Easter Seals Ontario

About Easter Seals Ontario:

Founded in 1922, Easter Seals Ontario offers programs and services to Ontario children, youth and young adults up to the age of 19 who have physical disabilities. It aims to help its clients reach their full potential, make the absolute most of their abilities and live their lives to the fullest. Easter Seals Ontario is one of ten provincial arms of Easter Seals Canada. Easter Seals Ontario provides financial assistance for mobility equipment and communication devices, fully accessible summer camp, special education resources, post-secondary scholarships, access to additional information resources and public awareness on disability issues.

Easter Seals Ontario runs two fully-accessible summer camps: Camp Woodeden in London and Camp Merrywood in Perth (44% of program costs in F2017). It offers numerous camp programs including individual overnight camp, sports camp, discover camp and family camp. The camps aim to challenge kids, building their self-esteem and developing strong leadership skills. In F2017, the camps served 759 clients for a total operating cost per client of $5,688, down from 808 clients at a cost per client of $5,035 in F2016. Easter Seals Ontario reports that the number of campers fluctuates year over year due to changes in the number of family members who attend family camp, and last-minute cancellations due to medical conditions. In F2017, Easter Seals Ontario subsidized an average of 85% of camp fees per family.

The charity provides support to children and their families through grants and other programs (30% of program costs in F2017). In F2017, Easter Seals Ontario provided direct financial support to 850 families totalling $1.5m. 982 families were provided financial support in F2016, but the average amount of funding per family was lower. This includes grants for mobility equipment and communication devices, recreational activities, scholarships, travel grants and other community support. The charity reports that 45% of families receiving financial assistance have a total family income of under $40,000.  Easter Seals Ontario also awarded 22 students with post-secondary education scholarships in F2017.

Easter Seals Ontario also runs public education and awareness programs (26% of program costs in F2017). It looks to raise awareness about disability issues in Ontario through newsletters, media, direct mail and outreach at community events. In F2017, the charity had 25 Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) members on 18 school boards. These volunteers help to ensure that the needs of kids with disabilities are represented in the school system in areas such as accessibility, transportation, communication, therapy needs and personal care.

Financial Review:

Easter Seals Ontario is a Large charity with donations of $8.6m in F2017. The charity collected an additional $582k from its summer camp and other programs in F2017. Administrative costs are 7% of revenues and fundraising costs are 32% of donations. While still relatively low as a percentage of revenues, administrative costs increased by 63% compared to F2016 (excluding the effect of backing out amortization). Per dollar donated to the charity, $0.62 goes toward its programs, which falls outside Ci’s reasonable range for overhead spending. Easter Seals Ontario holds funding reserves of $4.9m, of which $856k are donor-endowed. Excluding donor-endowed funds, the charity’s reserves can cover 8 months of annual program costs, indicating a need for donations.

This report is an update that has been sent to Easter Seals Ontario for review. Changes and edits may be forthcoming.

Updated July 18, 2018 by Derek Houlberg.