Founded in 1904, Canadian Bible Society (CBS) works to translate, publish, and distribute Christian scriptures both in Canada and globally. It is one of 145 national societies that make up United Bible Societies. Since 2015, United Bible Societies have completed biblical translations in 270 languages used by over 1.7 billion people. CBS reports that there are over 7,100 languages in the world, and while the Scriptures are translated into 2,500 of these languages, the entirety of the Bible is only translated into 511 languages. In F2020, CBS distributed 519,220 bibles, testaments, and scripture selections, including over 120,000 Bibles. It was also active in 16 translation projects.

In F2020, CBS spent 73% of program costs on Canadian ministries. The charity made the Bible available in 70 languages in Canada in F2020. The top ten languages distributed were Spanish, Inuktitut, Haitian Creole, Plautdietsch, Chinese, Persian, Arabic, Hindi, Tagalog, and Swahili. CBS sells Bibles written in more than 100 languages in Canada, including many First Nations languages; it is currently completing four Indigenous translation projects, and has previously completed 14 Indigenous translation projects. CBS is also currently working on revisions to the Punjabi Bible for the more than 8,000 evangelical Punjabis living in Canada.

In F2020, CBS spent the remaining 27% of program costs on international ministries. CBS supported 57 projects in 40 countries. Working with United Bible Societies, CBS distributed scriptures globally to countries including China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Palestine, and Romania. Within some countries, there is a focus on providing scriptures to children and youths, particularly those who are sick or disabled. In Haiti, the Bibles are used in literacy classes to teach people how to read and CBS reports that providing Bibles can empower women socially and economically in Israel and India.

Canadian Bible Society is a Large charity, with donations of $8.6m in F2020. Administrative costs are 20% of revenues (excluding investment income) and fundraising costs are 15% of donations. For every dollar donated, 65 cents go to the cause. This is within Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending.

CBS has $2.5m in total funding reserves, of which $1.1m is donor-endowed. Excluding endowed funds, CBS could operate for roughly two months using its funding reserves. This indicates a need for funding.

In F2019, CBS paid external fundraisers $42k to collect $66k from donors, at a cost of 63 cents per dollar raised. Data for F2020 was not yet available at the time of this profile update.

This charity profile is an update that has been sent to Canadian Bible Society for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated on July 24, 2020 by Eric Jose.