All figures in $000s
202220212020
Donations 72,87862,10775,759
Goods in kind 24,27316,5887,037
Government funding 85,86152,05539,660
Business activities (net) 0510
Investment income 95326,2121,933
Other income 17,34513,7279,091
Total revenues 201,310170,740133,479
Program costs 80,92150,82657,544
Grants 23,68217,72912,527
Donated goods exp 24,27316,5887,037
Administrative costs 13,85411,11411,018
Fundraising costs 15,91812,40413,826
Total spending 158,648108,661101,952
Cash flow from operations 42,66262,07931,527
Capital spending 474163285
Funding reserves 290,738260,163201,027

Note: Ci reported government funding from the charity's T3010 CRA filing and backed out the amounts from donations. Ci used T3010 data to report grants to qualified donees and backed out the amounts from program costs. Ci used T3010 data for the charity’s reported administrative and fundraising expenses. Ci removed the unreconciled differences in total costs from program costs, affecting them by ($99k) in F2022, $1.5m in F2021, and $42k in F2020.    The charity’s audited financial statements only recognized a portion of investment income in revenues. Ci recognized all investment income (net of management fees) and included the portion of investment income that was reported by the charity as other revenues. This affected total revenues by $953k in F2022, $26.2m in F2021, and $1.9m in F2020. This also reduced other income by ($536k) in F2022, ($7.1m) in F2021, and ($913k) in F2020. Ci recognized endowment contributions as donations, affecting total revenues by $2.4m in F2022, $1.4m in F2021, and $2.6m in F2020. Ci adjusted for deferred donations (amounts received for restricted purposes less amounts recognized as revenue during the year) affecting total revenues by $21.1m in F2022, $9.1m in F2021, and $22.1m in F2020. Ci adjusted for deferred contributions transferred to endowments, affecting revenues by $7.3m in F2022, $9.0m in F2021, and $3.4m in F2020. Ci did not include loan repayments for prior year acquisitions, affecting total expenses by $nil in F2022, ($1.6m) in F2021, and ($131k) in F2020. To report on a cash basis, Ci removed amortization from administrative expenses.

Salary Information

Full-time staff: 340

Avg. compensation: $85,471

Top 10 staff salary range:

$350k +
0
$300k - $350k
1
$250k - $300k
0
$200k - $250k
3
$160k - $200k
5
$120k - $160k
1
$80k - $120k
0
$40k - $80k
0
< $40k
0

Information from most recent CRA Charities Directorate filings for F2022

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Comments & Contact

Comments added by the Charity:

Charity Contact

Website: www.natureconservancy.ca
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 1-877-231-3552

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